eBay removes replica and copy coin listings
| Author | Message |
|---|---|
|
Below is a message sent to eBay sellers recently. I am not noted for the warmth of my feeling towards eBay's management but this is a great step in the right direction and deserves to be applauded. I believe this policy only applies to the US but Canada already bans fakes. The old policy paid lip service to the Hobby Protection Act which stipulates that replica coins imported into the US should be clearly stamped with the words COPY or REPLICA by insisting that photographs should show the stamp. They did, but apparently the coins delivered didn't. I hope to hear of mass lay offs at The Big Tree Coin Company and others. The eBay marketplace for coin collecting is vibrant. Buyers and sellers alike enjoy access to both a great selection and a highly engaged community. Customers within the Coins & Paper Money category have told us that the ability to shop and sell confidently on eBay is an important factor for them. Based on this feedback, and after closely reviewing the coin experience on eBay, we have decided to update eBay's Stamps, currency, and coins policy to disallow replica coin listings on eBay.com, effective February 20. Any replica coin listings on eBay on February 20 will be allowed to end normally. This update reflects standards across the coin industry and helps ensure compliance with applicable laws that require replica coins to be permanently marked with the word "copy." We also expect that this update will increase marketplace confidence by letting our community know that coin listings on eBay are authentic, so they'll receive the most positive eBay experience possible. As always, thank you for selling on eBay. Sincerely, The eBay Seller Team
Illegitimus non carborundum est - good advice for all coins |
|
|
it was about time !!!  
james |
|
|
It's a good move. It'll cut down on the nonsense. |
|
|
Its good but is it with in their rules to list replica coins in a different catagory so that it would still come up in a search? |
|
|
What's wrong with selling replicas? Matt |
|
|
Matt, nothing if it's clearly marked as such. If it isn't then it's a counterfeit which is a different and entirely more sinister animal. A replica coin is no more alarming than a replica gun, sword, car or beanie baby. It's produced as an affordable alternative to a rare or expensive item. A counterfeit, as produced by Big Tree and other Chinese manufacturing plants, using equipment donated by the US Mint as a goodwill gesture and subsequently sold to the crooks, is intended ultimately to fleece collectors. The term replica is secret agent speak for "Hay guyz, we have nice coins, shows "copy" on eBay picture so we don't get canned but we all know that's the only coin we are ever going to make with that stamp. Buy for only Five Dollars, sell to newbie collector for Fifty Dollars."This is the reason why the RCMP forced eBay to change it's rules in Canada and the reason why eBay.com will be follwing suit in February. It's a despicable practice which deters new collectors, has undermined the value of whole series of collectors coins, Morgan and Peace Dollars for example and is the number one threat to numismatics as a widespread activity. They are almost entirely responsible for the rise of TPG companies and slabbed coins which we all despise. Ten years ago Chinese fakes were white metal cast copies which often used non existant dates / mintmarks, mismatched die pairs, even mispelled legends. These coins stuck like glue to a magnet and even the better ones, i.e. non cast, were struck in a 3 step process. Each side was struck seperately then the milling and other edges details applied by a collar press. The process left a noticeable seam on the coins edge. These could fool someone who had never seen an original or lived in some fantasy world but most collectors could spot them. They were a relatively minor irritation. Now they use the same presses that original coins were produced on in high pressure single strikes. The dies are laser etched from original coins and capture every detail perfectly. They are struck on planchets of the correct weight and composition. The coins are appropriately aged by a variety of sophisticated processes, a high tech version of the good old "oiling, boiling and spoiling" if you will. At the end of the production line you have a coin almost indistinguishable from the genuine article. I can't tell the difference and neither can anyone else reading this. Detection is possible if you are a series expert with an in depth knowledge of every die variation and access to a high powered microscope. Yes, microscope, not a 10x loupe. Does that sound like fun or work? Is that the hobby you want to see? Amyone who wants to move beyond the stage of collecting more than pocket change should be alarmed. In 2009 a Coin World reporter took several fake coins bought from Chinese sellers on eBay to the FUN convention in Florida where gather the great and the good, the wisest of the wise. The rate at which highly experienced dealers were able to spot the fakes was around 50%. That was three years ago and every production run sees the fakes get a little better. There are now law firms in the US specialising in recovering the losses of collectors who have been duped into buying fake coins. This is not some poor guy making a bit of money on the side by cranking out a few fake CDs, purses or coins. It's a huge business producing thousands of coins every day. Each one of those coins is intended to cheat someone. When the woman next door buys a knock off Calvin Klein shirt she does so knowing what it is, she wears it until it falls apart (usually about a week) and then throws it away. When unscrupulous traders import fake coins they are doing so with a view to passing them off as real and pocketing the difference. Everyone wins except the unsuspecting collectors. That's what's wrong with selling replicas. P.S Alastair, there used to be a seperate category for replicas and maybe it's still there but that will surely be removed.
Illegitimus non carborundum est - good advice for all coins |
|
|
So you don't mean replicas, you mean fakes. I have replica Roman coins, well I used to have. They were made of plastic and only cast on one side. Clearly a replica. Not intended to deceive anyone. [One paragraph deleted by Xavier because it irrelevant political content didn't respect the policy of the forum] The British fakes market is big business. They make fake pound coins (and various denominations of notes) in their droves, but these are made by organised criminal gangs of forgers for profit (in the traditional capitalist fashion) and are so good they are frequently only detected by metalurgical analysis. Matt |
|
|
No, I mean both. They are presented as replicas to comply with the soon to be obsolete eBay policies but are actually counterfeits. The US Hobby Protection Act defines replicas as imitation coins clearly stamped as "COPY", these are not. It's been pretty well documented in collecting circles. Your scepticism stems from your own political bias. Your attempt to turn a serious numismatic concern into yet another silly political circus complete with obligatory anti American diatribe isn't really something I care to respond to. Please feel free to start a fresh thread to discuss death threats, WMDs, the Iraq war, Tea Party and of course Bush. I'd like to keep the focus here on preventing fellow collectors from being fleeced. Here are a couple of links you may find interesting. The first is to an article by Susan Headley who wrote the Coin News piece referred to earlier. The second is a comprehensive guide to counterfeits including how to detect them. It's a little dated, probably 2008 but is still very useful. http://coins.about.com/od/worldcoins/ig/Chinese-Counterfeiting-Ring/?nl=1 http://rg.ancients.info/guide/counterfeits.html
Illegitimus non carborundum est - good advice for all coins |
|
|
Way to go Ebay .. long overdue.
I am willing to trade for Canada or United States coins. If we cannot do a swap, I am willing to sell any of the coins in my collection. |
|
|
Hi All, As well as collecting coins, I run a metal detecting forum and thought you may like to see a thread I started recently: In case anyone is unaware of just how sophisticated forgers have become, which coin is the forgery? Top, bottom or neither?   If a forger can be bothered to make a perfectly milled 10p, I guarantee you he can be bothered to make hammered coin dies and early silver milled coin plates. So what can you do about it? Never buy from someone you don't know unless they are a registered coin dealer and/or offer guarantees backed by a money back promise. Under no circumstances buy lots of uncleaned roman coins from eBay or similar, as all you will get in most cases are recently made fakes from Bulgaria amongst other places which are dirtied up specially in black ash and similar, often with a rubbish silver 'accidentally' included to make you think you've had a result and put pos feedback on. I've been meaning to write about the subject of forgeries for yonks but never seem to have time to do much for myself these days. I used to collect forgeries, but got fed up with it due to the immense number of modern ones around now, so sold em off a couple of years ago, keeping only a contemporary few forgeries including a roman denarius and a soft silver metal florin.
Be honest, be fair |
|
|
Sorry, I can't do it. I can't just not buy coins on ebay, which is practically my only source for coins I want to collect. I know this makes it slightly more likely I'll get burnt by a fake, but I refuse to believe the everyone on ebay is a swindling huckster who's got a cartload of fakes they're trying to pawn off. I mean, the only forgery I've ever bought (and later discovered I'd bought) was from a reputable dealer who was PCGS authorized. Sure, there's a lot of chinese pewter and ginned-up medieval coins on ebay, but the same is true of the market as a whole. I'm cynical about coins, but I absolutely refuse to believe that everyone out there is trying to rip me off. If I can't buy coins without that attitude, what the hell point is there in collecting? There would be absolutely no fun or enjoyment in it if I had such a bitter attitude. Anyways, I think the replica coin decision is a good one by ebay, but ebay is generally terrible about enforcing their policies anyways. I'm a very active "Reporter" in that whenever I see a shady listing I report it as inaccurate, and ebay only takes action on about half the reports I make. |
|
|
I willing to see your coins and if so buy them so follow me on facebook ( ]Gold place ) picture should read we buy gold] . You can as well-email me at loved_chilling@yahoo.com - 
|
|
Used time zone is UTC+1:00.
Current time is 02:01AM.
More about Numista
- Terms of service
- Contact us
numista.com 2007-2012