Buyer Beware

One of the most frustrating obstacles in numismatics is counterfeits, and no place is more notorious for selling them than eBay. The site is littered with counterfeit coins, and while the company often attempts to remove such listings, the sheer volume of them means that some are always bound to sneak through.

Two types of counterfeit listings are present on eBay: those that are more obvious and those that are intended to deceive even experienced collectors. The most blatant of these fake coin listings tend to follow a pattern. More often than not, they will advertise a key date coin worth hundreds to thousands of dollars for only a fraction of the cost (5 to 20 percent). These sellers are usually low feedback accounts and ship from overseas. Some have even started using authentic pictures they’ve stolen from genuine sellers. However, finding a 1909-S VDB cent for a price tag of just $30 is simply too good to be true. To illustrate the prevalence of this issue, simply type in some of the best-known key date coins, such as “1877 Indian Head cent” or “1955 double die cent,” and you will certainly find fake examples on the first page—sometimes, even within the first few listings.

Spot the Red Flags

Some fakes are easy to spot and can be seen from a mile away. Many listings sport that “off” appearance or suspicious look that experienced collectors can sense right away. But there are also sellers who design their listings to fool seasoned collectors. The coins themselves are usually of higher quality, unlike the cheap, mass-produced foreign knockoffs. These listings, often paired with an intentionally bad photo, leave much to the imagination, and the allure of a good deal can be too strong to ignore.

I recently came across a listing for a key date 1919-D Walking Liberty half dollar, in what the seller called “almost UNC condition.” At first glance, it looked all right, a nice About Uncirculated example free of major problems. The photos were terrible though, with very poor lighting, and the contrast and exposure appeared to have been altered. A closer inspection revealed many inconsistencies the coin had with genuine examples, including an incorrect mintmark location and font, a strike too sharp for the notoriously weakly struck date (especially the eagle’s chest feathers), and hairlines that could potentially point to the coin as being a cast counterfeit.

Even with all these red flags, the coin still ended up selling for over $1,000, which is substantially below the market value of a genuine example but still a painful amount for a counterfeit. Unfortunately, scenes like this are all too common in the Wild West landscape that is eBay. It’s extremely easy to take listings like this at face value, especially if a buyer only took a glance at the coins and decided to bid without more careful inspection.

Listen to Your Instincts

I’m not immune to falling for fakes either. A few years ago, I bought a 1915-D Buffalo nickel in borderline uncirculated condition. I won it for a little over $100, and at the time, I thought it was a steal! However, after sending it to ANACS, it was determined to be a counterfeit. I was suspicious of the weakness in its features and the streak across the obverse but wrote it off as a weak strike and planchet defect. In retrospect, however, these should have been cause for concern, especially when paired with the coin’s weird texture, which can be described as vaguely grainy.

These factors indicate that the nickel was likely a cast counterfeit. The coin’s most notable characteristic that denotes it as a fake is the flow of luster. The luster present on the counterfeit example did not correspond with what is expected on a genuine mint-state example. This means the coin wasn’t struck, but rather liquid metal was poured into a mold, giving it a more grainy and stale luster effect.

With all that being said, I’m not here to dissuade collectors from using eBay. There are reputable sellers and genuine coins (especially those for beginners) available. However, it takes a trained eye and discipline to stay ahead of the game. Learn the diagnostics of the coins you chase and trust your discomfort, especially when it comes to pricier items. Many collectors follow the simple rule “if it seems too good to be true, it is.” This mantra proves invaluable in navigating the landscape of online marketplaces.

To learn more about uncovering a coin’s true nature, check out the “Counterfeit Detection” series by Numismatic Guaranty Company.