Ethical question about fakes

[Hydatius]

We all are pretty much forced to examine fakes and suspected fakes from photographs. Those of us who are dealers no doubt will see many more fakes in hand than any of the rest of us. Most of us, I think, would benefit from the opportunity to examine fakes in hand.  But if we have the money and can see that a fake is going for a low price on eBay, is it ethically acceptable to purchase that coin from a dealer who knows it's a fake, even a well-known fake seller? 

Richard

[Robert_Brenchley]

I wouldn't, especially if it's a regular fake seller. That's just encouraging fraud.

[silvernut]

I've sometimes considered buying what I believed were real ancient coins from dealers on the fake seller's list (not all their offers are fakes...), but I've always decided against it on the grounds that they shouldn't be in business on the first place. I don't want them to get my money, even if it's on the occasional authentic coin. Just my opinion...

Regards,
Ignasi

[Jay GT4]

I would and recently have but only from someone selling as a replica not someone trying to pawn it off as the real thing.  I bought  the two coins to turn into cuff links...

[Obryzum]

Absolutely.  The best way to warn the public about these scoundrels is to leave negative feedback.  You cannot leave negative feedback unless you actually buy something.

If you are a fraud victim and you are trying to get your money back, you cannot really leave negative feedback before you get the refund.  And if you do get your money back, it may seem wrong to leave negative feedback after that.

You do everyone on the eBay and numismatic communities a favor by getting these coins off the market, getting them into black cabinets where they can be studied, and giving negative feedback to those who are perpetrating fraud.