Ebay - do people actually look at the coins they bid on?

[Abu Galyon]

This little gem (offered by a seller in Spain) has attracted 8 bids so far and stands at $41.00.

Bill R

[Johnny]

not trying to be rude,  but I don't get it,  is this a fake?

[Abu Galyon]

Sorry, Johnny, it was just a feeble attempt at irony. Yes, it's a fake. In the obverse right field (above the cross) there is an R-inside-circle symbol which really should alert everyone to the fact that this is a modern reproduction. The seller, of course, has not advertised it as such.

Bill R

[byzcoll]

Hi,

naturally whoever bids on such a thing either does shill-bidding or has no knowledge of the subject. Some people may just bid on things by "impulse", because the object looks pretty to them, some others are just starting to collect coins and get ripped off. They look at it but cannot see. The never ending story of ebay problems...

And remember, even some large auction houses sell very well-known fakes as originals. Remember the post on a marked Antiquanova repro offered as an original with countermark? That explains all.

byzcoll

[areich]

There is still another group, those who collect coins for years and still have no clue.
They buy lots of coins on Ebay over several years and still can't spot the most obvious fakes, far more
obvious than this one. Those are the ones that kind of make me sad when I think about them.

[Johnny]

There is still another group, those who collect coins for years and still have no clue.
They buy lots of coins on Ebay over several years and still can't spot the most obvious fakes, far more
obvious than this one. Those are the ones that kind of make me sad when I think about them.

LOL  Sigh,  that's me  .  but  then again,  my ebay buying is very limited because of it.  LOL  but  I am getting better at spoting fakes 

The little mark in right field however, did elude me, as I do not collect or study the type.  Not knowing any better,  and if this was in my collecting area,  I might have bid on it too...


AAARRRGGGGG   too much to learn 

[areich]

No, I don't think this description fits you or anyone that has been here a few months.
Fakes much worse than this one, though the little mark is not really necessary here to know the coin is fake.

[Joe Sermarini]

AAARRRGGGGG   too much to learn 

You only need to remember one rule - buy from reliable sellers you can trust. 

[Lloyd Taylor]

There is still another group, those who collect coins for years and still have no clue.
They buy lots of coins on Ebay over several years and still can't spot the most obvious fakes, far more
obvious than this one. Those are the ones that kind of make me sad when I think about them.

I find it bewildering rather than sad. 

Why would anyone buy and ancient coin type about which they knew absolutely nothing, as must be the case for those that bid on this example? 

In this specific case, I think that any sensible purchaser would have read and researched a bit about Byzantine coins before collecting them.  A little bit of reading and he/she would have stumbled across Sear's Byzantine Coins and Their Values, which cautions against Byzantine fakes and details with images 93 Byzantine fakes that are commonly encountered in the market.  Low and behold, this year 12 dated coin type is listed and illustrated on page 493 by Sear as Byzantine fake F17. You'd think this would ring a few bells and lead to close scrutiny of the coin being offered, perhaps even to the extent of noticing the incriminating letter R on the obverse.

I guess it says that no faker will go out of business by underestimating the stupidity of a significant percentage of people.

[Abu Galyon]

In this specific case, I think that any sensible purchaser would have read and researched a bit about Byzantine coins before collecting them.  A little bit of reading and he/she would have stumbled across Sear's Byzantine Coins and Their Values, which cautions against Byzantine fakes and details with images 93 Byzantine fakes that are commonly encountered in the market.  Low and behold, this year 12 dated coin type is listed and illustrated on page 493 by Sear as Byzantine fake F17. You'd think this would ring a few bells and lead to close scrutiny of the coin being offered, perhaps even to the extent of noticing the incriminating letter R on the obverse.

I take the general point that if you are aware that there are fakes of a particular type around, that probably makes you more likely to examine closely any examples you come across. But apart from coincidence of mint, year and officina Sear's rather sophisticated fake F17 has no relation to the reproduction coin in this thread. And even if the incriminating ® had not been present, I doubt that our replica could have fooled a major auction house for more than a brief moment. It really does look cast.

Bill R