Another fake China made cob.........

[Tom Walter]

I understand this.

Identical cobs have been offered for sale on eBay or other public on-line auctions simultaneously; apparently by 'different' sellers.

OK. But how does this tell anyone that the cob pictured is not genuine? Apparently it does not. What is apparent is that someone is attempting to defraud buyers. The seller may or may not be in possession of this (or any other) Spanish cob. A picture of an authentic cob might have been posted in multiple auctions. Or the seller might own an authentic cob but has no intention of actually delivering the merchandize once the auction is over. What this tells me is that the same person is behind multiple, fraudulent auctions. I doubt the person who won this item received anything other then a hard lesson.

Would multiple (simultaneous) auctions of the Brooklyn bridge make the bridge itself less then authentic? I'm not trying to be an ass. My original question was this. Is it possible to tell if the cob in question is actually a modern forgery or authentic? I truly doubt that anyone could make such an assumption based upon photographs. It has been pointed out that "no two cobs are alike." This fact alone should preclude the ability to identify and authenticate cobs using photographic evidence only.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[Bigcypresshunter]

I understand this.

Identical cobs have been offered for sale on eBay or other public on-line auctions simultaneously; apparently by 'different' sellers.

OK. But how does this tell anyone that the cob pictured is not genuine? Apparently it does not. What is apparent is that someone is attempting to defraud buyers. The seller may or may not be in possession of this (or any other) Spanish cob. A picture of an authentic cob might have been posted in multiple auctions. Or the seller might own an authentic cob but has no intention of actually delivering the merchandize once the auction is over. What this tells me is that the same person is behind multiple, fraudulent auctions. I doubt the person who won this item received anything other then a hard lesson.

Would multiple (simultaneous) auctions of the Brooklyn bridge make the bridge itself less then authentic? I'm not trying to be an ass. My original question was this. Is it possible to tell if the cob in question is actually a modern forgery or authentic? I truly doubt that anyone could make such an assumption based upon photographs. It has been pointed out that "no two cobs are alike." This fact alone should preclude the ability to identify and authenticate cobs using photographic evidence only.

Im sorry if I came across as a jerk, I am not trying to be. All I know is that this cob has been offered up for sale by numerous different sellers, sometimes at the same time on e-Bay and is identified as a known fake by Frank Sedwick, a cob expert. Otherwise it is probably a good looking coin. Maybe Trez could explain it better. If Trez says its bogus, it is.

You say you contacted the buyer in Australia? Did he receive anything? Or are you the poor buyer?

 

[Tom Walter]

I did send the buyer an email asking about the auction in question but have not heard back yet. Personally I would not buy something like this on the Internet, especially out of China. I Googled the seller and discovered he is running many simultaneous auctions at this moment. He claims membership in various numismatic organizations including the NGC. I checked their records and he is not a member.

Unfortunately, running multiple bogus auctions is as easy as changing your IP address. When eBay shuts down a fraudulent auction, all they are doing is blocking that IP address. Of course you can generate hundreds of millions of other addresses. So, the problem is real and wont be going away anytime soon.

 

[killerwine]

Run away as fast as you can...Don't be afraid to shoot back at them if the follow you!