Category Archives: Jack D. Young Reports

These post are written by expert numismatist and counterfeit detective Jack D. Young. He reports in an investigative manner on how to detect fake coins. See his posts to learn how to authenticate coins.

AI Gone Wild: “It Takes the Glare off” Coin Images!

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By Jack D. Young for Proxiblog

A couple of my current sayings–“Only on the Bay” and “You can’t make this stuff up”–certainly apply to this article.

A good friend and half cent expert sent me a PM with a current eBay half cent link and asked if I saw what he did–pure gibberish in the words and lettering, especially on the reverse.

Reverse 1811 listing image

Wow, is UNITED supposed to look like “EI-EI O”? Kind of reminds me of the recent “Liberty Biberty” insurance commercials! 😎

So, digging further I found the seller had multiple similar imaged listings including this 1884-S Morgan Dollar.

I noticed with this one that the barcode on this “enhanced” image doesn’t scan, and STATES is actually spelled “STATEA”…

Looking up the actual cert number pulled up PCGS TrueView images of the actual coin for this cert.

Subject image on the left, TrueView image on the right

So, not only are the letters misrepresented but some of the nicks and marks of the genuine coin are also smoothed out. Even the “4” is now different!

So I sent a message to the seller, and we had a back and forth that abruptly ended:

And he let the auctions run… I then sent a note to my eBay contacts:

During this research Michael Bugeja and I discussed this situation and the possible implications. He asked AI about AI and received this response:

Sounds like what we are seeing in this seller’s images! And another of his listing’s images:

And Michael’s conversation with the seller and the bottom-line concern. (Read text from bottom up.)

So, crickets from the seller after these exchanges and the listings stayed active. BUT reviewing again after a few days May ALL of the listings were suddenly ended. Maybe eBay actually had a hand in this; it will be interesting to see any relists by this seller in the future!

And a little different spin on the topic: When reviewing eBay listings in my spare time I do see some where a “bad” listing uses exactly the same description as a “good” one.

I assumed the seller just conveniently grabbed the genuine description for use in his listing, but that may not always be the case.

I actually questioned the following seller about his (joke) listing and he responded as follows; I was glad to hear it “passed the ice test” 😎!

I actually wasn’t negative. Then he suddenly ended the listing. Go figure.

It is rather ironic in my opinion his listing was noted as “sponsored” by the Bay. No doubt the sponsorship was via algorithm, maybe a prelude to just how bad that venue can get.

So maybe AI has its place, but I vote to keep it out of my hobby.

If you like posts like this, you can read more articles on counterfeit coins by Jack D. Young, Jack Riley and Michael Bugeja at this URL. Also, please subscribe so you can get our weekly newsletter and be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups and across social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

eBay Counterfeit Scams

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By Jack D. Young

Come on eBay! You can do better than this!

Several friends notified me of an obvious scam on eBay recently involving a PCGS certified 1882-CC image used by multiple sellers (showing the same origin location) listed for sale at a bargain price.

Past auction listing- I added seller’s reverse image to this

I have written previous articles on these “bait and switch” tactics by MANY eBay sellers using genuine coin images (to help fool artificial intelligence, which needs little help to do currently) to sell counterfeit coins. I have actually purchased a couple in the past just to see what a buyer would get and reported them and received my purchase price back.

So, a couple of bad signs with this listing:

Image of a genuine PCGGS certed example; PCGS shows a value of $450.00.

Listed price $39.99 with 2 sold and more than 10 available.

And the seller’s feedback notes:

Well, at least they show eBay “Verified purchases”!

And while I was reviewing this one 5 other listings with the same stock images but different sellers popped up; I started saving images and organizing my files:

From this I put a note together and sent a message to eBay alerting them about this scam and reported the subject listing.

Note to eBay

I reported them all through the feeble AI reporting process with all coming back as no policy violations including the subject example.

And so I decided to buy this one and see what I would receive.

And I received a typical CN counterfeit CC Morgan with the slashed eagle reverse!

I emailed the seller with no response; looks like he packed up his “shop,” and nothing now listed.

And going back to check the listing and follow-up I find eBay now removed the listing! It did allow me to request a return and leave appropriate feedback for the seller.

Now 3 negative feedbacks for the counterfeit bait and switch!

So we’ll see where this goes from here, as eBay stated they will step in if requested May 1. Pretty sure I won’t hear back from the seller by then.

And he apparently sold MANY of these through several different seller IDs right under eBay’s nose.

And continued reviewing turned up the genuine example and seller the scammers used for their listings:

So, come on eBay! You can do better than this.

We can do better, too, as hobbyists by learning how to identify fakes.

If you like posts like this, please go to our counterfeit archive with reports from Jack Riley, Jack D. Young, John Lorenzo and Michael Bugeja. Also, please subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

Counterfeit Franklin Half Dollars (Missing FS)

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By Jack Riley

A recent surface of counterfeit Franklin Half Dollars has hit the numismatic community. The subject coin was shared in a large open Facebook group and was quickly identified as a modern counterfeit.

Comparing this example to others I have saved shows three dates sharing a common obverse (and reverse). Reverse markers aren’t indicated due to the obverse being interchanged with various mints including Denver and San Francisco.

Repeated markers highlighted in red include:

  • Missing FS initials
  • Reacting circulation marks on the lower bust
  • High “19” in the date

Consider this last photo and aforementioned summary. That’s how closely you have to inspect raw coins being sold online. China is flooding the market with fakes and fakes within fakes (counterfeit coins in counterfeit PCGS holders).

Proxiblog is proud to be at the forefront of exposing these scammers.

If you like posts like this, please subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentaries, click here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

Bad 1923 $20 gold and not-PCGS slab

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By Jack D. Young for Proxiblog

So, how bad has it been on the Bay? I asked that question in a Facebook group and the majority stated it has become worse for counterfeits. This article demonstrates how.

And a recent painful experience follows. As a counterfeit researcher and article writer I review many different sites and forums for new examples. One is AliExpress and the many offerings of fake coins in fake “PCGS” holders such as the following:

I just added this one to my files and waited. … And then this recent eBay listing popped up in my daily review:

OK, so the seller actually used the Ali images for his listing!

He also included images of what I assume he actually had in-hand, and both are bad.

Interestingly, both sets of images have the same bad obverse label and no-read barcode, but the reverse QR codes were different.

The Ali one and images used have a reverse QR code that takes one to the Chinese (CN) PCGS site as typical for that generation of fake in a fake, but his one in-hand leads to the Europe PCGS site as I disclosed in a recent article on these–a latest development!

And another surprise, the listing was reported to eBay and was removed. Seller was also notified that his coin was bad. He responded but allowed his listing to continue:

eBay seller’s response to my message

Instead, he relisted, this time without the Ali images.

Sellers relist after 1st was removed

Again multiple reports apparently resulted in the listing being removed.

So, then a 3rd try by this determined seller.

2nd relist

An entirely different set of images and setting, but same bad coin and not-PCGS slab and cert number. And the same nonsense obverse barcode with the reverse QR code taking us to France!

Revised images of the same counterfeit and 3rd seller Bay listing

And the “coin” itself? Not the same as the certified genuine example:

eBay subject example on the left, genuine PCGS example for the cert # on the right

And the disappointing twist–eBay would NOT remove this 3rd attempt after multiple reports.

And I guess I got a little testy after it showed sold:

Interestingly after this report the listing was removed, but no way to know if it saved the buyer. I suppose we just need to wait until the seller relists.

If you like posts like this, please subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentaries, click here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

Bad Coin Rolls and Documented Bay Seller

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Jack D. Young for Proxiblog

So I previously wrote a Coin Week article on attributing a counterfeit 1893-O Morgan Dollar and noted the high bad feedback eBay seller:

Counterfeit 1893-O Morgan Dollar: A Diagnostic Case Study

That same seller also sold 2 mixed rolls of small cents faced with an apparent 1857 Flying Eagle cent to a Face Book friend; it turned out the FE is a known counterfeit, and the new owner posted them and the link to my Coin Week article about them!

The OP noted the counterfeit “tells” for this style counterfeit on his example (circled in red) referencing the Coin Week article attributions.

Bottom image of the OP’s FB post on the subject

Image from the referenced Coin Week article showing other examples with the matching marks:

Counterfeit 1857 Flying Eagle Cents You Should Avoid | CoinWeek

While reviewing the article for images (I often go back to my own published article for reference while researcher subject “coins”!) I noticed the OP had posted a comment which I responded to.

So, purchased in 2023 and now aware as a result of the article! Ironically the article was published in 2023 as well…

Comments from the subject Coin Week article

2023 and the seller is still “at large” 😎! I immediately found another listing from him for a similar roll, documented his images and then worked to “win” the auction.

Recent identical eBay roll listing- I won!

So all I had to do was wait for this to be delivered. I was already planning how to document what it is once in-hand, taking images as I worked to uncover the detail I thought would match my friends, but that turned to be too easy a thought…

I was initially pretty confident I would see the “Bad T” in UNITED, but that documented attribution point wasn’t there!

Image from my microscope of my FE in the roll

OK, so what, did the seller actually slip a genuine example in the roll? My plan was failing so I just carefully unwrapped the whole roll and then imaged the contents:

And the FE? 1st thing of note is he is using repeated stock images; mine was positioned differently relative to the roll:

Listing image of the roll on the left, received on the right- date not apparent

And once removed from the roll I immediately recognized it after digging through my article:

Coin received is actually the 2nd counterfeit documented in the article, as noted:
Additional article images

So, now again confident he slipped a counterfeit into the roll I decided to send him a message. My previous attempts on the 1893-O Morgan failed because he doesn’t accept messages but apparently does when a current purchased item is linked.

Yeah, right. … But he did immediately refund my purchase price without involving eBay- a surprise for sure given all of his past responses to negative feedback given.

And he then listed another one, but I found I am now banned by him for any future listings.

Keeping it real, Jack.

If you like posts like this, please subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentaries, click here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

eBay Seller’s comments to “Your Baby’s Ugly”

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By Jack D. Young

Proxiblog asked me to consider doing an article on “how eBay sellers react when we report their coins as fake? I know some take down the lots. Others don’t.” I was intrigued by the thought and decided to write the following!

When I explain a Bay listing is counterfeit sellers can react a number of ways–in disbelieve, argumentatively (Grandpa owned it), accepting and thankful, combative (I’ll meet you in a parking lot dude…) or just “crickets.”. In my experience the larger the seller the higher the probability of crickets.

So, moving on I will not lower our standards here and report the combative ones but several of recent experiences I have had of the other types of reactions.

Let’s start with an interesting Trade dollar. This example just caught my eye, and the images led me to believe the coin was not genuine. The images in the listing were not definitive, and I asked the seller for better ones. He agreed and that was all it took! The common reverse used for a family of fakes I nicknamed the “notched R.” I wrote an article on these published in a recent LSCC Gobrecht Journal. I actually own one returned to a seller by NGC as counterfeit, so well versed on these:

eBay recent listing

So, I asked the seller about the coin and that I had concerns about its authenticity. He responded that he looked up the cert and the “PCGS verification”.

I responded there were no images on the on-line cert, so no help there. I included images from my coin and article and that I was sure it was counterfeit.

And he responded with a thank you and that he would remove the listing immediately, which he did!

So, a win, except who knows were the coin ends up, as he responded he is taking it back to the previous seller… And then another listing and another message:

Seller actually had two bad Morgans in fake PCGS slabs listed:

As he stated in his message, he ended both!

So, two with likely the best results we could hope for. And then this one:

Another counterfeit coin in a counterfeit slab, this one gets a little complicated if you really evaluate this one properly.

First, the obverse barcode scans as a 1989 $10 gold eagle. Then, the images of the genuine example for the cert# on the PCGS site are a completely different coin. And third, the interesting twist for this one is fakes of this type typically have a reverse QR code that scans to the genuine PCGS cert site in CHINA (cnpcgs), BUT this one scans to pcgseurope! A separate article on this one in the works.

So, I notified the owner, but he is in denial, and his response and then silence:

Silent until this😎:

So, good luck to all eBayer’s with that one!

And now the crickets; my friend Jack Riley posted the next example in our Face Book group:

Pretty bad counterfeit in a counterfeit slab again, the surprise was it is a large well respected Bay coin seller. Several of us sent messages to the seller with no response, so I took a risk and purchased it with the intention of asking for a return for it being a counterfeit.

Refund granted, never heard from the seller…

And eBay removed the listing:

Shortly thereafter my eBay account was permanently suspended.

If you like posts like this, you can read more articles on counterfeit coins by Jack D. Young, Jack Riley and Michael Bugeja at this URL. Also, please subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and other venues. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

Fake Eisenhower Dollars

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By Jack Riley

As most collectors know, Chinese counterfeits have flooded the market. Often many buyers are “burned” on key date and semi key date coins of many series. We have stressed that nothing is safe and that includes Eisenhower Dollars! These are readily available at banks for face value and yet here we have counterfeits.

Diving straight into repeating markers of these two “coins,” a 1971-P and 1977-P show commonalities between the two. Both share matching obverses and reverses indicated in Red.

Obverse markers:

  • Diagonal depression of L
  • Depression in front of the eye

Reverse markers:

  • Raised lump below A1
  • Indent below OF
  • Line through C

China produces counterfeits of common coins like the Eisenhower dollar if a small profit can be made. These scammers may not be expert numismatists; but they are professional marketers who know about profit margins. Their profits expand with bulk production, flooding eBay and Facebook with fakes. China knows the coin collectors will just assume that low-value common coins like Ike dollars are genuine.

They are polluting the hobby.

If you suspect that one of your coins might be fake, see “Detecting Counterfeits” for methods.

If you like posts like this, you can read more articles on counterfeit coins by Jack D. Young, Jack Riley and Michael Bugeja at this URL. Also, please subscribe so you can get our weekly newsletter and be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and other venues. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

Fake CC and P mint Double Eagles

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By Jack Riley

Counterfeiters aren’t numismatists. They often use incorrect design types that are impossible for a given coin and do not understand how third party grading services holder the coins they certify. This example may take the cake! A counterfeit 1892-CC $20 Gold piece in a fake PCGS holder. Not just any holder, a holder pedigreed to D.L. Hansen!

Let’s view the counterfeit example compared to the genuine one below that from Hansen’s collection.

When you compare the two, it is very clear that they are not the same coin. One can see the CC position is incorrect along with a large lump on the ribbon.

The “Family” is likely very extensive and many dates have been noted sharing this common reverse. Additional images shared below are from an 1891-CC coin as well as an 1893-CC. These were recently shared to a large Facebook group where they got mixed reviews.

Now to the connection between the common reverses. This 1882-CC shares the “common reverse.” The obverse is very distinct as well for this date. The 1882 date was interchanged with both P and CC mint reverses. Noteworthy: the surface lump above Liberty’s head, spike protruding from the bridge of the nose, and a raised line under the date.

Interesting occurrence with the Philadelphia reverse is that it was later tooled to repair the denticles. The first two images show a depression along with the deformation of the denticles at approximately K12.

The next two images show the deformed denticles but no indentation within them.

“Common” P reverse

Closeup images of markers include:

  • Deformed Denticles with a depression, later was repaired
  • Spike through “C”
  • Small field dot above “T”

“Common” CC reverse

Closeup image of repeating marks include:

  • CC centered above denomination
  • Small chip above “DOLLARS”

If you purchase a counterfeit coin, especially one as expensive as a $20 gold one, contact the seller for a refund. If the seller refuses to accept a return for a counterfeit coin, immediately initiate a dispute with the payment platform (eBay, PayPal, or credit card company) for an “item not as described,” as counterfeit items are illegal to sell. Document the fraud with professional authentication, and if necessary, report the seller to the U.S. Secret Service or local law enforcement.

If a dispute cannot be resolved, and you report the fraud to the U.S. Secret Service, you may be required to turn the coin over to authorities. In any case, never attempt to re-sell the coin, even if you disclose that it is a counterfeit.

If you like posts like this, you can read more articles on counterfeit coins by Jack D. Young, Jack Riley, John Lorenzo and Michael Bugeja at this URL. Also, please subscribe so you can get our weekly newsletter and be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and other venues. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

Primer on “Not PCGS” Fakes

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This video documents the various ways to identify fake Chinese holders and coins, including lack of logos on slab, pasted Gold Shield sticker, wrong fonts, wrong 1921 label, wrong reverse and so much more. Below the video is a an example of a Carson City Morgan dollar with six significant problems signifying a counterfeit.

This coin was posted on a Facebook coin group feed.

WRONG FONT

Missing NFC Logo

PCGS Cert Shows Different Coin

QR Code Opens to Chinese Fake Certification Site

For more in-depth analysis, see “Detecting Counterfeit Coins.“

If you like posts like this, you can read more articles on counterfeit coins by Jack D. Young, Jack Riley and Michael Bugeja at this URL. Also, please subscribe so you can get our weekly newsletter and be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and other venues. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

Trifecta, CN Counterfeit Coin, Slab and Website

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By Jack D. Young

As if the Chinese counterfeit coins in fake PCGS slabs isn’t bad enough, now there appears to be a fake Chinese PCGS website to verify them.

A friend alerted me to the following listing on the Bay:

Past eBay listed counterfeit in a counterfeit not-PCGS slab:

The listing included these interesting other images:

Images from the seller’s listing

The seller had ended the listing based on being told it is a counterfeit, and I started a review to try to determine what was going on here!

So, I started with the “PCGS” slab and some quick checks. Using my on-line barcode scanner I checked the front barcode:

Like many similar bad slabs, the barcode was gibberish and would not scan. Next, I went to the PCGS website to check the noted cert number:

Note from the genuine PCGS site for the cert # look-up

And another bad sign, that cert # “was not found”. So, my next step was to try to read the reverse label QR code. And just a note, many of the previous counterfeits we have documented similar to this one had a QR code that read the cert # correctly but noted the genuine PCGS CN site. A previous example read like this:

Typical previous QR code to pcgs.cn site

And then this one:

Note different website for this cert!

Different result than expected! I do NOT recommend readers going to the site shown, but if you did, this is what comes up:

Fake “PCGS” site, image

WOW, now we have something apparently new to be concerned about with these.

I did notify my contacts at PCGS for a heads-up as well as post it on their CU Forum:

The Trifecta, CN Counterfeit Coin, Slab and Website ! — Collectors Universe

My contacts at PCGS acknowledged they were now aware and reviewing; a check of the fake site Christmas evening indicated it was now unavailable– a nice Christmas present if it lasts…

I did continue to dig a bit and found the following domain information; seemed ironic the “Registrar” has Alibaba in the name😎!

The best way to guard against buying a counterfeit coin is to purchase an authentic one from a reputable dealer. Barring that, view Jack Young’s Jack Riley’s and my articles on counterfeit coins published by Proxiblog.

If you like posts like this, please subscribe so you can get our weekly newsletter and be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has more than a thousand friends and followers on Facebook Coin Groups and thousands more across YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.