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1909 S V.D.B. Real?
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39 posts in this topic

Can you please let me know the signs of being fake? I will let the mecari seller know and I will ship this back to her. I paid 435$ for it. I feel like it is fake, but I have zero experience in identifying these pennies.

Edited by Joshua22855
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9 minutes ago, Joshua22855 said:

Can you please let me know the signs of being fake? I will let the mecari seller know and I will ship this back to her. I paid 435$ for it. I feel like it is fake, but I have zero experience in identifying these pennies.

We do not normally answer that question directly, because even if the querent is legit, many of those silently reading and seeking to refine counterfeiting skills are not. However, if you said it did not match up with known authentic examples, that would be true, yet not helpful to those out there doing the wrong thing.

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Welcome to the forum.

As has been stated, most of us try not to give out any more information than necessary about identifying counterfeits, in order to not assist those who are making/selling them. Suffice it to say that, if you compare your coin closely and objectively to pictures of known examples, you will see obvious differences. I feel very confident in declaring yours "not genuine."

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Not an expert at all, I have an album that I been adding all Lincoln coins from 1909 to 1940, only two coins needed to complete the album, this in particular and the 1931-S, to me the tag price you mentioned sounds to good to be true, In my searchs to try to buy one, the cheapest I was able to find was on a NGC slab marked as with details or something in that neighbor for 545 bucks a G-4 on the red book 2019 that I have, is marked for 600 - For the price you mentioned that can sound an alarm to me.

HTH and good luck!

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2 hours ago, Joshua22855 said:

I completely understand, I see something now that definitely looks differently then all the others I have compared to on Ebay. I also feel very confident now this is fake. 

Thank all of you for the help.

You're welcome, and thank you for being understanding. The fact that the price was far below market for the condition and grade should normally tip you off in such a case, but live and learn. I paid my own tuition of this nature on a Nolan Ryan rookie card.

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Is there any way to report this seller to mercari? (I am not familiar with the platform) These coins have the potential to cause confusion and heartache for many years, and should not be allowed into the marketplace.

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Mecari is horrible in the aspect of having consequences for shady sellers. Looking at this sellers account they have had many cancellations on their account. These selling platforms are way too money hungry. They let these sellers get away with anything.

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In that case, if you don't mind posting a link to their auctions, I will add them to my list of known sellers of counterfeit coins. If that is not something you want to do, that is fine also.

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On 9/9/2020 at 4:16 PM, VKurtB said:

I do wish more people would agree to be more actively aggressive with these sites and listings. It really hurts the hobby.

The OP messaged the seller's ID to me, and I added it to my list.

Edited by Just Bob
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I am dissatisfied with the responses evoked by Joshua22855's query.  This is not the secret life of Walter Mitty we're talking about here.  What's been suggested amounts to little more than putting a scammer on a Do Not Call Registry -- knowing full well the name, number and address will be changed, and the egregious conduct will continue, unabated.

I characterize the responses for what they really are: nothing more than an ineffective feel-good measure that  seemingly "addresses" the matter, while doing nothing to eradicate it.

"So what do you suggest?"

Ideally, I like the approach exemplified by the police dispatcher in the 1980 film: "The use of unnecessary violence in the apprehension of the "Blues Brothers," has been approved."  Unfortunately, that is not an option.

Second up, John Walsh -- or Dr. Phil, who promises to hunt scammers down, smoke them out, expose them publicly to embarrassment, accountability, and worse.

Spraying cockroaches and cajoling them to move along is too passive. I don't knock lists, but something stronger than a band-aid approach is called for.  I do not like to criticize without offering a solution but let's not pretend calling 311 to report a no heat, no hot water-problem is going to resolve the complaint.

(Note:  I will try to come up with a suitable alternative; in the meantime, my wife is waiting very patiently for me to return her phone.)

 

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1 hour ago, Joshua22855 said:

It is definitely discouraging, the very first coin I buy for myself turned out to be a scammer. What a shame these people do this.

The 1909-S V.D.B. also happened to be the very first coin I bought in 1967, or thereabouts, from Stack's, in Brilliant Uncirculated condition, with exceptional eye appeal and original mint lustre, for the then princely sum of $200. (My salary as a part-time delivery boy was $1.25/hr. + tips.)  This is why your story struck a chord within me. Now I'm going to have to come up with a solution...

One final note... though I have not seen this mentioned elsewhere, I suspect some incidences of counterfeit scams are attempts on the part of unwitting victims to palm their losses off onto unsuspecting buyers in a misguided attempt to recover their losses, much like passing a bill one knows to be counterfeit which would otherwise be confiscated and forwarded to the USSS DHS (though this practice on the part of shopkeepers and the government is no longer assiduously followed.)  This does not excuse the conduct.  I note it here as another motivational factor to consider.

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17 hours ago, Joshua22855 said:

It is definitely discouraging, the very first coin I buy for myself turned out to be a scammer. What a shame these people do this.

There are books you can buy on counterfeit detection, as well as websites you can read. If it's any solace at all, we all have to deal with this and most of us have been torched at some point. But here is the early warning system and you should always heed it even if you proceed: if it seems too cheap, it's probably fake. The better the deal looks, the more closely it deserves scrutiny. While it may sound simple, it's one thing to make an intellectual acceptance of this reality; it's another to embed it in your practical reality. It's the difference between knowing it would be best to chew with one's mouth closed, and actually developing the habit of chewing with one's mouth closed. That's where to start, because that will tell you when to get suspicious.

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5 hours ago, Joshua22855 said:

Yeah I mailed it back, got refunded, and I see the seller posted it again on mecari.

Yep, this hobby is loaded to the gills with highly unethical characters. Actually, lots are real criminals. Now knowing it is a fake, he is one. A criminal.

Edited by VKurtB
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