When Bargan hunting on E-bay there are some good deals, and some people will try to apeal to your greedy side and trick you into buying counterfits. "Let the buyer Beware" this is the first latin phrase I ever learned in latin, and also the first latin phrase I forgot. I always remebered the english translation though.

Here is a list of a few commonly counterfited coins.

Draped Bust Dollars: 1796, 1804

Trade Dollars: 1799 CC, 1876,1885,

Seated Liberty : 1862

Morgans: 1885,1885 O, 1885 Morgan Trade Dollar, 1894 O

Peace Dollars : 1922, 1924.

This isn't an inclusive list, there are many more, but if you are contemplating these coins dig a little deeper into your purchase. Find out the weight and dimensions of the exact coin you are considering, compare its picture to an authentic coin, at the very least.

Will a slabed and graded coin protect me ? Well I found a number of coins on e-bay in a slabs and graded by a coin grading service I never heard of. The best coin grading services are PCGS, NGC, and ANACS.

The following is a list of services and their over all grade as reported by the PROFESSIONAL  NUMENISTMATISTS GUILD OR PNG on their web page.

PCGS, NGC- SUPERIOR

ANACS, ICG - AVERAGE

PCI, SEGS - POOR

ACG, NTC,  UNACCEPTABLE

ANY OTHER GRADING SERVICE FOR U.S. COINS WASN'T RECONIZED.

I HAVE BOUGHT COINS FROM OTHER GRADING SERVICES ON E-BAY THAT WERE GROSSLY OVER GRADED  WCG IS ONE THAT IMMEDIATLY SPRINGS TO MY MIND. IF THE COIN COMES IN AN OPENABLE SLAB, OR AN OPENABLE SLAB SEALED IN PLASTIC YOU HAVE JUST BEEN DUPED.

I have noticed some sellers grading their coins themselves. For ungraded unslabbed coins my rule of thumb is to drop at least 2 categories in value. If they say the coin is MS, it is probably AU etc.