My wife Pauline and I, with son's Sebastien and Nicolas enjoying a hot summer afternoon camping at Fundy Park, N.B., summer~2007.

          This article is intended to educate the coin collector about the very rare scenario of encountering a counterfeit coin, this possibly is further reduced when buying from a safe place like E-bay, however, it is good to keep the following in mind as a matter of prudence and this will preclude any chance of it happening to you. The best prevention is knowing how to tell if a seller you intend to buy from is someone who you should be wary about. The following are valuable tips which I have gleaned from many years of buying and selling on E-bay. 

         The tell tale signs are that the sellers are always from a foreign land: China, Japan, India, U.K., Korea, Taiwan, etc. they tend to be new to E-bay, they have several negatives on their Feedback from buyers stating coins received are fakes, they tend to hide the buyers / bidders identity during auction, coins listed are the rarest found in the numismatic field and the coins have the appearance of being made of lead.

           If the coin you have purchased is RAW (uncertified) and you suspect it may be counterfeit, the best and simplest way to determine it's authenticity is to weigh it. To determine what the weight is of a Canadian decimal coin, go to the latest 62nd Edition of A Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins. At the beginning of each decimal Era the entire description of the coin's composition will be laid out in detail. This will include the designer / engraver's name, coin's composition, weight, diameter, edge, and die axis. 

           The best way to avoid being a victim of these scams is to always check the sellers feedback. Feedback is a sellers credability and if it's hidden (private), you must be suspicious of his past dealings. Generally speaking the best way to determine future behaviour is by observing past behaviour. Another must to remember, "if it seems to good to be true it usually is". How many times have you heard this statement in the past? I'm sure all of us have countless times, then why not live by this golden rule. If you see a Canada, 1921, VF-20 nickel for sale at 5 cent start with no reserve, start asking questions???  

           By challenging, boycotting and reporting these bad sellers to E-bay authorities, I believe we can make a difference in keeping the integrity of our hobby intact.

             Also keep in mind that 99.99% of E-bay coin dealers are decent people with good motifs, what I'm only referring to are an extremely small percentile of sellers that are not often on E-bay, however, they do turn up every now and then. E-bay security does an overall good job in weeding them out. If you know the "indicators" on what I've mentioned above, you can avoid being a victim.

(please scroll down to the bottom of the page and cast a vote.)

                     Glenn Pinto (a.k.a. @ E-bay I.D. : glenzy1)