Counterfeits on Ebay: Check both sides of the coin

Among all the collectible items you might want to diversify your investment portfolio with, rare coins offer the most potential for profit, as there are more wealthy coin collectors than there are say, collectors of stamps, baseball cards, comic books or just about anything else.

Sadly, counterfeiters have figured this out too. A simple search on eBay and a few online auction sites show that it's common for rare coins to attract bids of $1,000 or more - and that means huge profits for those who can pass off counterfeits bought for a few dollars as the real thing.

Neal Shymko, a coin collector in Edmonton, logged on to eBay in February and spotted a package of 15 Canadian 50¢ pieces being offered by a Quebec-based seller. Twelve of the 15 coins were of so little value their combined worth would be about $50, Mr. Shymko says, but three coins, from 1888, 1890 and 1894, were noteworthy, and he won the package with a $4,000 bid, then paid with a money order.

The coins arrived soon enough. After a quick glance showed they were indeed old 50¢ coins, Mr. Shymko logged on to eBay and gave the seller positive feedback - a favourable review of the transaction, a move he later regretted, since eBay does not allow changes.

Mr. Shymko says he grew suspicious about the three high-end coins when he . . .

Full story from: Link