( 
)
#12 SOUTH AFRICAN GOLD KRUGERRAND 22K GOLD BULLION COIN
This was the title of an eBay auction listing we happened to notice.
Nothing wrong with that, you might think, until you read on...
WITH GOLD PRICE ABOUT $1,000 DOLLARS PER OUNCE IT IS WISE TO INVEST AND COLLECT GOLD. UP FOR SALE ONE SOUTH AFRICAN GOLD KRUGERRAND SIZED IS 10 MM AND WEIGHT ABOUT 1 GRAM IN MINT CONDITION.
Our flat worldwide shipping and handling rate is $4.99 for the first item and only $2.99 per each additional item. We combine shipping for $2.99 each additional item after the first one within 10 days.
Don't forget to check our other great items! Thank you and have a nice day!
The buyer has 7 days to return the item (the buyer pays shipping fees). The item will be refunded.
Listed in category: Coins & Paper Money : Coins: World : Gold
What's Wrong?
Well, just about everything actually.
Firstly, the reason we noticed this listing is because it uses our own very recognisable photographs of Krugerrands, obverse and reverse.
Then the vendor goes on to tell you that with gold going up, it is wise to invest and collect gold, leading the potential buyer to believe that the offer is for an investment, and using the typical scamster's technique of buttering up the "mark", by telling him what t clever fellow he is.
Next, it is not a listing for a Krugerrand. When you read the small print, the gold Krugerrand is only 10 millimetres (real ones are 37 mms, and even the 1/10th ounce are 16.5 mms.
And the weight...
Real Krugerrands weigh 33.93 grams, and again even the tenth ounce ones eight 3.393 grams, not 1 gram. Even the pathetic one gram weight is not guaranteed to be accurate, rather the opposite as the vendor states "About 1 gram", so it's probably a touch on the light side.
Real Photographs - Fake Coins
The reason we notice this listing in the first place, is that the vendor was using our photographs of real Krugerrands, instead of his own crap "coins", which is deceptive, and he was of course using them without our permission, which we would not have granted, even if he had offered to pay. We object to having our photographs used to cheat people.
We have already sent eBay one of our standard "Notice of Claimed Infringement - Statutory Declaration" forms, and we have no doubt they will
remove the 3 listings in a few days when they get round to it.
In Other Words...
In other words, what is on offer is a fake, imitation, con, scam, or whatever else you prefer to call it, but the vendor has not got the honesty to tell you this. His entire wording is typical of many similar listings we see on eBay, telling you just enough to act as a "get out of jail free" card, so when buyer's complain, he can point out the weight and size, the buyer will go "doh!" and think it was his own fault for not reading the description properly, or else feeling too stupid and embarrassed to complain, which lead us to...
100% Positive Feedback???
Like a lot of other crooks, this vendor has got 100% positive feedback. At the we wrote this,. he had 280 feedback received, 189 Positives, 1 Neutral, and 0 Negatives. We see ti, but just don't believe that somebody selling such crap, with such a deceptive approach, can manage not to get dozens of negatives. Perhaps he only gives Positives after the buyer gives his.
Wrong Category
The items (the offer was repeated, we saw 3 in total) were all in an incorrect category, listed under Coins: World : Gold
It certainly is not a coin, it might not even be gold, and it should be listed under Exonumia or Coins: Other & Novelty, although when we looked for suitable categories, it was not easy to find them (it depends which of the eBay national sites you look on). Perhaps eBay ought to have a category specifically for Imitation Coins.
More...
The same vendor also has...
#24 SF 1850 CALIFORNIA GOLD FRACTIONAL EAGLE BULLION NR
Item # 120243847564
Listed under category Coins: US : Commemorative : Early
Guess what, these are not real either:
One Bullion minted by San Francisco Baldwin & Company marked with a "EAGLE", "GOLD WITHOUT ALLOY" , "1850", "CALIFORNIA GOLD" and "SAN FRANCISCO". They were minted by San Francisco Baldwin & Company (sons of Baldwin) in 1899 to celebrate 50 years of California gold fewer in 1849 - 1850. The bullion is about modern US dollar size. The bullion is in fine condition. Minted from copper or copper alloy and heavily plated by 24K solid gold. Unlike modern, technology over 100 years old required to use large amounts of gold for plating, so on some gold testers will test as solid gold, but to avoid confusion - the core material is copper or its alloy. Very rare California commemorative bullion minted over 100 years ago - only several rolls of these coins were minted in San Francisco by Baldwin & Company to celebrate 50 year anniversary of California gold fever. I got only one roll and selling them one by one.
At least he is being honest stating that they are gold plated, but why not state clearly "Imitation", perhaps in the item title, which at least would stop wasting people's time.
Name & Shame
I'm not sure whether eBay permit or encourage members to be named in these guides, but I can't see why not, as long as the review is fair, accurate, and in the public interest, but this vendor currently trades as izuminka1976.
Update
While we were writing this guide, we noticed:
The seller ended this listing early because the item is no longer available for sale. (one 1 listing).
The seller ended this listing early because of an error in the listing. (on the other 2 listings)
Maybe somebody complained already!
Other Guides
You may be interested in viewing our other guides, here is a small selection:-
$1.2 Million of Krugerrands @ 10% Under Spot - Scam?
Gold Sovereigns - History Information & Specifications
This guide was written by Lawrence Chard, of Chard Coins.
We hope you find it interesting or useful. If so, please take a few seconds to click on the "Yes" button below. Only click on the "No" button if you are a crook!
This was the title of an eBay auction listing we happened to notice.
Nothing wrong with that, you might think, until you read on...
WITH GOLD PRICE ABOUT $1,000 DOLLARS PER OUNCE IT IS WISE TO INVEST AND COLLECT GOLD. UP FOR SALE ONE SOUTH AFRICAN GOLD KRUGERRAND SIZED IS 10 MM AND WEIGHT ABOUT 1 GRAM IN MINT CONDITION.
Our flat worldwide shipping and handling rate is $4.99 for the first item and only $2.99 per each additional item. We combine shipping for $2.99 each additional item after the first one within 10 days.
Don't forget to check our other great items! Thank you and have a nice day!
The buyer has 7 days to return the item (the buyer pays shipping fees). The item will be refunded.
Listed in category: Coins & Paper Money : Coins: World : Gold
What's Wrong?
Well, just about everything actually.
Firstly, the reason we noticed this listing is because it uses our own very recognisable photographs of Krugerrands, obverse and reverse.
Then the vendor goes on to tell you that with gold going up, it is wise to invest and collect gold, leading the potential buyer to believe that the offer is for an investment, and using the typical scamster's technique of buttering up the "mark", by telling him what t clever fellow he is.
Next, it is not a listing for a Krugerrand. When you read the small print, the gold Krugerrand is only 10 millimetres (real ones are 37 mms, and even the 1/10th ounce are 16.5 mms.
And the weight...
Real Krugerrands weigh 33.93 grams, and again even the tenth ounce ones eight 3.393 grams, not 1 gram. Even the pathetic one gram weight is not guaranteed to be accurate, rather the opposite as the vendor states "About 1 gram", so it's probably a touch on the light side.
Real Photographs - Fake Coins
The reason we notice this listing in the first place, is that the vendor was using our photographs of real Krugerrands, instead of his own crap "coins", which is deceptive, and he was of course using them without our permission, which we would not have granted, even if he had offered to pay. We object to having our photographs used to cheat people.
We have already sent eBay one of our standard "Notice of Claimed Infringement - Statutory Declaration" forms, and we have no doubt they will
remove the 3 listings in a few days when they get round to it.
In Other Words...
In other words, what is on offer is a fake, imitation, con, scam, or whatever else you prefer to call it, but the vendor has not got the honesty to tell you this. His entire wording is typical of many similar listings we see on eBay, telling you just enough to act as a "get out of jail free" card, so when buyer's complain, he can point out the weight and size, the buyer will go "doh!" and think it was his own fault for not reading the description properly, or else feeling too stupid and embarrassed to complain, which lead us to...
100% Positive Feedback???
Like a lot of other crooks, this vendor has got 100% positive feedback. At the we wrote this,. he had 280 feedback received, 189 Positives, 1 Neutral, and 0 Negatives. We see ti, but just don't believe that somebody selling such crap, with such a deceptive approach, can manage not to get dozens of negatives. Perhaps he only gives Positives after the buyer gives his.
Wrong Category
The items (the offer was repeated, we saw 3 in total) were all in an incorrect category, listed under Coins: World : Gold
It certainly is not a coin, it might not even be gold, and it should be listed under Exonumia or Coins: Other & Novelty, although when we looked for suitable categories, it was not easy to find them (it depends which of the eBay national sites you look on). Perhaps eBay ought to have a category specifically for Imitation Coins.
More...
The same vendor also has...
#24 SF 1850 CALIFORNIA GOLD FRACTIONAL EAGLE BULLION NR
Item # 120243847564
Listed under category Coins: US : Commemorative : Early
Guess what, these are not real either:
One Bullion minted by San Francisco Baldwin & Company marked with a "EAGLE", "GOLD WITHOUT ALLOY" , "1850", "CALIFORNIA GOLD" and "SAN FRANCISCO". They were minted by San Francisco Baldwin & Company (sons of Baldwin) in 1899 to celebrate 50 years of California gold fewer in 1849 - 1850. The bullion is about modern US dollar size. The bullion is in fine condition. Minted from copper or copper alloy and heavily plated by 24K solid gold. Unlike modern, technology over 100 years old required to use large amounts of gold for plating, so on some gold testers will test as solid gold, but to avoid confusion - the core material is copper or its alloy. Very rare California commemorative bullion minted over 100 years ago - only several rolls of these coins were minted in San Francisco by Baldwin & Company to celebrate 50 year anniversary of California gold fever. I got only one roll and selling them one by one.
At least he is being honest stating that they are gold plated, but why not state clearly "Imitation", perhaps in the item title, which at least would stop wasting people's time.
Name & Shame
I'm not sure whether eBay permit or encourage members to be named in these guides, but I can't see why not, as long as the review is fair, accurate, and in the public interest, but this vendor currently trades as izuminka1976.
Update
While we were writing this guide, we noticed:
The seller ended this listing early because the item is no longer available for sale. (one 1 listing).
The seller ended this listing early because of an error in the listing. (on the other 2 listings)
Maybe somebody complained already!
Other Guides
You may be interested in viewing our other guides, here is a small selection:-
$1.2 Million of Krugerrands @ 10% Under Spot - Scam?
Gold Sovereigns - History Information & Specifications
Mints & Mintmarks on Gold Sovereigns - All Seven Mints
1780 Maria Theresa Silver Thaler Restrike Trade Coin
Krugerrand - One Ounce Investment Gold Coin
Buffalo - 9999 Fine Gold US Bullion Coin - 24 Karat Au
Pink Diamonds - One of Nature's Rarest Gemstones
Sniping - Is It Good Strategy or Tactics for Winning eBay Auctions?
£2 Two Pound Coins Queen with Necklace Rumour & Facts
Winning Auctions - Or Spending Money?
This guide was written by Lawrence Chard, of Chard Coins.
We hope you find it interesting or useful. If so, please take a few seconds to click on the "Yes" button below. Only click on the "No" button if you are a crook!
Guide created: 08/04/08 (updated 29/05/08)
Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our 
