I thought it would be a great idea to make a series of rather dumb things regarding numismatics. I‘ll start off with this review of an Amazon coin bag:
For some reason, this amazon reviewer gave the bag a 1 star rating because he believed that the coin found in the bag (N#1574 ) is a fake; it has two countries on each side! One side is Canadian, because it features the Queen, and the other side is from Hong Kong, because it says “Hong Kong" on that side. Because the coin has a queen on it, that 10 cent Hong Kong coin must be fake because totally no other country other than Canada should have Queen Elizabeth II on one side of the coin! Based on his logic, that means all of my coins from the UK, Australia, and other British commonwealth nations are fake because the other sides of those coins use a portrait of the Queen, just like Canadian coins!
Please continue this thread with other examples of illogical numismatics!
my coworker has a change dish on his workstation, and I spied a few steel pennies. I asked if I could buy them from him and he said “Nah dude, take them. They aren't real anyway” I tried explaining that they were real but he said he didnt care, so I took them. Likewise my mother gave me a few bicentennial quarters because she thought they were fake too.
Not so much a specific example, but who else gets sick of online auctions that say “Rear” in place of the word “Rare”. Bad spelling and grammar always stand out with clueless spammer and scammer listings.
Example - Super rear errer coin - 1971 British 2 peence, with REAR “New pence” error, very rear coin only £4,999.99 plus POSTAGE and Papackaging only £139.99 (2nd classe letta).
Or people who have no clue what something is
Bank errer, 1943 cent that is not brown, some kind of weird grey metal, rear only $8,00000.00
The ones who claim their common penny is extremely rare as they saw one on Ebay or the “Interweb” for $7,000,000.00 and theirs is the same, It will either be another clueless seller or some title of a webpage about a one off variety.
I try never to buy off anyone with no numismatic knowledge, I am not saying you have to be a expert, but at least know what you are trying to sell.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Here is another example I have encountered: Sometimes people would call the aluminum coins such as the Japanese 1 Yen coins “plastic” coins, because they virtually weigh nothing.
Bad spelling and grammar always stand out with clueless spammer and scammer listings.
I have found this pattern to match the “flash-in-the-pan” collector who stumbles across a post-mint damaged coin & wants to know "how much this aireur's wurth?"
As a collector of paper money, I always find titles/headings like “consecutive notes in mint condition” a red flag. First, banknotes are issued in consecutive order (unless check-sum Euros) & they were printed (not minted). If someone's describing them as “mint” you know they're in AU at best.
I think bank-teller stamps (& chop marks) on notes as “print errors” also must be the #2 common misguided statement seen on social media. Or perhaps its "miscut notes" for poorly centred designs?
Medal was for sale on an auction site, description was; “Likely a replica due to the weight and silver content.”
I bought it - a few weeks ago. Hard to say no to 2.46 oz of 999 silver!
"EVERY COIN IS CLEANED. CLEANING, THEREFORE, IS ALWAYS A MATTER OF DEGREE.
If you send a "dirty" coin into a grading service to be "conserved" and let them do the "conserving" they will charge you for their work CLEANING the coin ..."
Here’s another: There is a popular video on YouTube where a guy goes magnet fishing and finds a hoard of magnetic coins, mostly euro cents and modern Russian coins. Sure, the video could be staged, but the dumb bit is that everyone in the comment section seems to not believe that copper/nickel/brass-plated coins exist, as they mock that no coin can stick to magnets.
A) Reddit Posters (RP) requests how to buy cheap hyperinflation currency “any condition” (that's just like throwing good money after bad).
B) RP post long-shots of super low-valued hyperinflation notes: seeking info on how much these are worth. Also there's plenty of subs re: notes found in parking lots, attics, basements, the cat litter box, etc (& they are barely recognizable) then they're nothing to retire on.
C) RP who do the above & seek advice from other “reddit” users about collecting (these people will seldom check out a collector's site like Numista but only collect from RP opinions found on their phones). Most RP authoritieswho are 1st to offer advice (& downvote dissenters) collect from circulation exclusively (& get their “expertese” from their phones).
D) RP who see an old note, often from inherited collections, comment “Get it graded” no matter the condition, context of sub's request for info
E) the funniest are the RP who post solid radars, super rare QEII notes from Rhodesia or coveted US Large Size notes “found in a book from the thrift store” (I love these!) Definite clickbait
To find an example I simply looked for ‘Chinese coin’ and ‘Arabia coin’ on eBay. I found these:
Besides coins I love geometry. The avatar consists of each of the 35 hexominoes used precisely once. With the 5 large yellow shapes placed like this, the solution for tiling the remaining 30 hexominoes is unique.
The response to the ‘Chinese’ coins put a big smile on my face, so I dug up some other brilliant offers.
I found a listing for a rare coin, a darling lady from Darlington UK offers a 1982 20 p. for just 100 pounds, 3 added it to their watch list! Then someone from Miami who cannot count welcomes you to buy 7 extremely rare coins for $150, with eBay mentioning that 7 people viewed this offer in the past 24 hours.
Also I found some interesting UNC offers, a nice error coin from Pakistan with the seller holding it with his fingers and a silver UNC Canadian 25 cents coin sold from Falls Church, Virginia. That coin obviously is in a virgin state! 😉
Besides coins I love geometry. The avatar consists of each of the 35 hexominoes used precisely once. With the 5 large yellow shapes placed like this, the solution for tiling the remaining 30 hexominoes is unique.
Incalculable value - It calculates to 48 cents, despite the rusty/dirty quarter.
Virgin 25c coin - no comment as its worn down to about Good or basal condition.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
They also came up with this explanation of how the ancient people couldn’t have coins. The only reason they had was that they didn’t have a method to strike the coin.
It has been a long time since anyone has posted on this thread. To break this long silence, I have yet another Amazon review that again is about “fake” “plastic” aluminum coins:
Incalculable value - It calculates to 48 cents, despite the rusty/dirty quarter.
Virgin 25c coin - no comment as its worn down to about Good or basal condition.
Forgot to answer this one, I must have been busy when I saw your reply. With ‘virgin state’ I refered to the coin being located in the State of Virginia.
Besides coins I love geometry. The avatar consists of each of the 35 hexominoes used precisely once. With the 5 large yellow shapes placed like this, the solution for tiling the remaining 30 hexominoes is unique.
It has been a long time since anyone has posted on this thread. To break this long silence, I have yet another Amazon review that again is about “fake” “plastic” aluminum coins:
Looks like the buyer complained about getting ripped off by someone selling uncirculated junk… Ashame the title of the original listing isn't shown.
Besides coins I love geometry. The avatar consists of each of the 35 hexominoes used precisely once. With the 5 large yellow shapes placed like this, the solution for tiling the remaining 30 hexominoes is unique.
Anyone interested in 19 antique (meaning at least 100 years old) 1 Bamboo coins from Asia? You may even get about 30 of them when you get all the coins on the picture!
Besides coins I love geometry. The avatar consists of each of the 35 hexominoes used precisely once. With the 5 large yellow shapes placed like this, the solution for tiling the remaining 30 hexominoes is unique.
It has been a long time since anyone has posted on this thread. To break this long silence, I have yet another Amazon review that again is about “fake” “plastic” aluminum coins:
Looks like the buyer complained about getting ripped off by someone selling uncirculated junk… Ashame the title of the original listing isn't shown.
You can find the original listing on amazon called “50 coins from 50 countries - MINT!” or something like that. It is also funny that for a coin like the Indonesian 25 rupiah coin pictured, the reviewer thinks it is “desirable” enough that it is somehow easily faked, as seen from the last sentence of the review.
Somehow these people do not believe that aluminum coins exist.
It has been a long time since anyone has posted on this thread. To break this long silence, I have yet another Amazon review that again is about “fake” “plastic” aluminum coins:
Looks like the buyer complained about getting ripped off by someone selling uncirculated junk… Ashame the title of the original listing isn't shown.
You can find the original listing on amazon called “50 coins from 50 countries - MINT!” or something like that. It is also funny that for a coin like the Indonesian 25 rupiah coin pictured, the reviewer thinks it is “desirable” enough that it is somehow easily faked, as seen from the last sentence of the review.
Somehow these people do not believe that aluminum coins exist.
Ah, right, the coin on the picture you shared shows up so tiny and blurry that I couldn't even make out it was a circulation coin. So on the image you shared it actually looks like an UNC Indonesian aluminium coin? Jeez…
Besides coins I love geometry. The avatar consists of each of the 35 hexominoes used precisely once. With the 5 large yellow shapes placed like this, the solution for tiling the remaining 30 hexominoes is unique.
It has been a long time since anyone has posted on this thread. To break this long silence, I have yet another Amazon review that again is about “fake” “plastic” aluminum coins:
Looks like the buyer complained about getting ripped off by someone selling uncirculated junk… Ashame the title of the original listing isn't shown.
You can find the original listing on amazon called “50 coins from 50 countries - MINT!” or something like that. It is also funny that for a coin like the Indonesian 25 rupiah coin pictured, the reviewer thinks it is “desirable” enough that it is somehow easily faked, as seen from the last sentence of the review.
Somehow these people do not believe that aluminum coins exist.
Ah, right, the coin on the picture you shared shows up so tiny and blurry that I couldn't even make out it was a circulation coin. So on the image you shared it actually looks like an UNC Indonesian aluminium coin? Jeez…
I actually did buy the coin lot a few years ago – in fact it is actually the very thing that got me back to numismatics. And yes, all the coins were real uncirculated coins, mostly of little or no value. Mostly worthless aluminum coins like the Indonesian coin, a few shiny 1 euro cent coins, and some low value African coins.
It has been a long time since anyone has posted on this thread. To break this long silence, I have yet another Amazon review that again is about “fake” “plastic” aluminum coins:
Looks like the buyer complained about getting ripped off by someone selling uncirculated junk… Ashame the title of the original listing isn't shown.
You can find the original listing on amazon called “50 coins from 50 countries - MINT!” or something like that. It is also funny that for a coin like the Indonesian 25 rupiah coin pictured, the reviewer thinks it is “desirable” enough that it is somehow easily faked, as seen from the last sentence of the review.
Somehow these people do not believe that aluminum coins exist.
Ah, right, the coin on the picture you shared shows up so tiny and blurry that I couldn't even make out it was a circulation coin. So on the image you shared it actually looks like an UNC Indonesian aluminium coin? Jeez…
I actually did buy the coin lot a few years ago – in fact it is actually the very thing that got me back to numismatics. And yes, all the coins were real uncirculated coins, mostly of little or no value. Mostly worthless aluminum coins like the Indonesian coin, a few shiny 1 euro cent coins, and some low value African coins.
That is actually a fun fresh start, 50 coins from 50 countries. What happened with your previous collection, assuming you had one?
Besides coins I love geometry. The avatar consists of each of the 35 hexominoes used precisely once. With the 5 large yellow shapes placed like this, the solution for tiling the remaining 30 hexominoes is unique.
It has been a long time since anyone has posted on this thread. To break this long silence, I have yet another Amazon review that again is about “fake” “plastic” aluminum coins:
Looks like the buyer complained about getting ripped off by someone selling uncirculated junk… Ashame the title of the original listing isn't shown.
You can find the original listing on amazon called “50 coins from 50 countries - MINT!” or something like that. It is also funny that for a coin like the Indonesian 25 rupiah coin pictured, the reviewer thinks it is “desirable” enough that it is somehow easily faked, as seen from the last sentence of the review.
Somehow these people do not believe that aluminum coins exist.
Ah, right, the coin on the picture you shared shows up so tiny and blurry that I couldn't even make out it was a circulation coin. So on the image you shared it actually looks like an UNC Indonesian aluminium coin? Jeez…
I actually did buy the coin lot a few years ago – in fact it is actually the very thing that got me back to numismatics. And yes, all the coins were real uncirculated coins, mostly of little or no value. Mostly worthless aluminum coins like the Indonesian coin, a few shiny 1 euro cent coins, and some low value African coins.
That is actually a fun fresh start, 50 coins from 50 countries. What happened with your previous collection, assuming you had one?
I still have most of my collection (types that is) since 2017 when I started. I never gave any of them away other than the duplicate coins I have now swapped. That coin lot is what restarted my coin collecting hobby. If I can recall, by the time I got that coin lot, I had about 700(?) coin types. A few years later, I have nearly tripled to 2700 coin types!
Not sure if this is a good price, but that 50 coin lot sells for $20 USD on Amazon.
I have to admit, I do sometimes like people who have no idea what they're selling and have awful grammar…
So long as they start cheap.
I've had quite a few bargains like that over the years. Oftentimes as the only bidder.
When I was collecting silver 1oz Britannias before prices went cuckoo, I got 2 of the limited edition variants for fractionally less than the standard issue.
I have to admit, I do sometimes like people who have no idea what they're selling and have awful grammar…
So long as they start cheap.
I've had quite a few bargains like that over the years. Oftentimes as the only bidder.
When I was collecting silver 1oz Britannias before prices went cuckoo, I got 2 of the limited edition variants for fractionally less than the standard issue.
“Silver Britunia” or something like that. 🤷♂️
Me too!
It is not numismatic, but 5 years ago on ebay, I once saw someone sell a rare Seeburg jukebox record for a very low price of $12 USD, selling it as a regular 78 rpm record. Keep in mind that even individual discs of that jukebox would sell at a high premium, and it is very rare to come across such a low price. Sadly i never bought that record.
Ha, I bought an exceptionally rare book like that. In a forum thing, a guy had been tracking sales of this book for ~25 years. The Broons book 1941.
He was only aware of 4 sales compromised of only 3 books (one being sold twice). The cheapest was something like £1,700. Often makes local level Scottish news when coming up for sale.
My copy (hitherto not known to exist, making it only the 4th known copy in private hands), admittedly missing covers, was £6.30 including the £2.30 postage.
I would've easily & frankly happily been in the running up to ~£1,000 mark without batting an eye. Possibly even a few hundred more.
But £5-£10 range, that's the price modern annuals trade at so someone put up the old battered one at a buy it now price.
Other than covers, it is complete 😄
I genuinely almost contacted them to ask for premium postage but thought that might give the rarity away. 😅 So had to trust in untracked Royal Mail 2nd class postage. 😬
Ha, I bought an exceptionally rare book like that. In a forum thing, a guy had been tracking sales of this book for ~25 years. The Broons book 1941.
He was only aware of 4 sales compromised of only 3 books (one being sold twice). The cheapest was something like £1,700. Often makes local level Scottish news when coming up for sale.
My copy (hitherto not known to exist, making it only the 4th known copy in private hands), admittedly missing covers, was £6.30 including the £2.30 postage.
I would've easily & frankly happily been in the running up to ~£1,000 mark without batting an eye. Possibly even a few hundred more.
But £5-£10 range, that's the price modern annuals trade at so someone put up the old battered one at a buy it now price.
Other than covers, it is complete 😄
I genuinely almost contacted them to ask for premium postage but thought that might give the rarity away. 😅 So had to trust in untracked Royal Mail 2nd class postage. 😬
Amazing stuff. Still some bargains to be had online nonetheless. I've had such buys myself and waited anxiously for it to arrive. Reminds me of the old days of bargains on the carboot sales finding EEC 1992/3 50ps and royal mint packaged coins for face value around 2007. Not so frequent nowadays with the hype and commercialisation of our hobby but online selling does make it easier for us to find things either way. Sometimes people just want to get rid of clutter and auction sites are the easiest way for them to go about it. A family member collects the Guinness book of records and has almost every year apart from a few and online selling has made it easier to complete the collection.
