Independent eBay Dealer Rating in Coins: Ancient > China

Real cash coins are plentiful.
Don't buy fakes!
These are REAL.

I have been using for some years a website put up by Lars Bo of Denmark which takes in hand the issue of eBay dealers of Chinese coins, separating the legitimate from those that sell fakes. His website, eBay Dealers and More, is linked in the side panel of this blog, but I wanted to do a complementary page of my own, based on current conditions, and with my own remarks and advices.

Using the list of dealers listing auctions today, and supplementing that with a few that were not up today, I want to provide the following breakdown of eBay dealers. This breakdown is based on my own dealing with the eBay sellers in question, my experience with them, in the case of those who sell authentic coins. I have not dealt with any of the dealers of fakes except on a couple of occasions when I wanted to obtain a very high quality (deceptive) copy of a rare coin to be used in an educational setting. My reference collection is, as far as it is in my power and luck, composed of only authentic pieces, with a handful of marked copies (fakes). I will point out who are the purveyors of the best fakes, if that weren’t already obvious. I am only listing dealers that sell cash coins, with one or two exceptions as marked. The list is not intended to be exhaustive. I don't know if and when I will update it.

Authentic Cash Coins
Click an image to zoom full size


1st Class – Dealers with 99% or higher of authentic coins
asean_coins_wholesaler (812) – No problems ever

coinsxzh (1955) – No problems ever
dong_hua_zhai (1162) – No problems ever

i_am_dp (825) – Miscellaneous world and Chinese, some cash

javaman691 (7840) – Cash coins and coins used in Indonesia
jimfarr3 ( 5499) – Cash coins and general Asian coins
leoeric66 ( 1059) – Chinese and Asian struck coinage
lindascoin ( 4499) – Cash as well as most other types, ancient and modern; some reports of fakes have been forwarded to me in this dealer’s vast offerings, but nothing I have bought has ever been anything but genuine
wattwat ( 6714) – No problems ever, most reliable and consistent
xiangxiangkafeizha ( 1783) – No problems, good source of bulk cash

2nd Class – Dealers that seem to sell only authentic coins
(I have not dealt with them, only reviewed their listings)
amunre ( 18545)
beeman6 ( 865)
caz-10 ( 9327)
cfancients ( 3366) – Real coins, but ignorant and misidentified
chinese-ancient-coin (1404) – Real coins, but cash coins look cleaned or processed
cmy99 ( 296)
dadandtam ( 1735)
darrellschweitzer_pa ( 6748)
dcdnyc7bqi ( 517)
evalmedi ( 568)
forumancientcoins ( 2653) - Not usually cash coins
gdsto3982 ( 424) – Real, but not cash coins
godwinhs ( 59)
houte6154 ( 25)
its2latebaby ( 886)
joeperadua ( 1900) – Real, but overpriced and junk
joethecoinguy ( 1729) – Real coins presented in souvenir cards
kyfd175 ( 71) – Real gold coins (modern) in jewelry mounts
larsbo_c ( 512) – His webpage is Ancient Chinese Coins

loveslave64 ( 200) – Real, but misidentified and junk
mindsimk ( 353) – Real, but ignorant and misidentified
plhantiques ( 588) – Real, but grossly overpriced
pmgant ( 13267)
prophetconsulting ( 346)
qazw69 ( 8 ) – Real coins, but in the wrong category
quanchengqianwang ( 718) – Probably only authentic coins
sheree987 ( 3127)
shuvanhi ( 450) – Real, but overpriced
thimblemill ( 8498)
tomtangmu ( 324) – Probably only authentic coins
tookieb1rd ( 56)
wanitold50 ( 144)
yrf0420 ( 4264) – Probably only authentic coins

3rd Class – Dealers who sell authentic coins mixed with fakes
artifactsuk ( 2227) – Fakes and remisidentified and overpriced
coin.papermoney ( 22) – Fakes mixed with authentic cheap Northern Song cash
xianfeng-baby ( 45) – Most cash are real, but some are very deceptive fakes

All Silver Cash Coins on eBay are Fakes!

The coins pictured below are cast in silver. No cash coins have ever been cast in silver for general circulation. The selection below purports to be from all time periods, but all are modern fantasies.

Typical fake Chinese Cash in eBay Auctions
Click the images to zoom full size.

4th Class – Dealers in fake cash, medallic coins and off-metal fantasies
*heyu ( 1344)
777.store ( 2967)
8sources ( 1563) - Lots of fake antiquities, some fake cash
a_coin_china ( 1079) - Better quality fakes
b-u-n-k-e-r ( 3935) – Fake, poorly copied silver dollars – from Israel!
baiduyong2010 ( 57) – Fake, silver art plaques
bluerinco ( 6970) – Souvenir shop material, fake but obvious
bruce.li.shop ( 174)
china-sian ( 429)
cultural-art-china ( 1746) – Big time fake products of all types
emperor-treasure ( 98)
fangkongtian ( 815) – The best quality, artistic, fakes of real and imaginary coins
ganggang_yuan520 ( 376) – Souvenir shop with some real-looking fakes
honesty-stone ( 34)
jinbiaoyaya ( 133) - Lower quality fake cash
lr_2000 ( 1293) – Currently into fake gold coins! (Perhaps the gold is real?)
luckybaby201019 ( 682)
luckyjewelrystore ( 3143) – Fake coins for jewelry
lulutong8 ( 1121) – Fake silver dollars
memory135 ( 103)
milangubi2006 ( 2191) – Large supplier of fake cash of varied quality
mylkkfel ( 72)
oldart* ( 758) – Big time fake products of all types
promise-is-debt ( 213) – Fake silver plates (decorative)
qianbitiantang88 ( 245) - Some high quality cash, but always fake
rww2009 ( 1 )
shenwen030988 ( 88)
source4you ( 138)
sourcebox ( 388)
stonestore88 ( 1758) – Fakes, source of zodiac medallions, not a fake cash dealer
whchensheng888 ( 161) – Fakes, but not cash
whcwb1231 ( 165) – Fakes, more of those silver “screens” or plates
wood.wood ( 90) – Nothing to do with cash, source of carvings, in wrong category
xia_lan72 ( 708) – Fake cash and other coins
yanhui598168 ( 61)

There are other dealers that did not have anything up for auction today that I have missed, both on the side of authentic coins and fakes. In the list of dealers of real cash coins, many are one-time listers, private individuals who have found some cash coins in a drawer or box and want to see what they can get for them. They're harmless and will disappear as soon as they’ve made a sale.

What is my purpose in publishing this information?
Am I out to identify and punish the dealers in fake coins?
Well, identify, yes; punish, no. I am not going to sit in judgment on them, as from their point of view, many of them would not see what they are doing as wrong. They are, in fact, making available many rare pieces as very high quality replicas. Their mistake, from a Westerner’s viewpoint, is that they are not marketing them as fakes. If I was a wealthy man, I would even like to collect the rare pieces being offered as well-executed copies by, for example, fangkongtian. At least I could display them openly in my public rooms and not have to keep them in a safe. It’s all a matter of one’s sensibilities about history, art and authenticity.

My purpose in publishing is also to alert any collectors who are not experienced enough to be able to differentiate real from fake Chinese cash to gain some knowledge. It is also alarming to me that vast quantities of fake Chinese coins are flooding the world market and will continue to plague and deceive the unwary for possibly generations to come, but let's hope not.