Who needs eBay? Meet chancientcoins.com.

Go straight to the source!

If it's fake Chinese coins you need, whether cash coins, or struck coins, this company is probably the source of many of the fake coins on eBay that are sold by middlemen in China. Though I hate to discourage the petty entrepreneur by going around him, in this case I don't feel too bad. Besides, why limit yourself to what Zhou Shimou (Joe Schmo in Pinyin) has in his auction if it's not exactly what you're looking for. Take a look at this!

http://www.chancientcoins.com/

The prices can be pretty high, but if you are looking for that special 'space filler' copy of a coin you'd like to own for which you cannot find an authentic specimen, it might be worth it to look here. This company also has periodic 'sales' so it pays to visit on a regular basis if you're looking for something at a good price.

Looking at what appears on their welcome page, don't let those high prices dissuade you. They're just there to make it look like they're dealing in legitimate product, although if you know foreign coins, you'll notice right away that only the first piece, a replica 1847 British Gothic crown (called 'kroner' by these folks), is a copy of a real coin. The rest are fantasies.

The quality of these 'high end' replicas is sometimes very high, the Gothic crown, for example, and the Hei Lung Kiang dollar, both of which look really convincing, but then some others, even on this spendy page, are pure junk, like this Sungarei tael (spelled 'Teal' on the coin). I think I've seen this last piece somewhere on eBay starting at 99 cents.

I'm not sure that you couldn't talk them down on some of these prices if they thought you were a serious buyer. If that Gothic crown replica is real silver and that nice, I might pay $50 for it, as a replica, but no more. It probably isn't pure silver, though, and in that case, even $20 might be too much. As for their asking price of $500... good luck!

Spades and Early Round Coins (No Knife Coins!)

Looking at their cash coins, starting with the first category Shang-Zhou-Warring States they have some fairly authentic looking pieces, but I imagine in hand they would not look as authentic.The prices they're asking for these are still too high, even starting at $8 each. I'd pass on this section, unless I was really needy of some odd piece for maybe educational purposes. Many of these can be found as fake coins on eBay—and eBay should be so proud!

Qin, Han, and Xin (Wang Mang) 

I really had to laugh when I noticed a set of two different SILVER huo bu spades, at the low, low price of only $120 a set. Except for the ultra rare replicas, most of the stuff in this section you can buy as authentic pieces at prices very close to what they're asking. Does that mean that their pieces are authentic? Probably not. But it's fun to pretend, isn't it, otherwise they wouldn't be in business.

Three Kingdoms and Pre-Tang

The replicas (copies, fakes, all mean the same, they are modern-made) of the early cash coins before the Tang dynasty are an interesting group, still over-priced, I'm afraid.

A complete Northern Zhou set with that lovely 'hanging needle' calligraphy will cost you $30 if you're willing to pay it. If you are satisfied with just the crown of the set, the Yong Tong Wan Guo, you can get a nice copy of that coin for only $8.

Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasty Ten Kingdoms

Here the replicas are a mix of fairly decent and a few silly, and the price range is between $6 and $25, with most in the $8 to $12 range.

You can get a nice set of De Yi multiples, one with crescent above, the other below, for a mere $15. The patina on most of these pieces looks pretty real too. If you buy any of these, you'd better pull out the old bottle of white ink and your quill, so you can mark the pieces as 'COPY'.

Northern & Southern Song Dynasties

I almost didn't want to look here, because these are my favorite dynasties. Silver oversized replicas are for sale, along with roughly made large Da Guan charms, and other oddities. Again, the drop dead price per piece here is $6 for one coin, with $8 to $12 being more normal, and a few more expensive pieces, either because they are made of silver or for some other mysterious reason.

If you're silly enough to pay $35 for a badly fake-patinated set of value-1, 2, and 3 Daguan Tongbao (see image above), then I'm sure you deserve to have them. As for me, I am happy to own several dozen authentic cash of this reign title in sizes value-1 and value-10 in bronze, and value-3 in iron, along with one or two deplorable fakes which have come my way.

In Conclusion

I could continue down their list and review the other sections, but I am getting a bit fatigued. I will say that in my other favorite dynastic period, Ming and Ming Rebels, they have some very nice replicas of some of the larger cash multiples which are actually collectible, but overpriced.

Many of these will turn up at regular eBay sellers of fakes, so find what you want here at chancient.com and, if you can't get them to give you a lower price on something you want, wait for it to come around on eBay, it probably will.


A Final Note

I've mentioned using white ink to mark directly on a cash coin that it is a COPY. Some of the cash coins in my collection must have belonged to museum collections at one time, or at least were in personal collections of serious collectors since the second World War or earlier, because they are marked on the backs with old catalog reference numbers.

I used white ink and a metal quill pen as a youngster when we pasted our black and white photographs into black paged photo albums, and I'm guessing this was the same ink used to inscribe numbers on some of my older cash coins.

What I just discovered, looking on the web, is that they make white gel pens. I am wondering if they would work to mark on metal and be visible, like the old white ink was. If anyone knows the answer to this, let me know. Otherwise I'll buy a white gel pen and experiment.

Current eBay dealer in Fake Coins: best66666

Reference: Fake Chinese Coin seller eBay ID best66666

I’ve been intending to do a write up on this eBay seller based in the Netherlands for a while, but only today have I found enough time to give them the treatment they deserve.

best66666 avatar

The seller best66666 can best be described as a seller of authentic junk coins (real coins that are in such poor condition that they are essentially worthless), authentic fakes of real coins usually made by casting from an original coin, and a small handful of authentic modern coins (such as PRC issues) thrown in just for good measure.

What to do about this eBay seller? Avoid them like the plague!

Many of their item descriptions contain very informative vignettes about the history behind the items, of course it’s the history behind the real items, of which their offerings are unmarked copies. The boldness of the lie only proves the truth of the saying, ‘The bolder the lie, the more people you can get to believe it.’ Some of their listings include in the description such phrases as ‘We guarantee all the items are as pictured!!!’ which is quite meaningless as to authenticity, or even ‘Authenticity guaranteed for all items!’ which can still be ambiguous, because what is authentic?

The normal understanding of ‘authentic’ as applied to coins and other historic artifacts means ‘the real thing’ in the sense of, ‘made at the time indicated by legitimate authorities.’

eBay item number: 252378727350

For example, a large, value-10 cash of the 大灌 Da Guan era of emperor Huizong of the Northern Song dynasty must be a copper coin cast by state authorities between the years 1107 and 1110 AD. This example which can be found in the seller’s current auction is described as ‘Silver Proof Coin Da Guan Tong Bao 1107-1110 AD Large 10-Cash ANCIENT CHINA’ in the title. The full description goes on to give the history of the real coins, and then they conclude with, ‘Weight: 17.5 grams; Size: 40.5 mm. Very Attractive black silver tone, Extremely Rare!’

If this coin were copper the weight and diameter could be correct. They neglect to advise the customer that there is no such thing as an authentic silver cash coin in any era of history. Their notice ‘Extremely Rare!’ is possibly the truest thing they are saying about this ‘coin,’ probably because they’ve only made one or two pieces.

Going back to the categorizations of what best66666 sells, we can summarise them by groups, and show examples.

Group I
Items that are numismatically authentic, but in extremely poor condition.

Group II
Items that are numismatically reproductions, usually made by casting from authentic originals.

This off-centre fake is an impossibility. Modern off-centres are caused not by the misalignment of the dies, but by the blank being off centre in relation to the dies.

Group III 

Items that are modern reproductions cast or struck with a high level of expertise.

Group IV
Items that are numismatically authentic, modern coins in decent condition.

IN CONCLUSION
If you are a collector of authentic coins, shop elsewhere.
If you collect modern reproductions, or are looking to fill holes in your collection with well-made copies of otherwise unprocurable coins (or coins you couldn’t afford to buy as authentic pieces), you might find something here.
If you expect the guarantees of authenticity from eBay or any seller on eBay who flaunts them, I expect you will get what you deserve.

The first rule of thumb in buying collectibles on eBay is,
‘If the seller has even one detectable fake in their auction, don’t buy anything from them.’

The second rule of them is,
‘Know your seller.’

Both rules assume as a starting point that you know your collectible.
If you are a newbie, ask a professional for guidance.
Most are willing to give it free.
I’m one of them.

Current eBay dealer in Fake Coins: hmhm7004

Reference: Fake Chinese Coin seller eBay ID hmhm7004

This seller of authentic fakes (yes, I know, it's an oxymoron) has a rather pedestrian selection, things we've seen before, both cash coins and charms, and copies of struck coins, both fantasies and fakes of real coins. There's nothing here to write home about.

The company is based in Chengdu, Sichuan province, and I have been told that two provinces, at least, excel in the manufacture of fakes: Sichuan and Shandong. Perhaps, in future, if I can gather enough specimens of known manufacturers, I can have a contest among them to judge whose fakes are the most authentic and well-made.

I'd love to actually visit one of the places that makes the cash coin fakes in the traditional way. With the coming of the Republic, cash coin production ceased, and there can't be anyone still alive who was a furnace worker from those days. Perhaps the methodology is well-documented in China.

Among the fakes out there I have seen every kind—struck cash with fake granular fields (usually raised polka dots), cast coins very poorly made by using a real coin as the 母钱 mǔ qián or mother cash, cast coins made using originals but more carefully, and cast coins which look as though a new 母钱 mǔ qián was used, possibly made by CNC machining. (I used to be a machinist and ran a Haas CNC mill making aluminum machinery parts, so I know what I'm talking about. See the photo at the end of this post!)

These last can be works of art. I have a few iron specimens in my collection of fantasy reign titles but in the most exquisite calligraphy, 草书 cǎo shū or Grass script, for example. Take a look.

Examples of well-made fantasies in my ‘black museum’ collection

Five Dynasties Period, IRON, 永安一百 Yǒng'ān Yībǎi, read RLTB,
a most unorthodox reading!

Of course, no such coin in any metal could have been produced in the Five Dynasties Period. Both the module and the calligraphy are wrong. Still, it's a beautiful piece.

Supposed tp be Northern Song, but no such reign title exists.
IRON, 犷明重宝 Guǎngmíng Zhòngbǎo,
I am not really sure of the first two Chinese characters.

Both these ‘coins’ were described by the seller as ‘Iron Mother Cash’. The first is 37mm in diameter, and the second is 40mm, both impressive pieces, and very well-made.

Northern Song Dynasty, 重和通宝 Chónghé Tōngbǎo,
IRON, 35mm, described as ‘Mother Cash’.
No authentic original exists in 草书 cǎo shū or Grass script.

Remember, the three examples given above are NOT from the seller we are outing in this post. They are not from hmhm7004. I cannot now remember the seller I bought them from, but I did record what I paid for each. The first cost me USD $2.50, and the other two cost me USD $1 each. I hope I don't have to tell you that this was an incredible bargain.

Fakes for sale today at hmhm7004's auction on eBay

I am not going to comment on why they are fakes. If anyone has a question, you can email me at normanfgorny@mail.com, or you may leave a comment. I am going to limit myself to only ten pieces from this seller's auction. As far as I can tell, nothing is authentic, everything is modern-made. I will show you the best.

Taiping Rebellion charm, collectible

One of several large cash with circular inscription reverses,
collectible if you like all that bulk

Ryukyu Islands fake, not worth having

Dastardly and fantastic 'play money'

Nice work, but too precise, please recycle!

Last emperor pattern, but a fake, collectible if you don't care
and are just a Pu Yi fan

Good luck, hum hum seven thousand four!

Well, that's all I have time for tonight. I am still amazed at the industry that is going on right under our noses. At least none of today's fakes are deceptive, unless, of course, you're a newby to numismatics. If you are, please note: Caveat Emptor — that's Latin for Let the Buyer Beware!

C'est moi at my fuddy duddy best, a real poser!
Retired as of March 1, 2015.