Pre-1920 florins, half crowns etc.

[zxtm99]

I've been watching some florins from 1914-1918 on eBay. Not in that bad condition, but it was the .925 silver I was interested in. Anyway, they sold for well under spot - £2 - £3 including P&P. I was kicking myself, but then I found people selling silver plated 'restrikes'. They looked utterly convincing from a photograph - they were aged looking, not 'minty'. I was amazed anyone would bother to fake a florin - maybe they were rare or sought after dates?

 

Anyway, my question is, are faked crowns, half crowns, florins etc. very common? I was thinking I couldn't go wrong with old GB coins.

 

Plated florin sold as a 'restrike'

[swanky]

Only fakes I've come across masquerading as genuine are crowns, lots out there.

Edited July 16, 2021 by swanky

[pricha]

The obverse looks an obvious fake, the reverse more difficult for me to spot. Like you,  i  can't understand the market for these ? A gold sovereign yes, but a common silver coin , it's odd.

[zxtm99]

Oh dear! 🤨 

 

Convincing florins on Alibaba for pennies. They'd be easy to spot once you've got them, but not sure I'd be able to tell on eBay. Maybe explains why I saw florins going for 2 or 3 quid?

[pricha]

I ordered a few fake sovereigns from Aliexpress just to have a look at them. Thankfully they were total garbage.  Fake silver i have not looked at . Same old story. Buy from reputable sellers.  

[metallica73]

I hate sellers that list these in legit categories... at least put it in the coin > novelty section.

 

[zxtm99]

I agree - at least they clearly stare it's plated. I'm pretty sure that the 'bargain' florins that went for 2 or 3 quid earlier today were fakes sold as genuine, possibly by a seller who didn't know better. They were just too clean to sell at half spot, but aged to give the appearance of genuine.

Call them 'fake' and eBay won't let you sell them. Call them plated, souvenir or restrike, then eBay seem to alllow that. Call them real, that's OK with eBay too!

[swanky]

9 minutes ago, zxtm99 said:

Call them plated, souvenir or restrike, then eBay seem to alllow that.

I don't see the issue with this. Seller is being honest, and maybe some people just like the look of Victorian currency and don't want to pay for the silver.

It's when seller doesn't disclose that causes problems, although the fake crowns I caught were quickly refunded no questions asked.

Edited July 16, 2021 by swanky

[zxtm99]

12 hours ago, swanky said:

I don't see the issue with this. Seller is being honest, and maybe some people just like the look of Victorian currency and don't want to pay for the silver...

I agree - could be handy for plugging gaps in a collection. The irony is, from what I hear, is that eBay will pull listings that say 'fake bar', but if you point out that to eBay that someone is selling fakes, but calling them real, then that's OK with eBay.

 

FYI, here are some of the florins I watched but did not bid on. By my calulations, a pre-1920 florin is worth about £6 spot, but these went for well under that, including P+P. Unlike the link I posted earlier, these were sold as real, and bizarrely, the same seller got better prices (over spot) for some .500 florins listed at the same time. Did I miss a bargain or dodge a bullet?

 

1912 florin, £2.50 inc postage

1914 florin, £2.90 inc postage

1918 florin, £3.20 inc postage

Postage was £1 in each case, so combining postage may have knocked another £2 off the total.

 

 

[metallica73]

They are all real

I think the seller listed in bullion catergory, would have been better off lsiting in florins.