Spot the fake panda!

[arphethean]

Wee game for you...

Recently I picked up a date run of pandas on Ebay. Took a wee chance on it.

When it came I realised very quickly that there were a lot of fakes among the earlier years. And poor ones at that. 

I thought I would share them alongside the genuine ones for your amusement/education.

1989

 

 

1990

 

1991

 

1992

 

1993

 

1994

 

1995

 

1997 (the 1996 was genuine)

 

1999

 

2004

 

2005

 

2007

 

I have only come across one other fake before this (2007), and I would suspect that these are pretty poor examples of fakes, so although fakes may not be as obvious as this, there are a few common features that can give them away.

Here are a few things that jump out on fakes:

Weight. Obviously should be approx 31.2g

 

Diagonal reeding on the wrong year (this started in 2002)

 

Thickness

 

Crude details, especially fur

 

Poor finish. I mean the blistering effect on this is horrendous 

 

Mottled texture on frosting 

 

Obvious errors, e.g. the frosting between the legs

 

Incorrect designs, e.g. 1999 temple in the 2002+ design

 

Poor application with details "disappearing" or floating leaves

 

Colour: in my experience most pre 2000 coins have developed a warm tone across the whole coin whereas a fake may appear bluish

 

By the way, there is a happy end to the story. There were mainly genuine pandas in the bundle I bought including a very high quality 2000. The seller was extremely decent and apologetic about it, clearly didn't know anything about pandas, and straight away gave a substantial refund. 

Please share fake pandas you've received. Especially "good" fakes.

Thanks for looking

[James32]

My guess is "it's all in the eyes" the ones with the tiny eyes are the fakes? But then again I've never owned a panda before. 

[sovereignsteve]

One assumes the fakes weren't silver?

[Frenchie]

I play the quizz and looking at the coin between 1 and 5 seconds my take for the fake ones is

1989 L

1990 L

1991 R

1992 R

1993 R

1994 R

1995 R

1997 R

1999 R

2004 R

2005 R

2007 L

((L and R for left and Right of course)

I did not cheat or look at other following posts (will do now)

So I am right ? 

 

[TommyTwoShots]

Did you test the fakes on the sigma? What did they read as? 
 

if not I don’t suppose I could test them? Postage at my cost?

[Happypanda88]

A couple of fake 2013 1oz silver pandas came up for sale on the forum earlier in the year. To my surprise, no one had spotted them. The sale post received an couple of likes from members and it had already marked as 'Complete' (sold) by the time I saw it.

I did PM the seller and was informed he had bought them on the forum a few months earlier !! 

See if they look obvious to you.

 

 

 

[arphethean]

9 hours ago, TommyTwoShots said:

Did you test the fakes on the sigma? What did they read as? 
 

if not I don’t suppose I could test them? Postage at my cost?

Now you've got me curious... i ssumed they were copper. I don't have a sigma, but I do have this...

Edited October 31, 2021 by arphethean

[arphethean]

Interesting.  It doesn't seem to be copper...

Maybe it is genuine after all!!

[James32]

Oops

[arphethean]

3 minutes ago, James32 said:

Oops

Just kidding. It's definitely fake. And definitely not silver. But don't know what it is..

[arphethean]

12 hours ago, Frenchie said:

I play the quizz and looking at the coin between 1 and 5 seconds my take for the fake ones is

1989 L

1990 L

1991 R

1992 R

1993 R

1994 R

1995 R

1997 R

1999 R

2004 R

2005 R

2007 L

((L and R for left and Right of course)

I did not cheat or look at other following posts (will do now)

So I am right ? 

 

100%! well done

[TommyTwoShots]

Can I test one anyways? Gives me a reading for spotting the fakes?

[danmc82]

10 hours ago, arphethean said:

Just kidding. It's definitely fake. And definitely not silver. But don't know what it is..

Its a rare Platinum edition worth £100,000 if kept in prestine condition.

[Spyder]

Just noticed this thread. I think about 9 or 10 years ago I bought the complete date run of Pandas from a dealer who was not a specialist in Silver Pandas. I remember paying about £500. Anyway once I took them home and started having a good look closer, things did not look correct.  There was a website (which I can not remember now) that had all the details about fakes and photos for each year.  I noticed that they were all fakes. Some were underweight, some had additional post on stairs etc.  

Anyway took them back and the dealer and I cut one up and removed a small V section like a pizza slice and he did an acid test. It was silver.  I think at that time ebay became flooded with fakes as the earlier one were going for a high premium. 

That was the start and end of my Silver Panda journey as there were just too many fakes around.   

It took me almost 9 years before I purchased another Silver Panda and that was last year when I bought two separate dated trays from Olivia off this forum. 

[arphethean]

On 12/02/2024 at 20:53, Spyder said:

Just noticed this thread. I think about 9 or 10 years ago I bought the complete date run of Pandas from a dealer who was not a specialist in Silver Pandas. I remember paying about £500. Anyway once I took them home and started having a good look closer, things did not look correct.  There was a website (which I can not remember now) that had all the details about fakes and photos for each year.  I noticed that they were all fakes. Some were underweight, some had additional post on stairs etc.  

Anyway took them back and the dealer and I cut one up and removed a small V section like a pizza slice and he did an acid test. It was silver.  I think at that time ebay became flooded with fakes as the earlier one were going for a high premium. 

That was the start and end of my Silver Panda journey as there were just too many fakes around.   

It took me almost 9 years before I purchased another Silver Panda and that was last year when I bought two separate dated trays from Olivia off this forum. 

Interesting story! Yes, there are still so many fakes around and so it really helps to have seen the genuine article to know what to look for. It's a shame that people get put off - I can understand why. That and the high price tag for many of the early years. However, collecting pandas was a very rewarding and enjoyable experience for me - I was drawn to the uniqueness of each year's design and the variations. I don't think there's any other silver bullion coin with the same variation and "collectability" as the pandas but happy to be proven wrong.

[Petra]

On 30/10/2021 at 15:06, arphethean said:

Wee game for you...

Recently I picked up a date run of pandas on Ebay. Took a wee chance on it.

When it came I realised very quickly that there were a lot of fakes among the earlier years. And poor ones at that. 

I thought I would share them alongside the genuine ones for your amusement/education.

1989

 

 

1990

 

1991

 

1992

 

1993

 

1994

 

1995

 

1997 (the 1996 was genuine)

 

1999

 

2004

 

2005

 

2007

 

I have only come across one other fake before this (2007), and I would suspect that these are pretty poor examples of fakes, so although fakes may not be as obvious as this, there are a few common features that can give them away.

Here are a few things that jump out on fakes:

Weight. Obviously should be approx 31.2g

 

Diagonal reeding on the wrong year (this started in 2002)

 

Thickness

 

Crude details, especially fur

 

Poor finish. I mean the blistering effect on this is horrendous 

 

Mottled texture on frosting 

 

Obvious errors, e.g. the frosting between the legs

 

Incorrect designs, e.g. 1999 temple in the 2002+ design

 

Poor application with details "disappearing" or floating leaves

 

Colour: in my experience most pre 2000 coins have developed a warm tone across the whole coin whereas a fake may appear bluish

 

By the way, there is a happy end to the story. There were mainly genuine pandas in the bundle I bought including a very high quality 2000. The seller was extremely decent and apologetic about it, clearly didn't know anything about pandas, and straight away gave a substantial refund. 

Please share fake pandas you've received. Especially "good" fakes.

Thanks for looking

🤔great sharing! Not really in to Pandas, however, to my eyes some strange looking ones… their eyes? (to start)🤔

[Petra]

The fakes are so good because there made by people who probably have made the real ones!🤔😮

[fluffy998]

I just picked these up in a job lot auction, I think they are both fake but keen to get another opinion. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[arphethean]

Ew. Yes. Nasty

[James32]

15 hours ago, fluffy998 said:

I just picked these up in a job lot auction, I think they are both fake but keen to get another opinion. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Yeah they look very suspicious. Did you weigh them?

[Pm1987]

Real version for reference. I think we have all been caught out once or twice sadly. 

[JohnA1]

If the weight is deficient despite the coin being thicker, that might ring the odd alarm bell eh😅

[ohsmily]

With ebay money back guarantee, would sending any higher-dollar pandas purchased on ebay off for PCGS express grading (or crossover if the coins are already slabbed NGC) eliminate the concern for fakes? PCGS would out the coin if fake, and the buyer could submit the claim on ebay for a refund/return, right? 

If the coin is already slabbed (by NGC or PCGS (with a valid number on the label), is the risk for fakes still high?

 

Edited January 22 by ohsmily

[ohsmily]

As a follow up, I started a small collection of pandas about ten years ago. I recently revisited it and I have gone hog wild over the past few weeks on ebay. I have a 1983 PF69 (PCGS) and 1984 PF69 (NGC) (neither were inexpensive) among a few other somewhat less pricey coins coming in.

I'm planning to immediately send them out for express (re)grading and/or (re)slabbing (crossover for the NGC) by PCGS. If they're fake or the slab was tampered with and a lesser legit coin was inserted, I plan to make an immediate return claim. Thoughts? Am I screwed? What are the chances these are real (the '83 was $4k and the '84 was $1.7k from a seller in the US with thousands of 100% reviews on ebay and a brick and mortar location).

Edited January 22 by ohsmily
Correction

[Pm1987]

@GoldDiggerDave might be able to let you know expected grading return times. Not sure if you would get them returned in time to open a claim on eBay.