Fake Pugachev rouble in copper on eBay Options

[bobh]

"NOBODY HAS IT, BUT YOU CAN!"
Of course nobody has it, because the original is unique and probably located in the Hermitage museum or Smithsonian collection...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=260565354502

The lettering is all wrong, particularly the M and the O which are too thin; besides, the undercoin in the Bitkin reference was apparently a 1762 ten kopeck coin, not a Catherine II pyatak.

[Vfox]

Do you think this is a counterfeit stamp on a legitimate coin host?

[bobh]

Do you think this is a counterfeit stamp on a legitimate coin host?

The original so-called "Pugachev" roubles were frauds anyway, according to B.F. Brekke:

"Although these [i.e., restrikes authorized by Catherine II using original dies of the Sestroretsk rouble] were made by the mint, adventurous resellers of these frauds concocted the story that they had been struck by the rebel Pugatschev, undoubtedly to make them more interesting. The name has stuck..."

There were a few restrikes made on silver planchets which are extremely rare, but they do turn up at auction once in awhile (NY Sale 2008, NGSA 2008...). Brekke doesn't mention the copper overstrike, but Uzdenikov and Bitkin do. Uzdenikov classifies this copper restrike as "unique".

Looking again at the images in both references -- obviously of the same coin -- it looks like the coin was indeed struck on a 5-kopeck planchet, but it was a double strike: A weak strike at first which was turned about 120 degrees, then struck again.

As to the fake coin, the host coin is probably a genuine common-date pyatak (i.e. 5 kopecks) in low grade.

[one-kuna]

modern, known fake, seller trying to confuse buyers even by listing an image from Bitkin where it says that it is made on 1757-1810 5 kopeks (which got to be checked what Bitkin meant by that), also seller bluffing on serious buyers only so others unexperienced can believe him and bid on it, such a shame for seller !!

[Saor Alba]

The Baltic countries are "great" outlets for this garbage, and have been since the mid 1990's. Even the junque I find for sale in Ukraine originates somewhere in Latvia or Estonia usually.