http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=300215661651

All signs indicate that this is a fake. Given the poor quality of pictures though, I find it hard to tell if this coins is a cast or not. I would appreciate some opinions please.

Can you read German? This seller states "I don't know much about Russian coins, therefore I offer NO GUARANTEE of authenticity". That pretty much says it all.

Also, the negative feedback (available from www.toolhaus.org) is mostly about fake coins:
http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=adel...by&ref=home

I have no doubt that this is a fake coin - hence the title "This is a Fake". I am just curious as to the method of manufacture.

The other coins offered by this seller are bad but the 1818 is such a common date
that it seems pointless to counterfeit it.

RWJ

RWJ has a good point; however, we have seen fakes even of common coins such as this one coming out of China. Most of these appear to be cast in some metal other than silver; I would guess that this one probably also originated in China, and that better pictures would confirm this.

But if you are sure that it is fake, anyway, what difference does it make?

I'd like to know how it's possible to take such a bad photo. I think it must take some real effort.

Scientific curiosity!

Actually, Chinese aren’t the only ones making fakes. More and more I am seeing common coins in mediocre grades being faked. At the same time prices on mediocre coins aren’t falling. My prediction is that in a few years we’ll be completely flooded with cheap fakes of even the cheapest coins. The only thing left for me to do, at that time, would be to attempt to attribute fakes to various manufacturing techniques. So I want to start practicing on easy items now.

Given that the Chinese are counterfeiting 1921 Morgan dollars, it is no surprise that they would counterfeit an 1818 Ruble. Coincidentally I have an authentic 1818 Ruble hiding somewhere.

I have complained at least five times to Ebay about all the six and 12 Rubel (auf Deutsch) 'platinum coins' this seller has offered on Ebay. And sold!! It's disgusting that Ebay allows this seller to continue to offer this junk. Every time, I get the automated message about how Ebay investigates and engages an expert team to review these reports. Hogwash! I haven't seen a single auction of 6 and 12 rubel fakes from this seller withdrawn by Ebay. The German sentence clearly violates Ebay policy that sellers are not allowed to disclaim any knowledge of coins they are selling, yet Ebay takes no action to my knowledge.

Marv Finnley

In my opinion, things likely will not change until ebay finds itself facing credible threats of substantial legal penalties.

I agree 100%. Sellers like this get away with obvious fakes while other auctions get shut down... Like mine yesterday for calling uncirculated pennies and nickels from rolls "BU" in the title of my auction. I don't see why that is a problem. I wasn't selling them as certified, with a trend value or with a numerical grade in the title.