I would very much appreciate knowing the experts' opinions about the bunch of siberians upcoming on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...A:IT&ih=012

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...A:IT&ih=020

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...A:IT&ih=005

It is OK to wait until it is over and then tell what you think about these coins (their authenticity most of all). I have very little knowledge of these.

They all look genuine to me. 1778 and 1781 seem to be cleaned.

1st coin listed, from Perm is a fake. Hes been trying to sell that same coin for a while now. Stay away.

Agreed. First is fake.
Other two look OK so far.

Altyn, I see your avatar area says that you are in "SoCal", which I think means Southern California.

The seller of the first coin is in Russia.

If the first coin is genuine, then the seller cannot legally export it from Russia because the old Soviet law prohibiting the export of cultural properties (such as any coin more than 50 years old) is apparently still on the books and carries very harsh penalties for anyone who violates it.

While I am not an expert in Russian laws, I do not think that it is illegal to sell modern reproductions (i.e. fakes) of old coins. So, as I understand it, the only way that the coin could be legally exported from Russia is if it is a fake (and even then, it might be a serious mistake on the part of the exporter to assume that bureaucrats can tell the difference).

... this is a valid point, thanks for bringing it up.

Unless they violate the export law, some must because it is rather easy to find pre-1958 USSR and Russian coins

Question: As (genuine) Russian coins now fetch more in Russia than in the west - why should a Russian undergo the trouble and risks to offer and ship it here? Answer: ...

...is not hard to deduce.