Fake 1723 St. Petersburg (!) rouble from an “estate”

[RW Julian]

This particular seller has been the subject of several threads but he kindly provided proof

that his offerings are fake. At the present time the following auction has a high bid of $380

and is, of course, a fake:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=290199433747

 

The obverse die of the above piece is also known paired with a 1724 reverse. This “coin”

has a St. Petersburg mintmark which, of course, is not possible as the first coins from that

city for Peter I are dated 1724.

 

The eBay seller, using the same wording about coming from an estate sale, also sold the

following piece about a month ago, which brought $581. The seller should have waited a

bit longer because the reverse die is identical for both coins!

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=290192329934

 

Reported to eBay but we all know the chances of anything happening even with iron-clad proof.

 

RWJ

[alexbq2]

Thank you for keeping us informed, it is of a great benefit to amature collectors like myself to be advised by someone of your professionalism. Also, please accept my compliments on your book.

 

On a lighter, note are there any genuine 18th century roubles left on eBay? It looks like at least 30% or 40% are fakes, and I'm guessing this number is going up every week.

[RW Julian]

On a lighter note are there any genuine 18th century roubles left on eBay? It looks like at least 30% or 40% are fakes, and I'm guessing this number is going up every week.

It is hard to say what percentage are fakes but if one takes out the Chinese pieces and the obvious

Peter I fakes, most of the rest seem generally good. I have seen only a small number of Catherine II

rouble fakes, usually the 1766 pattern and the 1771 “Pugachev” piece. There are some well-made

1762 roubles of both Peter III and Catherine II which are also bad but these are seen very rarely.

 

RWJ