gab-a-minute Using Copied Sovereign Images on eBay
eBay seller gab-a-minute of GLASGOW, North Lanarkshire, United Kingdom, not only stole our 1912 Sovereign Photographs without permission to sell his own sovereign, but failed to state that the photos were not of his actual coins, thereby deceiving all potential buyers.
He even stated "The photographs provided are of the coin(s) for sale and are the best means of judging condition".

High eBay Feedback is No Guarantee of Integrity or Honesty
When we wrote this page, this eBay member's feedback was 148; with 100% positive according to eBay.
It also demonstrates that high eBay feedback is no indicator of intelligence, reading ability or honesty.

Sample Listing

George V =1912 > 22CT > GOLD FULL SOVEREIGN
George V ~ 1912 ~ Royal Mint, London ~ 22 carat Gold Sovereign Coin, Mint condition Condition.
The condition of coins is subjective and the grade descriptions below are commonly used for circulated coins. The photographs provided are of the coin(s) for sale and are the best means of judging condition.
Extremely Fine or EF: Few signs of having been in circulation, but may exhibit slight surface marks or faint wear on close inspection.
Very Fine or VF: Some wear on the raised surfaces, but still sharp and pleasant.
Fine or F: Considerable signs of wear on the raised surfaces.
Fair/Good: Badly or heavily worn, but with the inscriptions and main features of the design still distinguishable.
Sovereigns: Data & History.
The value of gold has tripled since 2005 (the current value may be found on BullionVault.com). At the start of 2010 the gold value of a full sovereign was in the region of �160.
Full Sovereign Half Sovereign
Diameter 22mm 19.5mm
Coin Weight 7.98g 3.99g
Gold Weight* 7.32g
0.235 troy oz 3.66g
0.118 troy oz
Gold Content
91.667%
22 carat 91.667%
22 carat
* assumes unworn and undamaged coins, one troy ounce = 31.10 grammes.
Sovereigns are purchased as a 'safe' investment and as collectable items. The rarity, history and artistry of these coins adds value to the bullion value of the gold.
Gold sovereigns were first introduced in 1489 under King Henry VII, but were replaced by gold guineas and other coins in the following centuries. The Royal Mint operated for five hundred years producing coins for the crown from within the Tower of London until 1810.
Sovereigns were reintroduced in the modern form in the reign of George III and struck by the Royal Mint at the 'new' Tower Hill site in London in 1817.
During the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, overseas branches of the Royal Mint were opened in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Ottawa, Bombay and Pretoria. These branches were empowered to strike Imperial coins and the sovereign was claimed to be the world's best known and most widely distributed gold coin.
Sovereigns remained in circulation in the early twentieth century but had mostly been replaced by paper banknotes by 1918.
Sovereigns continue to be struck by the Royal Mint in the UK for commemorative and investment purposes.
Postage, Packing and Insurance
Delivery by Royal Mail is a signed for and insured service. Postage costs will be combined for multiple purchases when practical ~ international buyers please contact us through eBay.
It is your responsibility to ensure that someone is available to sign for the package when delivery is attempted. If the delivery attempt fails then the package is trackable using the Royal Mail Track & Trace service within the UK.
Delivery options:
UK Special Delivery: next working day
normally* before 1:00am.
UK Special Delivery: saturday delivery
normally* before 1:00am.
UK Special Delivery: normally*
before 9:00am.
International Recorded Airmail Delivery (Airsure when available): normally* 5 days or less.
* 'Guaranteed' delivery times apply to the UK mainland only, some remote UK regions may have later delivery times.
General Terms
Suitability of Goods: The buyer should carefully read the description of the Goods. The buyer is responsible for ensuring that the Goods are suitable for their intended purpose. Goods are not supplied on a trial basis.
Condition of Goods: Unless otherwise stated the Goods are used and in good working condition and the photograph(s) above shows the Goods for sale.
Seller Exclusion: We reserve the right not to sell to buyers with no positive feedback or a poor payment history.
Unresponsive Buyers: If the buyer has not paid and has not responded to our emails or eBay's payment reminder within 7 days of the end of the auction, we have the right to resell the Goods, and we will request that eBay gives the buyer a "Non-Paying Bidder" strike.
Payment: Credit and debit card payments are only accepted through PayPal for cost and security reasons.
VAT: VAT is not chargeable on these Goods.
Shipment: Goods will only be dispatched when funds are cleared and dispatch notification will be by email. We will only send the Goods to the address notified to us by PayPal for security reasons.
Postage, Packing & Insurance Charges: These charges are quoted for the UK and international addresses.
Returns: The buyer is asked to contact us, by email before returning the Goods. Returns are accepted if you are not satisfied. It is your responsibility to ensure that the Goods are securely packed and insured, and we recommend that you request and retain 'proof of posting' or use a signed for delivery service for more valuable items. The buyer shall bear the cost of safe return of the Goods.

What's Wrong?
We invest a great deal of time, effort, and cost into creating some of the best photographic coin images on the internet. We strongly object when lazy and dishonest people decide to use them without a by your leave or thanks, doing so in competition with us.
Copyright theft is dishonest. We recommend you avoid doing business with dishonest dealers.
This particular eBay seller not only stole our high quality images of both sides of a 1912 gold sovereign, he used them in his eBay auctions to try to sell his own sovereign without saying it was not the same coin. Anyone viewing the photographs would expect them to be the same, near perfect condition coin, "airbrushed" to make them look like supermodels.
In addition, this stupid ignorant crook stated "The photographs provided are of the coin(s) for sale and are the best means of judging condition".

It is always possible, even likely, that sellers who steal photographs do not own a similar coin, and have the intention to totally defraud potential buyers.
The vendor is not only cheating us by stealing our copyright images, he is fraudulently or ignorantly misleading and deceiving all potential buyers. Gaining pecuniary advantage by deception is the definition of fraud.

Seller ID	Item Number	Date	Description	Price
gab-a-minute	150407494198	22nd Jan 2010	George V =1912 > 22CT > GOLD FULL SOVEREIGN	�95

Price
The seller was asking a starting price of �95; which is basically pointless.

eBay Guilty of Negligence or Complicity
We will be reporting this example of copyright abuse using our standard Statutory Declaration via the eBay VeRO programme, and wait to see if they chose to action or ignore our report. We look forward to taking legal action against eBay for their negligence and / or complicity if they fail to take down the offending material promptly.

Selling Gold Sovereigns & Other Coins on eBay
We point out that sellers may often get more money, for less effort, by selling to a specialised dealer, such as us, rather than via eBay.

Copyright Notice
Please see our "Copyright" page for further information.