michaelhoare2009 Using Copied Sovereign Images on eBay
eBay seller michaelhoare2009 of "Shefford, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom", not only stole our 1893 George V Gold Sovereign image without permission, but failed to inform buyers that the coin pictured was not the same as he was selling. He also described his coin as in excellent condition, which it may or may not be.
Many coin owners and eBay sellers appear to delude themselves. We wonder who he is trying to fool?

Sample Listing

Gold Sovereign 1893 Coin
This is a genuine gold sovereign coin from the Queen Victoria era and was minted by the Royal Mint in 1893 (116 years ago !) This coin also comes with the original case from 1893 that was presented to my great-great grandfather by Queen Victoria herself 116 years ago. This is a priceless sovereign that would be a wonderful addition to any coin collectors collection. Happy Bidding !!!

Seller ID	Item Number	Date	Description	Price
michaelhoare2009	190329126995	17th Aug 2009	Gold Sovereign 1893 Coin	£235

What's Wrong?
First it is dishonest to steal images. We select the best coins from thousands of sovereigns, then take high quality photographs of them, followed by extensive post production work (airbrushing) to make them look even better. This draws on our wealth of experience, education, training, trial and error. Our two graduate photographers work very hard to produce our high quality pictures. We have invested thousands of pounds in equipment and software. When some dishonest eBay vendor thinks it is acceptable to use them without our permission, we get more than a little annoyed. If we were a family business from Sicily, we would send one of the boys round to talk to them. If we were in Northern Ireland, we could set the Intellectual Rights Association onto them. As things stand, we simply report them to eBay, who usually get round to removing the copyright infringements. We also request full contact details of the eBay member so that we can take legal action against them, or send them a warning.
We were alerted to this instance of copyright theft by an honest eBay member (they do exist!), with the simple message "Liar!". We consider this to be a very perceptive remark.

Deception
Not only does it infringe our rights, it is an attempt to deceive any and all potential buyers. This is fraud, which is a criminal offence.
We thoroughly recommend any potential eBay buyers to avoid dealing with this crooked member.

Five Fold Cheat
Any intelligent or discriminating buyer could, and probably should, have been able to discover for themselves that the dishonest seller does not appear to be able to take high quality photopgraphs, simply by looking at the poor quality pictures on his "other items". Secondly, if they were to Google "1893 gold coin", they would find that the obverse picture the whore has shown is not of a sovereign, but of a gold five pound coin or quintuple sovereign.

Price
The seller was asking a starting price of £165 for his sovereign.
If it was described accurately and honestly, it may have been underpriced, however we know the the seller is dishonestly implying that the coin pictured is the same coin he is offering for sale, and can presume that the bit about his "great-great grandfather by Queen Victoria herself" is also a fabrication, a flight of his fantasy, or simply inaccurate.
It "sold" for �235, which have been a fair price with the alleged provenance, but as the seller has used grossly deceptive practice in selling it, we very much doubt it.
When we report it to eBay, and they remove the listing, we may have saved yet another stupid eBay buyer from being conned and ripped off.

High eBay Feedback is No Guarantee of Integrity or Honesty
When we wrote this page, this eBay member's feedback was 88; with 100% positive according to eBay, which all goes to show that you cannot rely on the eBay feedback system as any indication of the honesty or integrity of the member.

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.