High eBay Feedback is No Guarantee of Integrity or Honesty
When we noticed his offers, this eBay member's feedback was over 15,000. He was an eBay Top-Rated Seller with 100% positive, according to eBay.
We remain astounded at how easily pleased some eBay buyers must be.

triumphcoins on eBay Self Delusionist?
triumphcoins of Ware, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, offered pattern silver proof royal sovereigns on eBay, under category coins. Beware misleading descriptions.

Sample Listing

EDWARD VIII PATTERN HMARK SILVER PROOF ROYAL SOVEREIGNS
HALLMARKED .925 STERLING SILVER PROOF PLATED IN 22 CARAT GOLD ROYAL SOVEREIGNS
FEATURES EDWARD VIII 1936 AND ROYAL ARMS
PART OF THE " OUR ROYAL SOVEREIGNS MEDAL COLLECTION " FROM THE COLLEGE OF ARMS TRUST , A COLLECTION OF 70 SOVEREIGN MEDALS FEATURING THE DIFFERENT MONARCHS .
THERE IS A (sic) ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY THAT COVERS THE WHOLE COLLECTION , IF A PHOTOCOPY OF THIS IS REQUIRED PLEASE EMAIL ME AND I WILL INCLUDE WITH PURCHASE
ISSUED TO MARK THE 1200th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST CORONATION IN 1987 (sic)
SCULPTED BY DAVID CORNELL F.R.S.A
DIAMETER - 22 mm
WEIGHT - 4.5 grams
METAL - HALLMARKED .925 STERLING SILVER PLATED WITH 22 CARAT GOLD
QUALITY - PROOF
SEE MY OTHER PATTERNS (sic) IN MY SHOP..
the item you see is the item you will get....
other information......
POSTAGE COSTS....
FREE.... UK POSTAGE AND PACKING ON THIS ITEM
PLUS FREE POSTAGE ON ALL ADDITIONAL BUY IT KNOW ITEMS ( EXTRA ITEM CHARGE FOR AUCTION ITEMS 50 PENCE PER COIN , £1 PER BOXED COIN , £1.50 PER COIN SET )
ALL ITEMS WILL STILL BE SENT BY MINIMUM FIRST CLASS POST
WORLDWIDE POSTAGE COSTS ( NOW REDUCED )
AIRMAIL EUROPE - £1.00
AIRMAIL WORLDWIDE - £1.50
AIRMAIL INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR - £5.50
EXTRA ITEM COST FOR WORLDWIDE POSTAGE....
EACH EXTRA COIN - 50 PENCE
EACH EXTRA BOXED COIN - £1.00
EACH EXTRA COIN SET - £2.00
SEE MY SILVER COINS NOW.....
bid with confidence.... see my feedback.
sorry buy i (sic) am unable to post silver coins to india (sic) or china (sic) or any country that does not allow the import of coins
i (sic) accept payement (sic) by paypal (sic) or cheques/post (sic) orders .drawn (sic) on uk (sic) bank only in sterling .(please allow 7 days for cheque clearance before i will post your item)
i do not accept any other electronic payements, non uk cheques, stamps etc...
i do not accept bank transfers or bacs (sic) payements
i will try to post all items within 1 working day of receiving cleared payement
many thanks for looking and if happy please visit my items or shop again. why (sic) not add me to your favourites

Listed in Wrong & Misleading Categories
The "Royal Sovereigns" collection are medallions (medals), not coins. Triumph coins do actually state this in one place in their description, however in numerous other places, they suggest or indicate that they are some kind of coin. This is misleading, and if deliberate, then it is also deceptive.
We noted a few sample categories:

• William IV
  Listed under Coins Coins British Milled (1816-1837) Sovereign
• Henry V
  Listed under Coins Coins British Hammered (Pre-c.1662) Later Medieval (1154-1485)
• Charles II
  Listed under Coins Coins British Hammered (Pre-c.1662) > Stuart & Commonwealth Coins
• Edward VIII
  Listed under Coins Coins British Edward VIII (1936)

eBay Member	Item #	Description	Comments
triumphcoins	370292253705	EDWARD VIII PATTERN HMARK SILVER PROOF ROYAL SOVEREIGNS	Expensive, Misleading Description triumphcoins	370292253705	EDWARD VIII PATTERN HMARK SILVER PROOF ROYAL SOVEREIGNS	Expensive, Misleading Description

What's Wrong?
These items are not pattern sovereigns.
Real pattern coins are almost always rare, officially produced or recognised pieces, produced as a prototype or pre-production sample.
Many small, part-time, eBay dealers have realised that if they manage to mislead potential buyers into thinking they are getting rare and valuable pattern coins, they can sell at prices which would be very cheap for the real thing, but rather expensive for what the items actual are.
These so-called "pattern sovereigns" are a case in point. At almost any point in time it is possible to find some shyster or other offering these on eBay pretending or suggesting they are real patterns. They usually include the word medallion, or some other factually accurate information, hidden somewhere deep in the midden pile of false, inaccurate and misleading information suggesting otherwise.
The vendor is fraudulently or ignorantly misleading and deceiving all potential buyers. Gaining pecuniary advantage by deception is the definition of fraud.

Other Items
The same eBay member was also offering at least 43 of these gold plated silver "Royal Sovereign" medallions at the time we created this page.

Price
We think the seller was asking a Buy it Now price of £25.95 for the Edward VIII medallion, and £13.95 each for the others.
There are 70 medallions in the complete collection, and even at the lower of the two prices, this would value the whole collection at almost £1,000.
We, and probably most other real coin dealers, would hope to sell medallion collections at a reasonable premium over their scrap silver content (there is negligible gold content). perhaps 10%, 20%, or 50 % over silver depending on factors such as supply and demand, aesthetic quality; indeed we have many far more desirable medallion sets in stock at similar modest premiums. The "Royal Sovereigns" collection does not, in our opinion, have much in the way of aesthetic quality, and they are not in high relief, although they do have a prooflike finish. Normally, we would as perhaps 50% premium for these sets, partly because they are so small, and the silver content is therefore quite low, but...
...Because of the stupidly high prices asked, and sometimes paid for these on eBay, we have recently increased our typical asking price for the collection (or for individual medallions), but even so, our asking price remains many times lower than the typical greedy eBay price.
The other difference is that we give potential buyers a truthful and accurate description, not hype.

eBay Guilty of Negligence or Complicity
This eBay vendor, is fairly typical of a number of other eBay sellers who regularly and typically use misleading descriptions, and appear to get away with it. eBay don't seem to care much, as long as they are getting their listing and selling fees.
eBay has probably made a few thousand pounds in fees from this vendor so it is probably happy to retain his account.

About Triumph Coins
We took a look at triumphcoins' "Me" page on eBay, initially to see where they were based, and were amused to find the following description. We particularly raised our eyebrows and smiled at the statement "i pride myself on item description and try to describe items as accuratley (sic) as possible", especially in view of what we have noted above.

TRIUMPH COINS
triumph coins
Hi ,
My name is Shaun Conway and i (sic) have been actively buying and selling on ebay (sic) for 7 years . I have allways (sic) had a (sic) interest in coins since an early age thanks to my mum and dad . Over the last 5 years thanks to many lovely buyers i have developed my hobby into my new career . I finally gave up my desk job to devote myself full time too (sic) this fascinating career in 2008
With the support of my family and friends i now trade as triumph (sic) coins ( the triumph part comes from my 30 years biking and my last 2 wheeler the triumph ) .
I find myself selling what i like and have a keen interest in patterns , gb (sic) coinage , proof and silver proofs ( including sets ) plus some gold . You will normally find a good selection in my ebay shop and listings plus more unusual items including silver medals , tokens and numismatic related space and transport items .
I pride myself on giving good service and earning my good reputation . i will do all i can to help anyone as i believe any good business needs this attitude .
I allways (sic) try to post items as soon as cleared payment is received , for paypal (sic) and postal orders items are dispatched straight away . For payment by cheque i allow 5 working days for cheque clearance . I post daily ( Monday to Friday ) .
i pride myself on item description and try to describe items as accuratley (sic) as possible , but If for any reason you are unhappy with your purchase please contact me , if i have made a mistake ( i am only human ) i will reimburse you on return of the item plus cover your return postage . if (sic) on the other hand you just dont (sic) like your purchase i will happily refund you the purchase price on return of the item.
with regard to payments i accept paypal or uk (sic) issued cheques / postal orders .
Unfortunatley (sic) i cannot (!?) accept bank tranfers (sic) , non uk cheques , stamps or any other electronic payment systems .
Please note for safety i will only send out items over the value of £36 ( including combined lots ) by registered post ( there is a charge of £4-£5.50 for this service per package ) but this will give uk post as special delivery and overseas post by royal mail international signed for .
My contact details are :
Email : shaun467467@hotmail.com
administration address : Accounts dept , Triumph Coins , 4 Coltsfoot Road . Ware . Hertfordshire . SG12 7NW . UK
I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to read this , and hope i can be of assistance to you .
Any questions , please contact me
many thanks
shaun (sic) conway (sic) - triumph coins

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  goldsovereigns.co.uk
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