In case any non-coin-collector reading this is wondering what all the fuss is about: when the $2 coin was first launched in 1988, they carried the initials of designer Horst Hahne. Unfortunately, the location chosen to place these initials was underneath the Aboriginal elder's armpit - making it look like "the black fella had been branded". For coins from 1990, the HH initials were removed.
The scammers are marketing the "1988 HH" coins as some kind of rare error that escaped being withdrawn and destroyed. But in truth, every single 1988-dated $2 coin has the HH initials. These coins were not destroyed, melted down, or otherwise officially withdrawn. 160 million of them were made in 1988, and 31 million in 1989, and probably at least half of these coins still exist - so they are not by any logical definition rare.
Of course, with enough scammers pushing the myth, there are plenty of secondary hype-train riders, who see other people selling 1988 HH coins for big money, find one of their own in change, honestly believe they've found a valuable coin and decide to join the fray. Those people are acting out of ignorance, but are nevertheless helping to perpetuate the myth. It is those "innocent bystanders" who we hope might read this thread and be dissuaded from joining in.
Unfortunately, asking ludicrous prices for common worth-only-face-value coins is neither illegal, nor against eBay policy. As Dilbert's Boss said, there's no law against optimism. EBay could put a stop to it by re-imposing high fees for listing high-list-price items whether such items sell or not, but they choose not to do so. Of course, if there's an outright lie int he listing, eBay could probably remove it.
