89-CC Morgan

I'm still hoping it's genuine. Good luck Rob.

I sure hope so too, but there is the slim chance the whole transaction was a con from the onset, and CL is the perfect venue for these scams. Unlike ebay with "buyer protection" and trackable seller IDs, CL is essentially anonymous and unprotected. Start with a seemingly honest seller who's offering a stunning, scarce coin that "checks out" with a dealer (yet the price is surprisingly low), and you've set up a situation for an unprotected, impulse buy--although Rob Oz covered his bases too. Sellers like this are often pros at manipulating buyers and setting up a transaction where they have all their exits covered. You'll know if you were taken by a pro if they cannot be found again. Again, I hope this isn't the case here, and not trying to 'rub it in'--just food for thought for collectors here.

I would think if the seller's alleged visit to a coin shop for authentication was legit the owner would have jumped on this for that price. It would have never made it to CL.

fenton, not true at all. That is a generalization and flat out wrong. Regardless...

I have dealt with Paul before (presuming it is the same guy) at shows. Good guy. I personally would NOT make a final decision based on this thread. No offense what so ever to Dave, but going just by pics on a web site is NOT a definitive means of determining authenticity. That can only be done in hand. Personally, I am still not 100% convinced it is a fake. Are the odds that it is an altered coin? It looks like it. But the only way to be sure would be to send it in. And were I the seller, I would say the same. Until a TPG says it is fake/altered, the sale is final. And as Dave said, Mr Roberts at ANACS knows his stuff. If it comes back from them as fake, it is fake. And the reverse holds true as well.

So again, send it in! I know I am going to get annoying saying that. LOL

1,000,000 to 1 odds against someone selling a genuine 1889-CC Morgan dollar on Craigslist for 1/8'th of its market value

I have bought high end coins simply by chance before. Neither I nor the seller knew their value. I have learned allot since then, and now see what it is that I bought. Very lucky yes, a million to one no.

Just read the whole thread. The OP took his own expert with him when the purchase was made. Both the OP & the expert believed the coin to be genuine.

There are 2 possibilities here. Either the seller honestly believed the coin to be genuine or the whole thing was a scam from the start. At this point there is no way to know which is true.

IMO the buyer should be made whole if the coin is fake. That doesn't mean the seller should have to endure the stress & cost of defending themselves if they didn't do anything wrong.

I agree with mds308 100%... I don't care how big of a shop/store it is... That coin comes through the door and is handed to you for an opinion and your not gonna forget it for some time.. They might see TONS of coins but I'd be surprised if a 1889cc came through there door often at all... Even "high end" stores... They might not "bat an eye" at it but a few weeks later they'd for sure remember it, especially one in that condition.
I also agree with mds308 that they just want to mind their own buisness and not get brought into the mix..