1859 Penny Information Request

I know rules are rules (and I dont know all the details), but such a waste to have so much knowledge (bill) "unavailable" to the masses. he seemed to be willing to share what he knew regardless of how trivial the question or how many times it had been asked before.

I feel dumber with him not being here.

Unless it's one of the very rare die marriage varieties (which would be in the description to talk up the value), that seems crazy. I spent US$18 including shipping for mine.

Yes, the bidding pattern seems both odd and - if it's shilling - very labor intensive. But it might have driven the price from $43 to $177... Not to mention he's not very efficient - after all if it's a shill, he's won 52 auctions from the seller meaning fees paid to ebay...

You can report the apparent shilling to ebay. That buyer and seller set/received an absurd price, is just caveat emptor.

Although I am going to trot off and tell she-who-must-be-obeyed that my purchase is now worth $150 more than I paid for it. If you see it listed, means she wants me to sell it to take her out for a nice dinner. Of course when it DOES sell for what it's worth, we're at Chez Ronald for the value menu...