R7+ Maris 24-Q NJ Copper Question

Oh and I am going to save you a ton of time on this one.

This is actually pretty easy and simple. Email John Kraljevich. Send him the basic cliff notes of your story. Attach the pictures. Include the weigh and diameter.

He may ask for more pictures but if John believes even a 0.1% chance it is real he would happily allow you to send it to him.

In that case you would have an answer (unless he is on a long vacation or something) in less than 2 weeks and probably less.

If John tells you it is not real OR if John does not jump at chance to get the coin than he knows there is about a 0.0000001% it is real and you should immediately return the coin on ebay.

Exactly. Sending it to NGC or PCGS at this point is a waste of time and money. Email John or another top colonial expert. If somebody like John does not want to immediately see the coin you should return it that day.

Honestly the story from the consignee sounds like nonsense, the patina is off, I don't like some of the surfaces, and the weight is just too far gone.

BUTTTT you never know right? So contact a top colonial expert and save yourself all this energy.

Sheldon, I just noticed your page 1 reply/comments. I have to agree that those are very valid observations you made. I figured that the seller (I think a home-run business based on his website, a one man shop) may have been just a bit lazy/busy researching this consignment piece. Also, he does not specialize in coins primarily. It took me a fair amount of time to do so (and I very much had vested interest in it).

But, after the coin sold for such unexpectedly high price, yes...I would have been also curious. He did ask me what is so special about this coin after I relayed to him my initial concerns.

Maybe his attitude was to not "rock the boat" as long as he gets paid being just the middle guy. However, his reputation is on the line as the seller, and not sure if even one negative feedback would be worth $1,000 in consignment fees if your primary source of income is consignment? But who knows, he may have done this before and got away with it, but again that's only speculation.

I did mention to ebay tonight about one of the two other primary bidders who had only one feedback (with 3 transactions). One was for electronics, and another for memorabilia, the third one was this colonial. He is the one who bid the price up from the $700 range to over $3,000. I pointed out to ebay that it does not make sense for a "newbie" to ebay who may also be a "newbie" to colonials (especially state coppers) to bid such a high price in the last minute. Remote chance, but not unlikely that he may have been somehow associated with the consignor. ebay surprisingly agreed that it's plausible, but not sure what if anything they could/would do.

Conder101...and all who posted. Everyone in one way or another was correct. Yes, the coin is an electrotype. Unfortunately, the potential value is significantly below what I paid for it. The expert I contacted was absolutely certain based on the information I sent him that this is the electrotype copy of the actual Maris 24-Q coin from the 1881 Maris plates. When I asked...he did not give me permission to release his estimate without physically examining the coin, which is completely understandable. He says that for a NJ colonial collector it could be a highly sought after item. I actually feel honored that he took his time and answered multiple questions with straight forwardness...a true professional!

So I sent a message to the ebay consignment company with a reasonable auction price offer which I would be willing to pay. If they do not accept it, I told them I will ask for a full refund. The good thing that this is not a forgery. The seller (consignor) and the ebay consignment company apparently may not have been aware that this is an electrotype...and at this point I do not believe they intended to defraud anyone.