Key Date Coins And Ebay

Unfortunately, I think that many of the sellers who are offering these raw key-date coins probably bought them off ebay to start with. They may even have realized that they aren't authentic and figured they would just make their money back and call it done.

With ebay not even taking a passive interest in the activity on their site (let alone an active interest), there is no real deterrent for sellers to stop selling these. As much as I like raw coins and enjoy dealing them, a key-date coin requires authentication and a slab for resale. It not only protects the buyer, it protects the seller as well. If these sellers truly believed that they had an authentic key-date coin, they'd get it authenticated (or they are very, very stupid).

As part of our education program, we show many of the fake coins that we have in our posession. Most people cannot spot the altered mintmarks, removed mintmarks, or altered dates. While most collectors have little problem with true fake coins, the good numismatic counterfeiters prey on those who "think" that they can spot the difference.
One area of my numismatic study is die characteristics. In any given series, different obverses and reverses are used. While anyone can pick out a Peace dollar, how many can spot the differences between the dies used over the years. Small details are different and if someone were to create a die from the obverse of the 1928 coin with the reverse of the 1926 could you tell?
The Hennig nickel is a perfect example. This coin can still fool many people, and is sold as a genuine error pretty frequently. Most collectors know that all five 1913 Liberty nickels are known and that no other exist. Yet I still get calls about these coins each week. I have 21 altered dates of this coin. 18 of them are obvious, and would only fool someone who is not familiar with coins. However, 3 are very good altered dates. Unless you know the die characteristics and placement, they would fool most.
Third Party Grading companies are not perfect, but if you stay with the top four, at least you have a little bit of protection. When the micro "O" coins were identified, PCGS stepped up and did what was right. These coins were accepted and authenticated until a large batch was submitted. Then the diagnostics were plain for all to see.
MorganFred once said that there was a difference between a true professional and a competent amateur. This is one of the most true statements that I have ever heard. One must be able to know where their limitation lie, and accept that fact. There is no shame in not being an expert. Learning is a lifetime experience, and will continue as long as you continue to try. Trying to take shortcuts will only leave you short.
I am not saying that the top 4 TPG's are great or perfect, only that they try. They see thousands and thousands of coins each year. They know what little things to look for and how to spot problems. This only comes with experience. No amount of reading or studying or wishing will give you this experience. No one should rely on them for the day to day coins, but everyone should use them for the protection that we all need.

Howdy Crew! I can tell you the statement about being a "competent amateur" and "true pofessional" is so so true. I class myself lower then a competent amateur. I think that level of knowledge makes you just bold enough to make "bad decisions" on relatively expensive coins. I have learned at great expense to put some faith in the top TPG's and a few Dealers. It took a lot of pride swallowing and quite a few dollars to accept this. I will still strive to learn the art of grading, but accept the fact that my exposure level to coins in volume will not allow me to step into the pro arena. This does not mean I won't keep trying and have fun learning, I just won't waste as much money on bad purchases in the future. Mike

Unfortunately, many eBayers will purchase these key date coins from a seller with high positive feedback assuming the coins are legitimate. What they fail to realize, as has been mentioned here, is that the dealers selling the coins often do not realize they are fakes. And, the buyers purchasing them place them into their own collections never knowing better. So, a buyer purchases a fake coin and places it into his/her collection and leaves a positive feedback not knowing any better.

I would advise any buyers to be VERY careful when purchasing any expensive material from ebay. Stick to the certified stuff or get the seller to certify it before sending it to you, pitch him/her on splitting the cost or even offer to pay it as long as it comes back in a slab.