What Is A Crackout Con-Artist ? - Page 2

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Author	Replies: 21 / Views: 2,211	Page: of 2

trdhrdr007 Pillar of the Community United States 2335 Posts	Posted 09/10/2012 08:40 am Grading is subjective & TPG's don't know everything. Having said that, cracking a problem coin out of a slab & reselling it as problem free is a VERY questionable business practice. IMO it's in the same ballpark as selling a used car with a hidden defect or slapping a coat of paint over rotten wood on a house & hoping no one notices. I believe purchasers should do their due diligence. The reality is many people don't. Anyone relying on that fact as a basis for their business model is someone I don't want to associate with. Report this Post to the Staff
ray1221 New Member United States 31 Posts	Posted 09/10/2012 10:49 am Quote: It is not a matter of disagreeing with the TPG grade, more a matter of deceiving buyers. There is a new breed of seller that thrives on scamming buyers by purchasing problem coins in slabs where the problem is noted, cracking the coin out of the slab, possibly doctoring the coin itself(corrosion removal, recoloring, etc), and then selling the coin without disclosing the problems. Many times, the photos are taken in such a way as to hide signs of a cleaning or hairlines. These all seem like dishonest practices. Maybe I am dense and don't understand something. Why are these dishonest practices any worse for a slabbed coin than for a raw one? Report this Post to the Staff
biokemist6 Bedrock of the Community United States 12437 Posts	Posted 09/10/2012 11:22 am Quote: Why are these dishonest practices any worse for a slabbed coin than for a raw one? Simple- it is the dollar amounts involved. We had a recent case here dealing with someone stealing pictures from someone else who ended up being a crackout doctor so there was a bit of detective work going on. The seller had purchased an 1858 Indian Heat Cent pattern coin from Heritage Auctions in July for $862.50, the coin was graded as "Proof Details, Burnished Reverse". The same seller cracks the coin, recolors it, doctors the photos to obscure corrosion/rough surfaces, and then proceeds to sell it on ebay last week as a problem-free coin. The selling price? $2,025.99 for a tidy profit of almost $1200 Granted, the bidders might have gotten carried away but the coin sold on ebay appeared MUCH nicer than the one sold by Heritage even though they are of the exact same coin just a couple months apart. https://goccf.com/t/128352&whichpag...chTerms=1858 Quote: Maybe NGC, notorious for assigning details grades, saw a slight flaw and it was so subjective and questionable that they owner cracked it and sent it to another and it would up with a number grade? Do you think this has EVER happened? We are not taking about silly minor matters of "opinion" here or disagreements of what one may or may not see as a problem. This discussion is regarding GROSS MISREPRESENTATION of problems that would be blatantly obvious in-hand to any sighted person yet once the coin and/or photos have been doctored, the problems are next to impossible to see in photos alone. Edited by biokemist6 09/10/2012 11:50 am Report this Post to the Staff
dsfreeworld Pillar of the Community United States 4337 Posts	Posted 09/10/2012 2:36 pm holy mother of pearl, I never saw that IHC Thread...wow, that's a novel of suspense and draaaammmmaaaaa...luv it anyhoo, I see now the difference between minor matters of opinion and gross misrepresentation... Report this Post to the Staff
SsuperDdave Moderator United States 23522 Posts	Posted 09/10/2012 4:02 pm Quote: The term " Ratbag" is not banned so I assume that it is OK to use on this site. If in any way I have offended anyone please accept my sincere apologies, I meant NO offence I, for one, took absolutely no offense. Further, in my official capacity as Staff on this site, I never remotely considered it to violate either the spirit or the letter of our rules. It's a term which carries zero connotation in America, and by the testimony of Aussies in this thread, only the mildest of pejoratives in Australia. Therefore, you were too kind. Report this Post to the Staff
coinguybrian Rest in Peace United States 5375 Posts	Posted 09/13/2012 5:37 pm I consider TPG's trash and inaccurate a lot of the time, especially on some series. I have no problem with cracking out and disagreeing with the grade (even a details grade that was unfair) and not mentioning it. A crack out artist is someone who does this to deliberately deceive buyers and knows the coin has problems....but sells it anyway without mentioning or while BSing about its condition. Report this Post to the Staff
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