Lincoln Cent Struck Off Center

I think it's either "off struck" or "broad struck".... it's worth keeping (worth a couple bucks). I have some, but not as dramatic.

Hi
Thank You. I guess I didn't get hurt, I paid a little more than that but it makes a nice conversation piece For me it's a keeper Oh so much too learn|| I'm sure glad I found this forum.
Thanks Norm

Ditto !!

Sometimes just the planchet (without the strike) brings
a higher premium)

I try to never offer a value on a coin. I tend to be conservative grading which makes my values low and I do not ever want to offend anyone. Typically the values you receive here are very accurate. However, most try and buy at Gray Sheet which is not retail. I have paid retail many times for a coin I needed or wanted and that does not mean it was over priced for me at that time. Now, factor in what you can sell for on ebay, and who know what the true value is. If you are happy, the price was right.
Jim

Values , when given are based upon experience and seeing the coins for sale. ebay is never a good way to figure what a coin is worth.

Counterfeits and mislabeled coins sell for hundreds of dollars on ebay. Those numbers are useless.

You can buy coins like this of this type for $3.00 to $4.00 without a lot of heavy duty looking at just about any coin show.

Thanks,
Bill

We've gone around this circle before. A piece of junk on ebay selling for an outlandish amount is not a way to figure a value on a coin. It happens all the time.

The buyer must be educated as it is only an uneducated buyer that will buy junk coins for an inflated price.

An analogy:
Because some chucklehead is willing to pay $15,000 (if there really was someone that goofy) for a rusted Ford Pinto that has been in a rear end wreck and exploded doesn't make another one worth fifteen grand.

Current price guides plus experience with current sales of certain coin types are the way that educated buyers compute prices.

There are a huge number of uneducated buyers on ebay and I wouldn't gauge a thing by a sale there.

If people are interested in honest values, they do the research or go to people with experience to help them. Admitedly, that can be tough and there are some unreal people out there. Just a look at a recent front page of CoinWorld where different people with well over $100,000.00 worth of coins were offered mere hundreds can make us honest folk cringe.

In general though, You can't just look at prices realized on ebay for real numbers.

Thanks,
Bill

This is where we get into an interesting concept. I am going to pose some questions and then add some responses. Could be a good discussion...

Does someone who is an uneducated buyer who will pay $20.00 for something worth $3.00 really make it worth $20.00?

ANSWER: I don't think so. This is , to me similar to folks paying $25.00 for a First Year of issue, Blah, Blah, Blah "run of the mill" 1964 Kennedy half dollar as sold on some of those TV coin selling shows. A seller is ripping a buyer by taking advantage of sales hype that might be true but really doesn't make a coin rare or valuable. This is a seller banking on the ignorance of the buyer. Unfair and unethical in my humble opinion. This often happens on ebay.



The next question is: Is it right for an educated seller on ebay to list something, hype it to death and turn a $3.00 coin into a $20.00 sale?

ANSWER: I don't think so. I used to sell a lot on ebay, I haven't in awhile but I will be eventually. When I sold, many times I would place a buy it now price that would be at a normal retail price for the coin. That would indicate to the buyers what I, as an educated seller thought the coin was worth. Then the coin would be described accurately. I would educate the buyer about the coin. No hype, no BS.

If an educated seller (dealer) puts up a $3.00 coin and hypes it to see if some dummy will pay $20.00 for it, that educated dealer is, in my humble opinion, ruining the hobby for others. Someday the buyer is going to find out that his $20.00 purchase is worth Three bucks unless he can figure out a way to scam another ebay buyer into taking it off his hands. It perpetuates a problem.

Also, there actually are a lot of honest brick and mortar dealers out there that get stuck with the sad task of telling someone with a bunch of stuff that cost someone thousands that the stuff is worth very little in comparison to the purchase price.

There are many honest ebay dealers so the prior comments don't apply to them. There are guys and gals that I can name that sell on ebay (but I wont advertise) who list accurately, educate the buyer in their ads and expect fair prices. The practices of the "not so hot" ebay dealers hurts the good guys as well. That's unjust in my opinion.


The next question? Since the hobby changes, (so lets take VAMS as an example). Is it right for someone to sell a coin on ebay that was purchased for $10.00 and have it turn out to be a rare VAM and now sell it for a thousand dollars?

ANSWER: This is absolutely alright! There is no ethical question here. The fact that the hobby might have come around to realize a rarity can work to the benefit of the collector.

A few examples of how the hobby has changed can make this point.

Years ago, a "frosted" proof as they were called was nice, but no big deal. you could get a "frosted" proof Franklin half, for example pretty inexpensively. Now, since the hobby has come to appreciate the beauty of a nice Cameo Franklin, the prices have escalated.

Many years ago, Die varieties were small potatoes, Now a 1969 S DDO Lincoln is worth a fortune.

The way the collecting patterns change is a legit part of the hobby.

In any case, a ripoff will always be a ripoff. Someone selling a coin with glue on it as a rare error will not cause every other coin with glue on it to increase in value. It just means that someone was goofy enough to buy someone's junk. Looking at what some uneducated buyer spent on a coin is no way to give the coin a value.

My advice is to educate yourself as to what has value and what doesn't. Then educate yourself on how to identify what you are looking at. Paying for a coin with Machine Doubling because you don't know the difference between a doubled die and a machine doubled coin is an education issue.

The fact that some folks pay good money for machine doubled coins, in this example doesn't make them worth anything.

People can collect anything they like and pay whatever they want for it. When others think that prices paid that are not realistic for something become real based upon unrealistic expectations, a serious problem develops.

Anyway...enough for now. This is not a lecture, even if it sounds like one...It is here to throw out some thoughts for discussion.

Thanks,
Bill

I just submit to the average collector that one way of doing it counts on ignorance and one way of doing it counts on an educated buyer.

To prey on the ignorant rather than educate them just bothers me. To see others make excuses for dealing that way bothers me. We are all entitled to an opinion but if I were a buyer on ebay, I'd rather buy from me:-)