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 Replies: 31 / Views: 4,660 |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5663 Posts |
I recently listed a nice mint state 1929-P Buffalo on ebay. When it sold, I checked the buyer's feedback as I usually do to make sure there weren't any potential issues. I noticed that he both bought and sold quite a few coins, and when I checked his items for sale, I was chagrined to find that he was a seller of artificially toned coins, all with wild tones of blues, purples, and greens. So my dilemma was should I go ahead with the sale and have him ruin an attractive uncirculated Buffalo nickel, or should I cancel the sale and wait for a buyer that would appreciate an original mint state coin? What would you do? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2843 Posts |
That is a great moral quandary! The purist numismatist says NO SALE. The pragmatist economist says YOU PAY, ITS YOURS.
Good luck with whatever decision you make.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1026 Posts |
 Kinda hard though to pick your buyers on ebay, especially if you're selling it in an auction. Edited by CitationSquirrel
06/13/2019 12:02 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Keep in mind with the new paypal policies that if you cancel the sale it will cost you money. It's not really a rare coin and toning can be removed later on depending what they do, they're going to get coins anyways so canceling will really just hurt you. I would do the sale and if it really bothers you block them so they can't buy any more in the future
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
I would sell a coin to my dog if he had any money.
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
2752 Posts |
Quote:
I would sell a coin to my dog if he had any money. ..  I've had buyers who've bought nice coins from me 'IMO' and have then sent me proud photos of them drilled out and made into earrings or necklaces!! Seriously though, if the essence of the coin is important to you, maybe its not a good idea to sell on ebay  |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5239 Posts |
I see no point trying to control what happens to a coin after it is sold. It is theirs to use or abuse.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Like when you sell a house, really. Or a car.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5663 Posts |
I'm glad the consensus seems to be to go ahead with the sale. After mulling it over a bit, that's what I decided, too. I wanted to sell the coin, he wanted to buy it at my listed price, and I figured it wasn't my business what he did with it afterwards. Besides, my dog didn't have the cash!  This was about 6 weeks ago, and after I shipped it to him, I watched his items for sale to see how long it would take for him to tone it and relist it. Sure enough, it popped up as a new item this week, looking a bit different. I know it's my coin because of the bag mark on the cheek and several other distinguishing marks. And he's selling it for nearly twice what I sold it for!   |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Wow, that's a serious misrepresentation. Can you give us a link, please.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
The buyer has learned to heat treat, to achieve beautiful multi color toning. A form of deliberate PMD. This is a perfect case why I ignore rainbow toning, when I make a decision to buy or not. I ignore the obvious eye appeal, and it makes no difference whatsoever to the value. Some purists would walk away, because the coin has been 'doctored'. I won't go quite that far, but I will take the PMD into account. Rainbow toning is unstable, unless locked in an airtight (and I mean airtight), container. Such a container may be at odds with the way you present or store the rest of your collection. Once the coin leaves your ownership, you have no control over it, and the new owner can do whatever he likes with it, including on selling it, with the 'doctoring'. For the new buyer, it is a matter of caveat emptor, = buyer beware. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8938 Posts |
I can like toned coins. That looks horrible.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
A link will help bring this down.
Edited by Coinfrog
06/13/2019 9:47 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5823 Posts |
I bought a early die state RPM Mercury dime, and it to me had questionable toning. I am waiting to see how the toning changes over time, it maybe a very long time? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5663 Posts |
Here's the listing of my coin that he just relisted. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1929-Buffa...AOSw5B5dAW5H All his coins look the same. He's a little vague about the toning process, but there probably isn't anything in his description that misrepresents the coins. And apparently people buy them and are happy with them... I guess you can consider it abstract art! |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
I certainly wouldn't consider that to be rainbow toned or beautiful, nor a comparable to the PCGS coin pictured as an example. If some people like that look that's their choice, the majority of the market will frown on it. Quote:
I am waiting to see how the toning changes over time, it maybe a very long time? Could be. You could literally do the same thing to same of the same date/mm/denomination coins and put them side by side in whatever experiment and get different results on both. The toning that really gets the big money is generally stable and has been around for quite sometime, it just gets more attention now with the internet. |
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Replies: 31 / Views: 4,660 |
Posted 06/13/2019 12:02 pm
