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 Replies: 16 / Views: 4,313 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2003 Posts |
Perhaps it just me being paranoid and suspicious of almost everything I see on ebay but have any of you noticed on many coins what appears to be the words "replica" or "copy" faintly visible and obliterated by tooling or scratches on so many of these coins. I realize that the enlarge pictures may play games with the eyes but I really notice this a lot especially with Flying Eagle and Indian cents. I try to limit my ebay purchases to sealed in mint cellophane or proof sets in original mint packaging. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4468 Posts |
I have no issue buying low dollar amount coins on ebay. My ebay cap of a raw coin is $200, and I typically can find a better or equal coin in a TPG holder priced $200 plus. if you have any questions about a coin's grade or authenticity, post it in the grading section and the CCF members will give you the necessary information. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
Honestly I hardly ever see this on the coins I tend to look at on ebay. Do you have any examples? |
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Valued Member
 United States
460 Posts |
Don't buy raw uncirculated or "BU" raw coins on ebay. I learned the hard way that you can't tell from a picture if a coin is a slider or "commercial unc." with slight circulation that can't be detected without in hand inspection. I got a real expensive lesson getting burned on raw sliders priced as mint state. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19129 Posts |
I buy a modest number of coins on ebay and have had very few disappointments. Of course for me, with anything that looks to exceed $150 or so I tend to defer to coin shows and coin shops. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4691 Posts |
Do your homework. Take some chances. I bought thousands of dollars worth of scarce uncertified rare US paper money from Russia back in the early days of ebay....never had any issues. Just received a raw 1900 Layfayette dollar I picked up on ebay, without any regrets. Edited by jimbucks
04/08/2021 7:58 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5823 Posts |
Buy from good ebay sellers that also offer return, not everything raw is what you may expected from even good pictures, but its usually close, unless close isn't good enough in some situation. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5825 Posts |
If a coin is not in an NGC or PCGS slab I ignore it.
EXCEPTION
Once in a long while I'll find a variety that a seller doesn't know about.
I've cherrypicked a few raw coins that way.
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
I buy most of my coins raw on E-bay . Unlike kanga I'll only buy PCGS or NGC for a key coin to make sure it is genuine . I never had a problem with coins being copies or replica's that I was unable to detect . As far as problem coins Look at the their photos with eyes of an Eagle and inspect every little detail of the coin that your ready to buy .  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5825 Posts |
Quote:
As far as problem coins Look at the their photos with eyes of an Eagle and inspect every little detail of the coin that your ready to buy. The problem often encountered with this method is the terrible pictures many sellers' posts. I would really like to send those people a message saying, " Would YOU buy that coin based on your pictures?" But that would probably get too many complaints and get me axed from ebay. Edited by kanga
04/09/2021 09:11 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
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The problem often encountered with this method is the terrible pictures many sellers' posts. If the pictures are bad, I just move on. There are plenty of other choices. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1788 Posts |
I personally disagree with the philosophy of depending on the grading services to purchase a coin. Don't limit yourself to PCGS/NGC graded stuff, learn the coin and series you're attempting to purchase, and if you are not confident then don't bid. Alas, the grading services are good for authenticity. As for what you've said about the Indian cents and FE Cents and the "copy" faintly visible and tooled, can you provide some links? We can tell you if you're being paranoid or not. I have not seen this at all, but I haven't looked too hard in that section of ebay. |
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Moderator
United States
187862 Posts |
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If the pictures are bad, I just move on. There are plenty of other choices.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1613 Posts |
I have literally bought in the hundreds of raw specimens on ebay since 1997 and have yet to get burned. Over paying or buying a few below expectations is another thing. Which I alone am to fault there, on occasion the lack of research. Simply because, I have, and do, weigh then carefully examine every purchase upon receipt. And like Slider23 mentioned, I also limit a raw purchase to maximum of $200 that I have yet to reach. ANA member - PAN Member - BCCS Member There are no problems only solutions - the late, great John Lennon
Edited by Ballyhoo
04/09/2021 7:05 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4233 Posts |
I have never seen a coin on ebay with replica or copy faintly visible or tooled off. I'd like to see an example of that. I have spent slightly over $200 on a raw coin once but the rest were under that. Like @kanga, I am looking for specific varieties and occasionally fell into the "just to have one" situation. I pick them if they don't have obvious problems, figuring somebody else will be doing the same if I ever had to sell. Early in my ebay days when I was "uneducated" (OK, stupid), I did get burned on a few, for example one in an NNC slab and you know what that means. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I keep away from ebay for coins. I need to see what I'm getting in person. |
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Replies: 16 / Views: 4,313 |
Posted 04/08/2021 6:56 pm
