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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,063 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2669 Posts |
There's good cherry-picking fodder at yard sales, estate sales, etc.. but when they're located online, sometimes the pictures are so bad you can barely see what the item is, never mind its condition. Sometimes you can get some details from the description, but not always, especially when the only information is the title ("Coin") and nothing else. I was perusing the coin inventory of one such online estate sale last week, and among the usual slew of common-dated coins, I came across a couple of potentials. There was a 1905-O Barber quarter, an 1893 Morgan, and another one I'll get to in a second. Pictures were terrible on all these coins, but I could at least see there was enough wear on the Morgan that it was between Good and Fine, and at the time the bid was $12. The quarter was in about the same shape, and was at $4. The third coin was listed as a 1856 Two Cent. Thinking the person had just transposed the last 2 digits, I went to look at the picture. Typical very fuzzy, but enough for me to tell it had a seated liberty obverse. Scratch that idea, 2-cents don't have that obverse. So what could it be? From the size of the 2x2, it's about the size of a dime or Half Dime, which do have that obverse in 1856. But the coin in the picture looks copper. It doesn't look like dark toned silver, it really looks copper. Simply a super-dark-toned dime or Half Dime? Wrong planchet error? A fake? So.. fuzzy pictures, wrong descriptions (which raises the question of wrong descriptions on the first 2!), plus there is never a picture of the reverse.. would you gamble on any of these? |
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
If you consider silver value alone you won't have much of a loss,just a thought.John1  |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Quote:
would you gamble on any of these? YES!  Um, after careful consideration. |
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Valued Member
United States
60 Posts |
Part of the online *fun* of collecting is just such gambles (once in a blue moon, not considering the more serious searches for particular coins). Usually, nothing beats viewing coins in person. Personally, unless I know the seller or can discern his reputation to be excellent, I use "play" money of around $100 which I set aside every few months for these such online gambles. Go for it (and let us know how it turns out)!  Edited by phdezra
02/01/2009 8:54 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2669 Posts |
Quote:YES! Um, after careful consideration.  Thanks for all your thoughts. I actually had gone for all these (after careful consideration, of course  ), but just wanted to see if I was the only one willing to gamble! (ending bids were only slightly higher!) Coins won't arrive for 1-2 weeks, but we'll see then how well we called it  |
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Valued Member
United States
311 Posts |
The pictures were so bad that you couldn't even tell the dates? I'd certainly gamble more than $12 on an 1893 Morgan dollar if the date were legible in the photo! (as long as the seller wasn't in China) I gamble on quite a few sub-$20 auctions... I've gotten a fair bit of junk, and get outbid on a ridiculous number of them, but every once in a while I've gotten some pretty lucky scores that make it worthwhile. Which reminds me, I need to find time to pick up my lot of 100-odd unspecified buffalo and War Nickels... |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I wouldn't but then I seldom ever use ebay or any on line auctions. Some come out fantastically. For example I know someone that bid $5 on a $5 Gold coin and won it. The seller even paid for the postage and it was real. Then too someone else I know got something for $100 on ebay that he found later in a coin show for $20. You never know. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2669 Posts |
Ok, the coins arrived. --The 1856 two-cent is a Half Dime. Looks a bit coppery due to being dirty, and I think the rest of the coppery color in the photo came from their lighting. Not a bad deal. --The 1905-O quarter is about what I expected and I didn't overpay --The 1893 (which, by the way, I could NOT discern the date in the one picture) showed up with a CC mintmark! Faint and looks like someone tried to scratch it off (very odd) but it's there. I about fell out of my chair!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
819 Posts |
Nice, Good hunting! BTW, I would make that gamble and others similar, was going to post that as I read the thread but got to the point where the answer was revealed but wanted to post my response anyway. I have won a few good items that way, overpaid on a few....some rained out (outbid) but I enjoy the process and don't think I have made any seriouos mistakes...more to my gain than loss.
Also, just a note since I mentioned hunting. Did you know that "vegetarian" is an old indian word for "lousy hunter?"
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2130 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2130 Posts |
 Great find!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2669 Posts |
Thanks, all I posted pictures of the Morgan in the grading forum: https://goccf.com/t/42979 (I wasn't sure whether I should post the mint mark question in the variety/error forum or in the VAM one or what..!) As you can see, the mint mark is VERY faint - I don't blame them for missing it. Opinions welcome! |
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Valued Member
United States
429 Posts |
If it is not that much for the coin then I say go for it, the worst you are out is the price of the coin. I have lucked out on a few Large Cents from ebay doing this as well. The best purchase was for a set of four coins in lower condition and some type of problem, the seller listed and described the first three but left the forth one off. Because the pictures were a little fuzzy it was hard to see everything but you could tell the forth coin was in a lot better condition and the others would be great fillers. When I finally got my coins luck was with me and I had ended up with a medium grade coin so paying $16 for three fillers and receiving a $50+ coin with them was well worth it. Now, if I could just have your luck when I look at Morgans. |
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,063 |
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Posted 02/01/2009 2:46 pm
