| Author |
 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,298 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
2223 Posts |
I've been looking at many of this seller's Peace dollars for some time now on ebay. They have always struck me as not being original and they all look the same. I decided to buy one and see what it looked like in hand. Here are seller's pics and then mine. I tried to get photos as close to reality as I could. I also won't name the seller at this time but looking at his 2x2 photos and what is on line you can figure it out. Somehow the coin's finish/surfaces do not appear as they would be fresh from the mint. What do you think, and grade? I say BU Details. Seller's Pics   My photos   |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3633 Posts |
Your in-hand photos are good. One look at the rims and continuity of scratches from rim to field is all it takes. The seller's photos are angled, washed out by light, and difficult to assess because of the angle and lighting, but also because of the 2x2. The only adjustment to the seller's photos that helps show any of the surface detail is to drop the contrast significantly, and even that only gives a little glimpse. To me, the underlying coin looks like it was a slider, but even if it could have made UNC, it would have topped out at MS-61/MS-62 with the heavy cheek gash. "Gem" implies a 65, and there isn't any planet on which this would ever have been close to a 65. On a positive note, given ebay, at least the underlying coin isn't a counterfeit. Ugh. |
|
Bedrock of the Community
 United States
18654 Posts |
to me the sellers photos look like they were created to hide the surfaces. the obv rims appear to be cleaning marks and from K8-K9 they appear to move into the field. I think the coin was cleaned as they do not look like bag marks.
UND details (cleaned)
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
 United States
25069 Posts |
All of that seller's coins are "MS+++" and the photos look just like the one you posted.
Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 2223 Posts |
Thanks for your comments and observations!
I agree, this one would never make the Gem level and at best 61-63. And yes, all of this seller's coins are marked MS+++ and look very much alike.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
73918 Posts |
The seller's photos were deceptive. It's a shame, because it's a nice looking Peace dollar otherwise. Errers and Varietys.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
11880 Posts |
Looking back, I feel like I learned a lot from buying from seller photos. You get better at it over time. The lessons I learned were, at least for me, more valuable than the money I wasted on duds. The old timers called mistakes the tuition we pay along the way. BU details for me too. Looks overdipped.
IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: " It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website: https://fairfaxcoins.comEdited by numismatic student
08/26/2025 10:49 pm
|
|
Pillar of the Community
2223 Posts |
Thanks for your input errors and numismatic.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
6489 Posts |
Quote:
The lessons I learned were, at least for me, more valuable than the money I wasted on duds. I think that's a healthy way to approach the learning curve. Although I think that small silver coins are a less costly way to learn grading from pictures. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1963 Posts |
This is an example from a seller that posts its listings in a very similar fashion. I picked it up in September 2022. . .I was a noob on the CCF and had a thimble's full of knowledge about dipping coins, altering photos, and other "tricks of the trade". I think I got it because I wanted a shiny example of my favorite coin design:  A year later, I was working through coins on behalf of my sister and my '25 Peace was included in an ANACS submission. I think I expected to get back a "Details - Cleaned" slab-- based on the education I received from poring over the CCF grading threads, among others. Instead, it was chosen for conservation and graded:   I think it was sheer luck that the submission achieved that outcome. My seller has been around since December 2007; southsav's seller has a March 2015 born-on date and appears to have copied the selling model displayed by the seller I patronized, with better penmanship and a different color Sharpie. Both ship from small towns east of Cleveland and are within an hour's drive of each other. They use the same "SixBit" eCommerce platform. . .and label their 2x2's in a nearly identical manner. Caveat Emptor" Even a clock that's stopped is right twice a day. "
Edited by cptbilly
08/28/2025 10:13 am
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1018 Posts |
I always question photos from sellers when the coin is in a flip. Photos should never be taken through plastic, unless it's a slab.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
36710 Posts |
Looks MS-63 to me based on your photos.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
2223 Posts |
Great comments and contributions Billy, Red and Indian.
I'll take a 63-64 at raw price any day Billy, congrats.
|
| |
Replies: 12 / Views: 1,298 |
|
Posted 08/26/2025 11:30 am
