1878 8TF VAM 14.16 On Ebay

Well, I'm home now and had a chance to look at the auction and see if the seller heeded my caution (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...:RTQ:US:1123)...

My email to seller:
Your coin is not a VAM 14.16 it is a VAM 23. Both have a doubled profile, but the top of the 'P' in PLURIBUS is thin on the VAM 23. And there is a HUGE difference in price. The 23 sells for $50 in VF and the 14.16 is $900.

Seller Reply:
I Just went and looked it up on VAM World, I would have to disagree. The doubling is more pronounced under my magnifier, it appears to look more like of the 14.16, instead if the VAM 23, both appears to have the same thin top on the P.

My Follow-up:
I'm just trying to save you some heartache on this listing. The reverse lower tail feather configuration is an 8TF A²/A¹b which is VAM 23. The 14.16 has the A1n reverse and MUST have the die gouge in the lower part of 'N' in UNITED. Please look at these two different lower tail feather groupings and compare with yours. No need to respond ... as I said I'm just trying to help, not argue.

How seller represented this in the auction:

I'm not a VAM expert or coin grader, but looking under my magnifier, & looking at the pictures on VAM World, it appears to me to be a VAM 14.16. But I can't say positively, absolutely it is, but that is what it looks like to me. Someone messaged me that if it is a 14.16 that is worth a considerable amount of money, I did not know this when I listed it, or I would of started with a much greater starting bid, I just listed it this way when I was looking at VAMS. It has very, very pronounced double dating & the funny U on reverse & the doubling of the face & chin, so please be your own judge! -Thank You, Elizabeth

Said seller now goes from confused to SCUMBAG! I will be posting this in the Non-Recommended seller thread.

I did a follow-up last night on this transaction and noted that the seller had her first negative feedback. Yep, it was for this auction and the buyer was not happy. He paid $255 for a $35 coin. The coin was attributable from the photos as a VAM 23 (incorrect reverse for the VAM 14.16) so the buyer could have helped himself, but didn't. He chose to gamble on this based on the seller's hype (ps - and a no return policy). He did get half his money back on a return, so watch for this coin to be re-listed as a VAM 14.16.

I emailed the buyer and let him know I contacted the seller early in the auction and informed her that it was not a VAM 14.16 and directed her to VAMWorld. Hopefully he can use this to file a dispute (item significantly not as described) to recover all his money.

Moral ... do your homework and be very judicious on where you place your trust.