| Author |
 Replies: 15 / Views: 9,019 |
|
|
Valued Member
United States
119 Posts |
Hi all, I recently ordered a set of Uncirculated State Quarters. When I received them I was very disapointed, many of the quarters have plenty of scratches, and some of them have very noticeable blemishes. In fact, I've found plenty better specimens in circulation. According to the seller, "These Coins have been hand picked from US Mint Bags or Bank wrapped Rolls." I find it hard to believe considering I can get customer-rolled rolls of quarters from the bank and find some that are just as good or in better condition. But his ad did say "uncirculated" not "brilliant uncirculated" and I know that ANA's definition of MS-60 uncirculated (lowest grade for uncirculated) is "A strictly uncirculated coin with no trace of wear, but with blemishes more obvious than for MS-63. May lack full mint luster, and surface may be dull, spotted, or heavily toned." So am I wrong here for expecting better coins? I assumed that since the seller stated they were "hand-picked" from US Mint Bags that they would only pick out the ones in best condition. One coin even appears to have some grit or dirt on it. Also like I've said, I've found better coins in circulation. I'd like some input as I don't want to leave bad feedback for this seller if it was my mistake in assuming the coins should have been in better condition. Thanks again all! AC |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
591 Posts |
Well coming from a bag means the coins are all rubbing together\ etc etc. SO there will probably be signs of them doing so.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2757 Posts |
Can you post a picture? People can offer their opinions on the grade, and the average of the guesses is usually spot on.
|
|
Moderator
 United States
187702 Posts |
Quote:
Well coming from a bag means the coins are all rubbing together\ etc etc. SO there will probably be signs of them doing so. I agree. What you have here could be the "scraps" of searched bags and rolls. The better hand-picked coins were probably sold in higher priced sets. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1745 Posts |
I think you got what he said you would get. Hand picked does not imply a grade nor does uncirculated. This one might be one classified as "a lesson". We have all done it and hopefully we all learn from our "lessons".
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Australia
2830 Posts |
I've heard the dings in uncirculated coins referred to as "bag-marks", as they arise from the newly minted coins being tipped into bags for transport from the Mint: so, they are less than "perfect", but they are, technically, uncirculated.
Peter in Oz
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Quote:
I assumed that since the seller stated they were "hand-picked" from US Mint Bags that they would only pick out the ones in best condition. "Hand-picked" usually means someone stuck their hand in a bag of coins and pulled one out for you  MS60 is the first uncirculated grade but MS60 coins can be some of the ugliest things around. A coin with absolutely no wear but an abundance of heavy bagmarks and scuffs still grades MS60 but I would certainly rather have a nice AU55/58 example if I could not afford the jump to MS63/64. In the vast majority of cases, an AU55/58 coin has much more eye appeal than a coin graded MS60-62 even though it may only be worth half as much or less. That may seem kind of screwy but think about it for a moment- would you rather have an almost perfect coin that only has light wear or a technically uncirculated coin littered with distracting bagmarks? For inexpensive modern widgets like State Quarters, I prefer to select them myself so I can control the quality a bit better. It may cost you a little more in the long run to do it that way but you will have a much nicer set in the end. |
|
Valued Member
 United States
119 Posts |
Ok then it was my mistake in expecting coins that were better than what I could pick from circulated coins. I was aware that they would have bag marks but did not expect the seller to sell me uncirculated coins that were in similar condition to circulated coins I could find anywhere. My mistake, lesson learned. Quote:For inexpensive modern widgets like State Quarters, I prefer to select them myself so I can control the quality a bit better. It may cost you a little more in the long run to do it that way but you will have a much nicer set in the end. Why would it cost me more? I understand it would take more time, but shouldn't cost any more money, right? AC |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Purchasing all 100 State Quarters preloaded into an album or folder is almost always cheaper than buying one coin or a few coins at a time but the extra money is spent on quality vs quickness of completing the set. |
|
Valued Member
United States
119 Posts |
I think I'll just pay .25 each :)
|
|
Valued Member
United States
99 Posts |
Having bought numerous bags and Statehood Quarters directly from the mint myself. I must tell you that their grades are almost always higher then what is found in circulation. However, from time to time I do run across bags that lack luster and eye appeal. Yet these bags seem to have more Struck Through Grease, die cracks and oddities amongst them. |
|
Valued Member
United States
273 Posts |
You can't expect all modern 'uncirculated' coins to be perfect. Especially buying from ebay. For what it's wroth, you have a better chance of finding coins with less marks and dings on it from mint-wrapped rolls than bags, IMO. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
Is there a return policy? If you're not happy with them, return them.
I'm not saying I never bid on coins with no return policy, but I am much more particular before bidding if that is the case. I have to be as close to 100% sure the coin is a good one before I consider it. No blurry or inadequate pics on no return items for me!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3592 Posts |
I would never bid on coins with a "no return" policy unless I were buying bullion...even a picture doesn't guaranty you'll get what was shown.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
19935 Posts |
Once again, biokemist reflects my exact feelings.
I can NEVER recommend buying a set like this. It's always WAY better to take your time and find nice, high grade coins and build it yourself. In the past I've bought a few BU Memorial sets that were subpar. I took the best coins from each and put together a better set. Then, over the past few years, I've worked diligently to find super high grade Memorials to upgrade the set. For about a year that's all I did was seek gem Memorial cents.....I almost gave up even messing with my Wheats.
Bottomline, if you want a high grade set of any series, you have to do it the old fashioned way.....one coin at a time.
Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
|
|
Valued Member
United States
99 Posts |
Yes, naturally rolled coins bought directly from the mint will provide a greater yield of high-end Mint State coins. But it's interesting to note that the mint bags will contain a higher yield of mint anomalies. However the coins on the US Mint site are just a little to pricy when you factor in shipping. So my advice is to keep hunting for "that roll" at your local banks. Don't waste your time (and money) buying these on e-bay!
|
| |
Replies: 15 / Views: 9,019 |
|
Posted 10/27/2010 3:58 pm
