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 Replies: 47 / Views: 4,663 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6384 Posts |
I paid $1000 for a 1794 Large Cent in VF. I sent it to ANACS and they graded it VF details, corroded/cleaned, net F-12. I learned that corrosion and cleaning on early copper can be hard to spot. I sold the coin for about a $400 loss and still haven't re-filled that spot in my type set.
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New Member
United States
2 Posts |
I'm a newbie. Pretty much a numismatic virgin. So I find this thread pretty important. My local coin shop guy passed away this past week. I don't know where to buy now. He was my guide to coins. I once saw some guys in his shop that were trying to sell altered coins to him. He played it very cool and just told them he wasn't interested. I'm a school teacher and can't afford to be swindled. If I don't buy from e-bay, where do I go now that there's no coin shop around? How can I recognize if a coin has been cleaned in order to give it the appearance of a higher value? Should I just buy sets from the US Mint? Any guidance here would be APPRECIATED.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
 birdies! I take it you are a pretty good golfer? You're in the right place to learn about coins, but it seems like there is no substitute for making a few mistakes to learn. Avoid high value raw coins and post pictures or links here at CCF of coins your are interested in. Just take it slow and things will be fine. |
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Moderator
 United States
16679 Posts |
I have lost money on sales, but have made the money back on others, including some great pickups on ebay that resulted in one coin, a $2000 profit...if that's what you mean. swcoin.ecrater.com
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
958 Posts |
vermont , not interested in profits. Just the coins you lost money on , and how you lost money.
Anyone can tell us with a smile how much they made off a coin, but no one will run to the forum and post how much they lost. Thats what I am interested in the LOSS stories. Does not matter if you balanced out the loss
or made money off another coin.Just want to hear the loss money coins
overpaid,
overgraded,
altered cleaned
fakes
undersold
stuff like that
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4989 Posts |
Nearly everyone will take a loss when they first purchase a coin due to buyer commission or dealer profit. Over time, the hope is that appreciation will offset those costs. I have noticed, however, that local dealers do not do a very good job of grading and pricing their inventory. Hence, if you get good at grading (I'm trying to get expert at Morgan dollars), you can cherry pick some great deals. I recently got an MS-64 to MS-66 Carson City dollar at MS-62 retail price. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
Quote:
...overpaid, overgraded, altered cleaned, fakes, undersold...
I think you're onto something here coppertop5150. Maybe an entire forum devoted to "Coin Losers" could become the best learning tool on the web! As you noted, some might be reluctant to post - but the knowledge gained by all could be tremendous. You often learn more from your failures than from your successes. |
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Valued Member
United States
183 Posts |
I think this thread is a great idea! Very useful for people beginning their collections as well as those moving into higher value items where being burned could hurt badly. So far I have been roll hunting and buying at melt, so unless/until metals move down, don't see losses coming unless I miscount quantities or get robbed...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1745 Posts |
I seem to get into the most trouble at coin auctions. I venture into unfamiliar territory and don't do a good enough job with the visual inspection. I just bought a 1913D Buffalo Typ 2 with restored date. I didn't notice it wasa restored until I got it home.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2541 Posts |
It wasn't a very expensive lesson thankfully, but I thought it would be a great idea to start buying State Quarter proofs (clad, not silver!) in PCGS Proof 69 DCAM with the flags on them. I figured I'd build the entire set and turn a profit. I got bored with it and figured I was spending too much money on it - even though it was only about $10 per coin. I went to my local coin store and the guy wouldn't even buy them. I managed to get a couple of bucks a piece at a pawn shop and I think the guy cracked them out and threw the holders in the garbage. It probably only cost me about $75 all in all so I could have got off a lot worse. I learned a valuable lesson though! I buy fewer pieces now that are higher priced, but things that are more likely to retain value if I have to move them out for any reason. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
958 Posts |
true this coud be made a stickey for newbie coin buyers things to know before buying a coin to look out for cleaned artifically toned altered date ,mink mark , features removed or added restored ( chemical etching ) electroplating ( recoloring and replacing luster) polished overgraded overpriced misrepresented (one coin being sold as another) fake copies overpaying fake slabs red ,redbrown,brown differances fake errors ( man made clipped planchets and so on ) Machine Doubling and double die dfferences just as a check list for people new to the collecting |
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Valued Member
United States
52 Posts |
Yes, on a 1944 Philippines 10 centavos
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Pillar of the Community
United States
759 Posts |
Here's one: 1888 Type I Gold Dollar, bought off of ebay for $152, $155 all in with shipping. Upon arrival, coin was obviously, obviously ex-jewelry, although still really nice, not too distracting. I looked at the pictures again a hundred times and still couldn't see it. Seller offered to accept return, but I liked the fairly low mintage 1888. Anyway, just sold for $150 so I'm out $5. That's a valuable lesson really cheap. Another coin, another seller, a poor decision to keep and it could have been a lot worse. |
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Valued Member
United States
273 Posts |
Never taken a big hit, a few dollars here and there. I think the biggest loss was about $10... but it was all down to ebay fees. Actually sold the coin for more than I paid but ebay and PayPal does noone any favors. Then again, I haven't sold any really expensive coins. We'll get there. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
958 Posts |
onebowel, I looked at 1928 a 2.5$ indian nice coin for $100 around 5 yrs ago, but after seeing it in person the edge showed it was in a pendante at one time, so I passed although time has made the melt value alone worth $160
i understand what you mean about ornament coins
I read online many gold coins were made to pendants to avoid the big meltdown in 33
and yup pay pal sucks !
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Replies: 47 / Views: 4,663 |
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Posted 12/20/2010 10:43 pm
