Would you tell a seller that they had a million dollar coin?
carlos6466
Posts: 56 ✭✭
...if they were selling it at a garage sale, or online?
What if it was just an expensive coin... would you tell them it's valuable and then offer a fair value?
Successful payments; shipments; delivery; and receipt of coins sold to them: @Soldi; @robkool; @JohnT58; @carsgoby; @Azurescens
2
Comments
Yes, unless I thought they were likely to do bad things with the $$.
No. With proceeds in hand I’d likely give them a taste of the action though.
Of course
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
Yes
I would check and double check. Million dollar coins are very rare and the odds of finding one at a garage sale are slim. Online, not likely that I would be the only one to notice it.
Thst would be.a nice thing to do but I suspect that once you told them it was valuable they would not take your offer and assume you were lowballing them.
Depends on who the seller was.
I would tell a seller that they had a million dollar coin....if it was only worth a dollar and I just wanted to see the look on their face.
No ... and yes.
No, not when I was buying it. I would buy it as offered or might even haggle a bit. Otherwise, I am sure I would never, ever see it again.
Yes, after I was sure I scored what I thought I scored, I would make right somehow with some serious show of appreciation.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Thanks for all the great answers! I'm glad to hear that honesty and integrity are alive and well...
Successful payments; shipments; delivery; and receipt of coins sold to them: @Soldi; @robkool; @JohnT58; @carsgoby; @Azurescens
Yes. There is more of this in America than the media wants you to believe.
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
It all depends.
Here is my honest answer, if I were at a show or a yard sale or something being offered at some place like an antique festival and it had a price, Id buy it, and move on.
However, if somebody comes in to my place of business (the shop) it is my duty to inform them of the approximate value. i believe that is the ethical way to do business. Folks who come into to check on a value, expect nothing less. I am there to appraise coins, purchase and so forth.
Now nothing anywhere near that kind of value, I have had situations over the years in the shop where I informed folks of the value and really would like to purchase it, only for them to say "Oh I think Ill keep that"
One case years ago, lady and son come in with a few gold pieces, most were common date 2 1/2 and a couple of 5's. I happen to notice one of the 5's was an 1840. when i turned it over , it happen to be Charlotte. They said whats that mean, and I explained, instead of being a 300 coin (gold was not that high then) it was more like 1500. they sold the other gold kept that one. But, several months after that incident, the son took the charlotte to a gold buying outfit and sold it for 100 dollars.
Well that's because the coin dealers didn't weigh in. lol
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
I would LOVE to be able to tell someone that. Over a period of about 40 years, whenever I had to tell someone that their item was very valuable, I was able to buy that item a majority of the time.
The main exception came when a deceased customers family came to me with his collection. It was worth damn near 7 figures. I explained that it would take a little bit of time to liquidate properly, with an auction being the logical venue. They just wanted a bunch of money right now and blew me off in favor of some sharks that came in and picked them clean......
From my point of view... If the seller is presumed to have knowledge/experience with coins they are selling then no I would not tell them.
If the seller is a layperson, inheritor, etc where there isn’t a presumption of knowledge/experience then yes. I know I wouldn’t see a penny from them most likely but it is the right thing to do.
Incidentally the first is the same thing as cherry picking. And I have done the latter many times (though with not that expensive of a coin) and helped the person find the best price for their coin. Only in one case did a person do more than just thank me but I would do it all again.
TurtleCat Gold Dollars
At a yard sale, I would buy the coin and, if indeed it was a valuable coin - once I researched and confirmed - I would return and give the original owners a share. That would be my own money, since I would keep the coin. Other venues such as flea markets, antique shops, I buy and consider it cherry picking. Cheers, RickO
Maybe .....
While it was nothing even close to a million dollar item back in the early 1990's I spotted a rare banknote variety in a dealer's offerings and informed him of the mistake in his listing. Big mistake! The dealer quickly grabbed the note from me and put it back in his briefcase. When I asked him for a price he just flatly said it wasn't for sale. I never saw the note again or did any business with the dealer again.
You didn't ask them what they would do if it was a dealer who was selling the coin.... LOL
And it's easy to say it, I think a few of these people might behave a little differently if actually confronted with the million dollar coin.
No, I would rip it and run. Anything else is just asking for legal issues.
"It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
It depends. Each situation is different.
When buying at a garage sale (or online), you are always taking a chance. There is a risk of counterfeits, fakes, hidden damage, etc. At a garage sale, conditions are poor for evaluation of an item... bad lighting, maybe you have a loupe or not, perhaps not much time to evaluate. Online, photos are deceiving, and perhaps intentionally so, and you do not have the item in hand to properly evaluate. I've made purchases before... and when I got home to better evaluate... realize that the item isn't quite what I thought it was... and my purchase was not the bargain I thought it was. Buyer beware...
Generally... I consider the asking price at a garage sale as fair game; the onus is on me the buyer whether it is worth it or not. I do not intentionally try to deceive or trick the seller.
I was going through some boxes one time and came across a coin marked $20 that was actually an overdate variety that wasn't recognized when it was put in the 2x2 and worth several hundred dollars. I showed it to the seller and said I was still interested, and asked the price. He said it's $20. "You don't want to reprice it?" I asked. His response- "Sure, but if you hadn't told me about it, somebody else would have just bought it without saying anything. It wouldn't be right to charge you more for letting me know."
Well not exactly the same, but I once found a Rolex submariner and I turned it into the police. I was not sure if it was stolen or dropped etc. it was engraved on the underside but only first name. I left the police with my name and number and never heard anything, so I hope the owner got it back.
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Never know, someone may have stuck the Rolex in a box and put it up.
More than likely, especially since I could not afford it.
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Yes, if they were asking $2M. Gotta chisel 'em down!
THAT'S INTEGRITY. I LOVE THAT...!!!
Successful payments; shipments; delivery; and receipt of coins sold to them: @Soldi; @robkool; @JohnT58; @carsgoby; @Azurescens
reminds me of a joke scuba shops and instructors use...
How do you make a million dollars in the scuba industry?
.
.
.
.
Answer, "start with two!"
Successful payments; shipments; delivery; and receipt of coins sold to them: @Soldi; @robkool; @JohnT58; @carsgoby; @Azurescens
Was the coin in the garbage?
At least in a hypothetical example.
Yes because I believe karma is a bit........you know how to spell the rest
HAPPY COLLECTING
If I was a dealer I would always wonder if I was being "tested" by a potential customer. Testing the honesty of a dealer. By the customer who really knew what they had.
But upon doing that would they then become suspect that it was worth alot more? Would you tell them what you sold it for or it's worth?
At this point in my life, yes. This topic reminds me of a W.C. Fields movie line:"Never give a sucker an even break".
I believe the other part of that quote is "You can't cheat an honest man."
I agree with @jdimmick and @TurtleCat , though. It's one thing to cherrypick, but if you're offering professional coin appraisals, they have to be honest.
Obviously.
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
@BLUEJAYWAY...I would not sell the coin, I would just tell them I believe it is worth more than they sold it for. Cheers, RickO
As a collector, yes. If I were a dealer also yes but I would want to be compensated in some way as that's how I make my living. I like the idea of taking it on consignment. If the seller was anxious for cash I would offer a fraction in cash with an agreement to split any gain - we're talking $1 million now not $1 thousand. Also depends on how confident I was of the genuineness/market value as to how much cash.
I usually pay ask. In the event a person is ignorant of true value, ( which I hope not) , it makes me wonder if the seller is the rightful owner. See how that works ?
what jdimmick said.
we had an older woman come into the shop one afternoon, she wanted to look at some Jewelry and had some "silver dimes" to sell, maybe 15 of them. the woman I work with handed them to my boss and he looked them over the asked the woman "What did you want for these?" as she looked at some Gold chains. she said she didn't know and my boss walked over to her and showed her all but one and told her something like $15-20. she said "OK" and then he pulled out his other hand and said "But I'll give you $400 for this one" and she almost fainted.
it was a 1916-D Mercury.
@SmEagle1795 said:
Yes, if they were asking $2M. Gotta chisel 'em down!
reminds me of a joke scuba shops and instructors use...
How do you make a million dollars in the scuba industry?
Reminds me, How to do you make a million dollars as a Coin Dealer?
Work a million hours.
^. The joys of revealing truth.
Truth is : " Honesty is always the best policy. ".
I have had a few customers who scored at garage sales. I'm afraid I would tell, and offer a quarter mil. , and still not get the deal.
Don’t know what I’d do until I got there.
I did tell one couple that their coin was worth $35k. They showed me more coins making the total $103k. As I’m paying them, the husband says, “You know, we were hoping in our wildest dreams they were worth $5k.”
That’s why I never ask someone what they want for their coins. People just don’t know.
Perhaps more candid answers if secret poll?
No, but I would come back to pay them more when I sold the piece.
I think, upon due reflection, more people would come out in favor of cherrypicking the coin, or at least withhold their disapproval of would-be cherrypickers.
To find an unattributed million dollar coin would require hard-earned experience, and most likely many years of searching (in the unlikely event that it would ever occur at all). While many of us are hobbyists that learn and search varieties for fun, we should not so quickly dismiss the value of our own expertise and labor. To find a major rarity that was never recognized by any previous owner is an incredible achievement.
The coin business revolves around knowledge and requires a significant investment in time to acquire and apply that knowledge. A rare coin, such as the one in our scenario, doesn't acquire its value until someone identifies it as such. Neither the original owner or the dealer who bought the coin did the work to identify it, and likewise, they made no financial investment in it beyond that of a common coin. The original owner received an acceptable payment for the coin, relative to his original purchase price, and the dealer offers the coin for sale at a price that assures him an acceptable profit based on his purchase price.
It can hardly be considered dishonest or unethical for the cherrypicker to pay the dealer his asking price for the coin. As mentioned in the second thread, it is not the obligation of the customer to provide free searching and appraisals whenever he views a dealer's coins. Most or all of those who said "yes" (they would tell the dealer about the coin) have cherrypicked coins, themselves, so they do not disagree with the practice, on principle. They do feel a generous/altruistic impulse to share the $1 million, however.
That's fine - I'm all for generosity, but it isn't a question of ethics. Individuals may feel a strong impulse to share the profit at $1 million, but that's not based on any objective ethical standard. You may feel your decision is clear at $1 million, but where do you draw the line? Ask 10 people for the cutoff value of a cherrypick that would compell them to tell the dealer and/or share the profit, and you'd probably get 10 different values (for those who didn't answer "no cutoff value"). It's just based on a personal gut feeling.
On the second thread, I wrote that if I were the dealer, I'd offer 50% of the profit to a customer who informed me of the rare coin, but on due consideration, I must alter that statement. As a conscientious dealer (who wants to protect his reputation as a professional coin appraiser and buyer), I also have to make things right with the person I bought the coin from (who I underpaid) and give him a share. So now, I am rewarding the finder with a 1/3 share of the profit. If you're satisfied with 1/3, great, but plenty of people would not be, and there is nothing unethical about that position.
Let's raise the stakes, shall we? Let's say it's not just an unattributed $1 million dollar coin - it's a previously unknown/undescribed pattern variety that YOU discovered, and you know that other pattern varieties for that date have sold for $1 million. Are you really going to alert the seller, knowing that he may keep your discovery coin and the profit, to boot? I suspect not. If, in this case, your answer changed from "yes" to "no" about telling the seller, it is because you now value your work and expertise more than you did before. Again, this is based on no objective rule, just your own gut feeling. The people who said "no" all along valued their work and expertise just as much in the scenario of the plain old unattributed $1 million coin, and there is nothing unethical about that.
Once again, while it is one thing to buy a coin at a dealer's asking price, it is quite another to use lies or trickery to obtain a price. Anyone who puts themselves in a position of appraising a coin must be honest, whether they are a professional dealer, or not.
One final thought. Several people have said they would buy the coin first and then give the dealer a share of the profit. While I again applaud the generosity, that situation could get very awkward very quickly. "By the way, I cherrypicked a $1 million coin from you and here is your cut". Some dealers may respond to that with less than gratitude. I'd favor sending them the money anonymously (if that was possible), or coming up with some excuse as to why I needed to buy up a big chunk of their inventory
I'd take that coin, buy it, then send it in to get graded.
I think it would be an extremely rare occurrence but who knows how many high value estates ripped in liquidation then “discovered.”