"Unsearched" lots. Deceptive?
Timidpenny
Posts: 31 ✭
I've gotten some feedback about my website recently. I have a bunch of different Wheat Pennie lots for sale and some are from a huge bag that I've never searched through, so i label the lot as "Unsearched Wheat Cents" but some people argue that unless the bag is directly from the mint its not really unsearched. So im looking for opinions.. Is Unsearched a deceptive term? Should i change it to random mixed date? Any input is appreciated
Owner of http://www.timidpenny.com
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Even if you’re being honest, which I believe to be the case, skeptics will say that at some point they were all searched for key dates before they got to you.. which is also probably the case.
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
Represent the item as accurately as your knowledge can support and no further. Only you can know what that looks like. Customers will note that honesty over time and act accordingly. There will always be the occasional, wild-man customer accusing you of something. If occasional turns into frequently then maybe it’s time to reassess how accurate you’re being.
I don't think it's deceptive, but as @Pnies20 said, no one will really believe you. If there's a story behind your huge bag (stored since the 60's, found in a bank vault, etc.) and you can tell that and add that it's unsearched since then, it could definitely add some intrigue and also interest for date/variety searchers without the battle over what "unsearched" really means.
The problem is, that far more times than not, sellers exaggerate or lie about such things. Disclose the facts that you have, without making unsubstantiated claims. Understandably, there will still be skepticism from most potential buyers, but there’s not much you can do about that.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
To be honest, just say "It's unsearched by me." Of course, no one will still believe you.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
As noted above... the term has been used by so many scammers, that it is immediately viewed with skepticism. I have rolls and even a couple of jars of wheaties that I have not searched... The rolls may have been searched by others prior to my acquisition though. So just add your personal qualifiers when saying unsearched... Cheers, RickO
"Un-Searched" has been puffery for a long time like "driven on Sunday's to church 2 miles away by a little old lady" and is really thought to mean "searched and searched again and again".
I applaud your desire to be truthful about YOU not searching the lots.
Perhaps a little different wording would convey your trustworthiness and family man status with out the use of the trigger words.
Cents from a large bank bag purchased awhile ago and not opened till now. A random scoop while blindfolded is retrieved and packaged by weight averaging 100 to 105 (10 or 20 as you will figure out) wheat cents straight from the bag into the scale tray with no side trips past a magnifier It would be hard anyway as I'm blindfolded remember. My assistant watches the scale and fills the packages. He (or she) is prone to be a "close enough" kinda person with no interest in coins except to spend on candy. He (or she) is 8 years old, a very good assistant and has not caught the Numismatic Bug yet. He or she) is paid $1 (or as you decide) and considers it fun helping Daddy out.
I've made some VERY good finds in 5000-coin 'unsearched' wheat cent bags. These have mainly been Cherrypicker's Guide varieties. My assumption is that at some point, those accumulations were searched for the key dates, 1922 No D, and 1955 DDOs, or these coins were found and the accumulations resulted from what was considered non-valuable coins at the time. I never expect to find any of those and never have. CPG and CONECA RPMs and DDOs can be found, and a lot of the time have paid for the bag. My theory here is that these kinds of varieties were discovered well after the coins were put away.
I totally agree with what @Pnies20 said.
Thanks for all the input! I think i may change the listing to: "mixed date & mint" randomly selected and counted by weight.
Owner of http://www.timidpenny.com
Or, you could just say "I checked every coin in this lot to verify that it's unsearched."
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
that I've never searched through,
Right. Unsearched by you. Saying "unsearched by me" should clear up any confusion. Either they believe you or they don't. You could put yourself on video showing that you are not searching through the lots for the skeptics to analyze.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
There is supposed to be at least one 1909-S V.D.B. in every 50,000 coin lot you know.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
I know I had little old ladies pulling the hot dates out of rolls that I got from the bank when I was a kid. Some of those rolls had like only 45 pennies in them.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
The term unsearched has a bad rap due to the unsearched lots on ebay. People sell bags or rolls they say are unsearched and they turn out to be nothing but super common bad condition coins. Some sellers will try to go even further by putting better coins on the end of a roll hoping to get people to believe the roll is truly unsearched.
My advise would be to either search them and pull out the good stuff and sell seperatly and then sell the other coins by the roll or bag and tell people they will only get common coins, or continue to sell the way you are only tell people they may have been searched in the past but they were not searched by you.
Good luck!
HAPPY COLLECTING
Personally I don't believe that any "unsearched" wheat cent lot is unsearched. Some collector, some time in the past, looked through for all key dates...there may be a lot of varieties that were overlooked but that's about it. In my years of buying from the public I have found exactly on such lot. The owner that put them away (she's 80+) did so as a child and never had any interest in collecting. She was told by her father that she should save every cent she found. Well, it turns out Mom's purse was the place to "find" cents. That's where they came from. She had about 10 rolls that were hand rolled with odd numbers in white lined paper (from a kids writing tablet). The rolls all had from 40-60 coins in them.
After getting them I of course searched and then threw them all into the bulk bucket. Not one good one in there, lots of RB and BR Uncs but nothing worth much. All collected before 1959. Not one Memorial in the lot.
bob
Using the term "unsearched" when selling something has become stigmatized because of the scammers. I would simply not use the word and it seems like your items cannot be verified as "unsearched" since it went through many hands by now. The terms factory or Mint sealed are better terms to use, if applicable, since it already implies they are unsearched and untouched.
Documented provenience is very important for an item description, but you don't have that, you cannot make any assumptions. Just state what you know. Mixed date cents accurately describes your item for sale.
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