Inquiry on three coins via email
logger7
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Someone contacted me on these three coins, I told him the dimes were not worth much more than silver and he got very angry when I told him that it was unlikely the cent was real. He said he got this 1943 cent that I told him I doubt very much is real from a veteran who he said would make him rich one day:
File under why coin dealers drink.....
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Why isn't the cent real?
peacockcoins
I agree - am I missing something - like, who would counterfeit a steel penny?
It's coated to look like copper, which is what the guy thought it was.
https://coinsite.com/1943-copper-us-lincoln-cent/#:~:text=1943 U.S. Copper Cent In 1943 the United,to make cartridge casings for the war effort.
Dont feel bad, I get that daily in the shop and on the phone, several folks think they are holding the eliasberg collection , and its literally only a few bucks at best.
And then I get this response from him, I probably should have tried to meet with him or discuss it over the phone:
"He was an 80 year old veteran who pulled out a small zip lock bag of coins, reached in and gave me one. Don't be such a hater to think that man gave me something he didn't know was valuable. He told me out his own mouth that the coin would make me rich one day! So keep hating I'll just get a second opinion elsewhere.... Hater!"
The cent doesn't appear plated with copper. It looks exactly like nearly every other dirty and circulated steel cent I have seen.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
As much as I love coins, this is the kind of thing that would get on my nerves if I l were a dealer. Seems like a regular occurrence for people to inherit coins and don’t know what they have, so that must mean they’re worth millions right?
Agree. It looks just like a steel cent.
Geez oh! Mr grouchy pants made things difficult. Peace Roy
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He must have thought it might be a rare coin and with those the only rare one is copper; he somehow thought the old veteran whose wheelchair he was pushing in a parade had given him something priceless.
People who don't know coins often think the steel cents are valuable. That coin is not fake, it's just not worth a lot.
some people think coins are a way to riches as they see all these nice coins going for thousands to millions of dollars and they think they can live on easy street with coins they bought, given or found, only thing is there coins aren't rare, high valued or anything but in their mind they are
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You dealers must realize that they have no place else to go and they know the person who told them it was real and valuable and probably do not know you. Unless I am real close to a family with coin inheritances I recommend an honest dealer for them to go to and stay out of the no win situation. I have seen several dealer lose actual friends(at least thought to be friends) over coin advice.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Yes. There is no advantage to being the bearer of bad news. The ones that get heartbroken are actually worse than the ones who get mad.
Your experience, unfortunately, is not uncommon. I was known in the company I worked for, as a coin collector. Frequently, employees would bring me coins they thought were valuable - either family heirlooms, found, gifts or purchased from that TV show. Now, I am well versed in communications and always tried to be as kind, diplomatic, yet informative as possible. Most were disappointed, and one individual was super angry (guy on TV assured him it was a super treasure) and would never speak to me again. No matter how I tried, even referring them to others (collectors or dealers), the individual (and others) had great difficulty in accepting the information. Cheers, RickO
“No good deed goes unpunished” was a common phrase uttered by one of my old supervisors.
Seems well applicable here.
Years back, when I spent a fair amount of time hanging out in one of my favorite local coin shops, I’d often overhear the proprietor breaking such news to family members that had come calling with their inherited and less than valuable coins. He was very gentle in his frequent recommendation that they best just “pass it along, and keep it in the family for some youngster down the line to enjoy”.
Happy, humble, honored and proud recipient of the “You Suck” award 10/22/2014
I've seen the public come in to one of the better coin shops and gold buyers with jewelry where gemstones would need to be separated and handed back to the customer and then the precious metal content weighed. One worker remarked on how sad it made the sellers feel as family heirlooms were dismembered. Diplomatic courtesy is vital when you run a shop.