Two auctions, one coin
OGDan
Posts: 3,749 ✭✭✭✭✭
Back in 2017 I accidentally won an auction for a coin I didn't really want to win. It's a scarce-ish trade dollar variety, but the coin was cleaned with significant hairlines in the obverse and reverse fields. I threw a placeholder bid on the coin not expecting to win it, but that's how it worked out. About 3 years later I was spring cleaning and sold the coin for about 50 bucks profit, not bad for an oopsie buy. Here's the original auction at stacks:
The guy I sold it to should have also sprung for some lottery tickets because he sent it to PCGS who gave it an AU58 grade. Granted the coin had developed a little color from the paper coin envelope I stored it in, but if anything it had only turned more ugly and is still badly hairlined.
I waited to post this so as not to interfere, but fast forward to today when the same coin sold for over 13x in the new plastic. I would say congrats to the seller, but I feel no good came from this situation. Instead, it's too bad for the buyer who's now stuck with a dog. And no not the good, RYK kind of dog.
2017 sold for $211 and 2023 sold for $2874. People, if you can't see a coin in person before buying, have someone you trust check it out. You'll come out way, way ahead on the deal.
Comments
Slab shots from original auction. Hairlines galore.
What other coins are you looking to sell?
Very wise words. As someone who collects chopmarked trade dollars and is embarking on a variety set, this coin, in theory, is very desirable. It's a tough variety to come by.
Really glad I didn't get buried in an ugly coin just for the sake of filling a hole in my set.
EDIT: If I won this coin im confident I would take advantage of GC's 30 day return policy. I'm curious if the "winner" will also upon seeing it in hand.
To quote Bo Didley, the original coin was "whooped by the ugly stick." The ugly toning obscured some of the obvious signs of cleaning.
Dan, I agree with what you said. If you or someone you trust doesn't look at a coin for you, you're SOL.
Years ago, I had a coin in a 6 holder I bought at a Heritage auction. It was a flashy, correctly graded coin. I got an offer from someone, thinking it would upgrade to a 7 because it was flashy. The image he saw didn't clearly show the hits on the coin which kept it in a 6 holder. I made some money on the coin, and he overpaid for a nice MS 66 business strike.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
Glad you didn’t end up with this one, and I forgot about GC’s return policy which exists for this sort of coin.
That is one ugly coin. It almost looks like someone intentionally made the coin darker to hide the hairlines.
The original coin didn't show the variety. The person you sold it to cracked it out and submitted it for the variety. The coin appears to have AT that obscures the hairlines. PCGS gave it a pass the second go round.
The OP didn't state if he was aware of the variety.....my guess is 2 variety chop mark bidders fought it out for the coin.
Re-read the post. I was aware.
@OriginalDan my apologies. The person you sold it to played the crack out game perfectly...turned a lemon into lemonade..
There, I fixed it for you
Looks like I am going to have to resubmit some of my problem chop marked Trade Dollars!
Complete Set of Chopmarked Trade Dollars
Carson City Silver Dollars Complete 1870-1893http://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase.aspx?sc=2722"
Just put a hard boiled egg in your safe deposit box and by the time you get back all of your XF details coins will magically become AU55s!
@lermish you forgot the step where you scrub them with a Brillo pad.
I don't think your bank would appreciate that. Many years ago, I read about some guy who had a dispute with his bank. He rented a safe deposit box and put a large fish in it.
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
These facts may have a bearing on the price increase: Stack's-Bowers offered the coin as an 'S'. GC sold it as an "S/CC".