Do you ever buy a coin based on what a seller says it SHOULD be instead of what it IS?

relayer

When a seller states "this should be a MS67" and the coin is in a MS66 holder or "this should be DCAM" when the holder says "CAM" do you buy into it?

If so, when you buy these coins for upgrades, is it because you're smarter than the seller who decided to sell it as is instead of upgrading it himself?

darktone

I think to some extent we all have fallen to a sale pitch like this. I know I have mike

wingedliberty

I hate it when they make me look , thinking that its on the holder. Bad salesmanship.


Brian.

leothelyon

From experience, I have learned to use the phone and discuss the coin with the seller when the purchase
involves a couple of paychecks, lol. It doesn't take long for me to figure out if the coin and seller are on the up and up or leveling with you. If not, I'll move on but sometimes that's not an easy thing to do if the coin is rare and seldom comes onto the market but then again that coin will most likely be certified and that's another story.

Leo

Lakesammman

I fell for it once when I was a newbie.....now I ignore what the dealer/seller says - just show me the coin. If you have to rely on their opinion, pass on it until you have more experience.

coppercoins

I buy coins based strictly on what I see - nothing else. I depend and totally rely on my own judgement, not the hype or opinion of the seller.

Outhaul

Ditto Coppercoins

SarasotaFrank

I purchased a farily expensive (for me) Morgan dollar a few months back. The coin was raw, but I purchased it on the premise it would grade 65 DMPL. I sent it for grading, got a body bag for cleaning, and returned it for a refund, which he grudingly granted. If a dealer wants to hype a coin on the basis of what it should be, I invite them to achieve that grade.

relayer

I bought an 1860 IHC that the seller said was MS65/66+

It was my first submission to PCGS and it came back MS64. When I told the seller, he explained that PCGS intentionally undergrades in order to maintain their reputation as being strict. Yeah, that's what it is.

So now I have a $500 coin worth $285 retail.

Flash

If the seller thinks the coin "should" be in an MS67 holder then why doesn't he get it put in an MS67 holder? I don't care what a seller says.. if its in an MS66 holder, then it is no better than MS66. If the seller thinks it is, then let him put his money where his mouth is.

lathmach

It depends on whose selling it.
I've seen a couple dealers sell slabbed coins and state that the coin is a less grade than that indicated on the slab. Larry Briggs and Chris Pilliod come to mind.
These guys I'd trust if they said a coin was undergraded in a slab, as they've advertised coins that were slabbed and said they were over graded and stated what they really were.

Ray

marcmoish

Flash basically says it all WORD FOR WORD!!!...they say it shoulda, coulda woulda you know the song 'n dance routine...if the coin is a better grade they in all business sense would have had it regraded as such. Once you fall for such imbisile seller hype you'll get screwed period. Like I always say your either a coin gambler or a numismatist

Marc

Zerbe

A true story. A dealer on the West Coast sent me a PR67 Morgan, telling me on the phone that the coin was a monster, in a old PCGS green holder. He said he guaranteed the coin would upgrade to a PR68 Cam. The price for an 1880 PCGS PR67 Morgan is about $11,000. He sent an invoice for $21,000. That would be $10,000 too much for the PR67, but $9,000 less for a PR68 Cam. In short, the coin arrived and my opinion was; the coin was a low end 67. A dealer/ grader, in my state, confirmed this to me. This was just another blatant ripoff try, that needless to say, did not fly with me, and the coin went swiftly back to Ca. The company behind this clever deal is named Benchmark Ventures. Zerbe

ccrdragon

No. If I see an auction hyping a coin as 'at least one grade better' than the slab says, I automatically pass on the auction. One dealer who consistantly does this (at least on his ebay Buffalo nickels) is Howard's Direct. I have bought one coin from him that was graded a 64 that he was hyping as a 65 and it was a solid 64 (w/o a showball's chance of making a 65!).

Placid

Never.

fcloud

When I bought my 1918 MS62FB Merc, the seller told me he thought it would upgraded, I think it will, too. But I bought it for what it was not what it could be. If I agree with the dealer than I guess I have, but I still wouldn't pay a higher price based on "what it could be."

Tony

Bulldog

Never! If it's grade is in question, The grade becomes what " I see " and thats that. After all It is My opinion, that is going to cause me to shell out the shekels!

BD