Moral Dilemma, Part II

braddick

You walk into a Coin Shop you've promised yourself you would NEVER set foot into again! A deal "gone bad" between you and the shop owner left a bitter taste in your mouth, but here you are with some time to kill, in his shop, checking out the bid board.
"-What's this? A VF 1916 dime?" Ah, no big deal. But $2.50 doesn't seem so bad you mutter to yourself. You then flip the coin over and check out the reverse and low and behold (you knew this was coming. . .) there's a "D".
Hmmm... could it be a counterfeit? You know your 16-D dimes and this one sure looks good, even under the light and glass.

Now, you notice the invoice number on the flip tells you this bid board coin is from Dealer stock. This cagy Dealer has got the best of you in the past and you're still a little sour about it. He didn't flat out rip you off, but he sure could have thrown out the gray sheet on some of the choice stuff you've brought him.
Do you tell him of his error? Do you buy the coin (risking it could still be a counterfeit)?

Would it make a difference if you knew the invoice number on the flip was that of another fellow collector and it is his error and not the Coin Dealer's?
What would you do?

LucyBop

Gosh darn it!!! Why ask such a question????? Why??????? When it comes to Frankies and Winged Libertys it's on baby! And its every HepKitty for herself!

LucyBop

<< <i>Would it make a difference if you knew the invoice number on the flip was that of another fellow collector and it is his error and not the Coin Dealer's? >>



I still hate this question. Yes, it would make a difference.... I'd still buy it and get in contact with the fellow collector and give it back to him/her and charge em a Frankie for my trouble!!!!!

airplanenut

Honestly- what dealer shouldn't be punished for being so dumb as to not see a Denver mint mark on a 1916 dime... I understand overlooking a mintmark on any coin, but when the difference in price is 1000 fold, anyone with any knowledge of coins, especially a dealer, would look at it... he screwed you, you screw him back.

Jeremy

dwood

Actually this one is even easier for me, because of a MAJOR flaw.

I would NOT buy the coin, or try to "get even" by getting it at the lower price.

Why? Because if I didn't like the dealer, I wouldn't ever be able to look at the coin without thinking of him. I'd rather have a hole in my collection than to have to look at a key and think..."but I got it from that dirty, rotten SOB who had his deceitful little fingers all over THAT COIN."

In all honesty, dealers don't get a second chance with me. If it is an honest misstake, that happens, and we go on. But when it becomes obvious that a dealer knew he was "pulling one over" on me, I move on.

And my checkbook goes with me

LucyBop

Now mind you, I'll never walk into a store and say, 'Oh this is a DCAM Frankie, please let me pay you DCAM money' or 'You know, this Winged Liberty is really a full split band dime, let me pay you a premium'...... I have been very good latley at finding some high grade low priced Frankies..... Not my fault the dealers don't know this series very well...

jbsteven

I would buy it for $2.50 and even it was a fake for $2.50 how can you go wrong? $250.00 is a different story.

airplanenut

Oh, if it was someone else then I would contact him... the I'd let their stupidity slip and be nice- unless they also screwed me

LanLord

I imagine the first thing I would do is look around the room because Satan is surely sitting there somewhere laughing at the moral dilema that he just put me though.

I don't know what I would do.

But the people on this board would surely hear the story!

littlewicher

Hmmm, the dealer would have to be pretty blind to not notice the D. If the seller was bad to you, buy the coin and hope it's a real '16 D. If it is, good for you. If not, he has (bad word) you yet again.

mbbiker

I would buy it and then sell it back to him.
I have done this but it wasn't a bid board it was a junk box. A dealer bought a bunch of coins he didn't really want so he could close a deal. All the unwanted coins didn't get looked at just put in the junk box with quick prices written on them. I like to cherrypick so i was looking thrugh all of them and pulled out the 2x2 with the 1916 date on it flipped it over and there was a D. Gave it to the dealer and told him he may want to look a little closer at it. When he saw the D he asked me to watch his table while he tried to find the guy who sold it to him so he could pay the right price for it.


edit - forgot to mention that i get along with this dealer quite well.

coinkat

The dealer should know better, however, he probably reserves the right to yank anything off the bidboard at any time... so then you do the right thing and tell him about the coin and he yanks it. Then what? Should you get something for your trouble/honesty? I dunno...

DHeath

Pat,

Let's say I complicate the scenario further. You are there with your 12 year old son, who is the buyer.

airplanenut

MB,

Now that is an honest dealer I would like to know! The difference is the seller was unknowledgeable... in Braddick's case, the seller should know what a 16-D is- if he listed it on the board, he should have seen the coin, unlike your seller who didn't look at the coins.

Jeremy

Fairlaneman

Not going to read the replys before typing this. First I would not be in the Guys Shop period if swore never to be there. If this was to happen in a shop I would be in, seems how there is a pretty big difference in money between the two dates, I would for sure say something to the owner of the coin. If it was a lesser valued item probably nothing would be said, talking about a $30/$40 difference. Sort of Stupid and Idealistic but thats how I am.

Ken

asnooker

I would point it out to him. He would most likey reward you somehow. If not, at least you can look at yourself in the mirror and know you are the better man. He may even honor the $2.50 price and chalk it up as a lesson learned. You never know......if it turns out to be fake you could turn him over to the authorities. LOL

Elcontador

Agree w Fairlaneman and D Wood. If someone tries to cheat or is otherwise rude to me, I don't have anything to do with him again, period. The guy could come up to me and offer a slabbed 1916 D Dime as a professional courtesy and I'd still turn it down.

dpoole

I'd point it out to him.

KlectorKid

I would buy it at 2.50 if i could sell it for a few hundred it would be a big amount of money for me. I dont think i would want to lose a few hundred just so a dealer i hate could make more money.

gmarguli

I'd buy it, slab it, and sell it without a second thought. If the dealer owned the coin, then too bad. If a fellow collector owned the coin, then too bad also. I'm not your mommy. If you're buying/selling coins, then you need to pay attention.

JLW

Ah, the true colors are really flying now. This is a no-brainer, you simply treat people the way you would like to be treated. If you have an impressionable child with you, all the more reason. If you don't get your supposed reward now, there is a much greater one to come.
Joe

FrattLaw

I would look around and see if he's watching me, then I would very carefully, palm the coin in my hand, holding it between my thumb and palm. Leave it there for a minute and see if he notices, then very non-discriptly place your hand into your front pants pocket and STEAL the coin...........






















Just kidding !!!

Michael

Gilbert

What is a "bid board?"

I would buy it for the advertised price (it probably is altered). Isn't it always said, if it's too good to be true ....? If it's legit, well, good for you; if it's altered, well, he got you again.

As far as The guy could come up to me and offer a slabbed 1916 D Dime as a professional courtesy and I'd still turn it down., well, he could be trying to make amends. There are only a limited few people I would "write off" without chance of redemption. That's just me though.

UncleJoe

I think the real question is: Who should benefit?

If this coin is marked for $2.50, I highly doubt that the dealer paid 16-D money for the coin. So someone sold it to the dealer and did not receive the benefit of the coin being a 16-D.

But then where did this person get the coin and how much did he pay for it? It could go on and on to determine who should "rightfully" be due the 16-D money.

Not knowing any other details, I am not sure that this dealer should be the benificiary of the 16-D money.

Buy the coin. (Sorry Mom but you should have looked at the coin a little more carefully)

Joe.

BillJones

There is no moral dilemma here. When a dealer puts out an item, and he’s been too dumb or too lazy to attribute it properly, it’s his loss. I’ve been picked off a few times, and I’ve picked others off. It’s part of the game.

If you did the same thing to an ignorant person who is not a dealer, that’s another matter. But when it comes to buying coins from dealers, it’s buy beware.

nwcs

Interesting question. I know what I'd like to do and what I probably would do. But the first thing I have to ask myself is "Am I responsible for other people's mistakes?" and if so, to what degree? What if this 1916D were in a junk box? Would it be your obligation to tell them that?

I think that in this case, as for other cases, you never know exactly what you'll do until you face it for real.

matteproof

Hi Braddick. I would either tell him of his mistake or, I would not tell him and NOT buy the coin. Under no circumstances would I buy the coin without revealing to him that he made a mistake in labeling a 1916-D dime as a 1916.

matteproof

prooflike

Since it is a raw coin, their is some risk involved, maybe the dealer is knowingly selling a counterfeit! Where's the morals now??

Nysoto

There is no moral dilemma with cherry-picking. In the last issue of the John Reich Journal there was an article about a person who cherry-picked a rare variety bust half (probably a $3000 coin) for the asking price of a common variety (about $80). This happens often with bust coins, I have done this a dozen or so times with local shops and shows. No problem, the dealer is still making their expected profit.