Good deal? Bad deal? Guess the grade...GRADES ARE IN...BAD NEWS!

USMC_6115

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3049449657&category=39469&rd=1

I bought this from a forum member and I'm pretty sure I got a good deal.





LINE # CERT # COIN DATE DENOMINATION VARIETY COUNTRY GRADE
1 21378105 1911 $2 1/2 USA Damage

Date Received: 10/07/2003
Date Shipped: 10/29/2003

Louis

Here it is.

Russ

Cleaned, recolored, tooled. Bodybag.





























Russ, NCNE

USMC_6115

Thanks for the link Louis. One day, I'll learn how to do it myself....

Thanks Russ! Tell me how you really feel, lol! Hopefully, you're wrong...

dorkkarl

no significant risk at that price

K S

coinlieutenant

Obverse looks whizzed to me. Hard to tell from a pic though...

Placid

Crappy picture. Does not look ms to me. If its real then fair deal.

Barry

I don't know how you can tell anything from that awful picture. I don't know the seller, but hopefully it's real. ANything more, you're lucky.

291fifth

I have a bad feeling about it. But then, I have a bad feeling about all raw gold these days...especially anything on eBay.

WACoinGuy

When you throw in the $30 fee to grade a gold coin, it's not going to be a deal unless it comes in MS-60 or above -- 1911 is the common date in this series, and can usually be picked up slabbed in AU for $175 or less.

darktone

WACoinGuy, maybe it's a weak D?
mike

coppercoins

Looks obviously polished to me.

WACoinGuy

<< <i>WACoinGuy, maybe it's a weak D?
mike >>



Hard to tell from the picture, but that's a great cherry-picking experience if it is...

USMC_6115

I've learned my lesson buying ungraded old gold on Ebay, but I figured I'd trust this seller as he's a CU member. Hopefully, I don't learn another lesson....

Thanks for the replies.

lordmarcovan

My biggest concern about raw gold is counterfeits, and the $2.50 Indians are the most widely counterfeited of the US gold coins, or so I have been told.

But you can deal with confidence, since Mike is a good guy. I do not always agree with his grading, but who here agrees with everyone else's grading 100% of the time, anyway? He's come a long way since he first joined here, and he offers a return privilege. Plus, I can personally vouch for his honesty. I have gotten some nice coins from him in past trades.

The coin might have been cleaned, but doesn't look that bad to me. Dunno if it's slabworthy or not, but I don't think you did too badly at all, pricewise.

USMC_6115

lordmarcovan,

Thank you for the seller reference. I feel a little better and more confident. I'll see if I can post some better pictures on it's arrival. And I'll certainly post the grading results.

Thanks again all...

USMC_6115

Grades should be available on 10/21/03 unless there's a show delay that I'm not aware of. I can't wait to see how it grades.

XpipedreamR

Doesn't look quite right to me. Cleaned? Polished?

I'd say XF or AU at best

Probably not a horrible price, and you can always return it if you don't like it

USMC_6115

Damaged...From now on, I'll only by graded gold. Oh well.....

paigowjohnny

Would love to know what the "damage" is...

pontiacinf

bagged for damage doesnt mean its fake...gold is there...just not slabable by pcgs

Placid

I have always wondered the priority on a bodybag.
Say pcgs looks at a coin and see some damage do they just body bag it right there or do they still check a coin to see if its genuine?

pontiacinf

if ya wanna get rid of it...i maybe interested...its not fake

pontiacinf

placid i think they would mention fake....

kieferscoins

"Say pcgs looks at a coin and see some damage do they just body bag it right there or do they still check a coin to see if its genuine?"

We were taught in the advanced coin grading class to bag it for the most severe thing like the services would do. Counterfeit would be #1 over any cleaning or tooling.

Cameron Kiefer

abuell

The seller calls it AU in his listing and offers a 5 day no questions asked return policy. So, what's the problem? Just because some slabber says that the coin is damaged does that make it damaged? If the answer is 'yes' then you're buying the slab and not the coin.

grip

Send it back,and ask for a return on your grading fee.A good seller would do this,as I do with all my auctions.

USMC_6115

pontiacinf,



<< <i>if ya wanna get rid of it...i maybe interested...its not fake >>




Not sure yet. My main goal was authentication. I may just stick it in my Gold Type Set holder that I haven't started yet. This may be a good time to get on it...I'll let you know...


The funny thing is I have a $5.00 indian 1911 (if you guys remember the topic) that was in worse shape than this coin. It had a rim dent that I thought for sure would cause it to be bodybagged (again, I was going for authenticity) and PCGS graded it VF30...Perhaps another canidate for the Type Set.

What's it worth as is anyway?

MacCoin

you ain't going to get any bargans off ebay. grade cleaned AU,

DCAMFranklin

<< <i>I bought this from a forum member and I'm pretty sure I got a good deal. >>



The seller is a member of the CU Forum? What is is id here?

coppercoins

<< <i>Would love to know what the "damage" is... >>



The damage is that the surface of at least the obverse is gone. It has been polished clean through and is obvious in the photo.

USMC_6115

I'm not going to involve the seller. I too saw the pictures and purchased the coin based on that. My main concern is authenticity. The damage I believe is a rim dent/nick. I'm not really that worried about it. It will still look great in my Gold Type Set Holder...

coinlieutenant

Send it back,and ask for a return on your grading fee.A good seller would do this,as I do with all my auctions.

I would wholeheartedly DISAGREE with this statement. While I am bummed for you that the coin was damaged, the coin business does not work the way that grip stated. You had your chance to send the coin back when you first saw it. That is the time for the return priv. One cant go around buying everything under the sun hoping for a rip and then send back the refuse. The only way that I would agree with the above statement is if the seller guaranteed a minimum grade at a specific grading service OR if the coin was deemed counterfeit.

My advice is to sear that "look" of the coin into your head and make one more data entry into your mental grading guide. It was a lesson and not a super expensive one...

V.r,
John

coinlieutenant

Also,

I believe, but am not completely sure, that PCGS bodybags the coin on the FIRST thing they see wrong. I dont believe that there is an order of merit for BB's. There is some amount of change that is being implemented as to that. i think that the graders have to write on the BB tag what the exact problem is now... Something to ask homerunhall about probably...

John

USMC_6115

coinlieutenant,

I agree with you as I said in the post before yours. I saw the pictures and I purchased it. I didn't post the grade here as complaining, only to share the experience. Thanks to all who replied.

coinlieutenant

massscrew,

Didnt mean to sound like you were doing something wrong. Just wanted to voice my disagreement with grip's response...

Hope you get most of your money out of it.

John

BillJones

Going by the picture, the coin looks like it has been polished. As such it's really only good for jewely and would be worth $100 or so.

jom

<< <i>Going by the picture, the coin looks like it has been polished. >>



Without question... That being said, the coin is AU at best.

If you are a newbie at these coins DO NOT BUY RAW GOLD! Especially sight-unseen off of Ebay...

jom

sinin1

I asked in Q & A Coin Forum - if a bodybag for cleaned means authentic


bad news is no - the first most obvious thing seen is listed


bummer - if you do not return it (if you still can), you could send it to ANACS to see what they NET grade it or if real


Q & A Coin Forum question - March 4

Placid

ttt

jeffnpcb

I would never send gold or old coppers to PCGS!