Grades back -- and a headache
gyocomgd
Posts: 2,582 ✭✭✭
Your kindergartner collector back, with a what-would-you-do question. Be gentle; I'm ready to drink the Kool-Aid as it is.
My first submissions to PCGS came back today, and for the most part I'm pleased. Two cracked-out NTC Morgans were kicked down two grades; was downgraded a point. Of four raw $2.5 Indians, only one of which I paid more than $250 for an ebay, one was MS62, two were AU58 and one, sadly, shows evidence of cleaning. All in all, those mistakes appear to have been mild and I'm thankful for that--better to have my hands slapped early in my ventures than to be clubbed to death.
One problem: Before joining the boards and learning even the rudimentary principles of how to buy for coins (and specific sellers to look out for), I like many others before me bought a bunch of pieces from the subjects of your admiration, the husband-wife team in Savannah. I was po'd to no end when a bunch of them landed, as even a novice could see the Morgans I bought were overgraded terribly, one Colonial was marked "copy" on the reverse, and a 1916-D Merc was in such poor shape the date was impossible to discern. Again, this was before I picked up the threads on these people, learned to recognize the shill bidders, etc. etc.
I sent all of the rogue coins back and demanded a refund. After some edge-of-my-seat waiting, they complied, returning some $2,500 of my hard-earned money. I elected to keep several other coins, supposing that the sellers themselves were on the up and up, that the poor quality of the coins from the "estate" was unintentional on their part. Moreover, my beginner-insecurity combined with "greed" in the sense that at least a couple of the coins would be legit and I would recoup, in sum, at least what I had spent.
One of these coins I submitted to PCGS was also 1916-D VG condition. A dealer acquaintance looked at it closely, the "D" in particular, and ascertained it was authentic. As I spent about $400 on it, I figured I hadn't been burned on that and I had pretty much broken even on that particular coin.
Well, it came back "not genuine." And my question is, as two months have passed, should I send it back and ask for a refund on that as well? Under normal circumstances I think I would be willing to take my lumps, but I'm so bleeping outraged at what I believe was intentional fraud, that even though months have passed since I acquired the coin, I am sorely tempted to ask for my money back on that one, too.
I am very much chastened by the "greed" aspect of my hanging on to this coin to begin with--yes, at the time I think I spotted a bargain, and even at the time I elected to keep it, Jiminy Crickett was sitting on my shoulder, telling me to either send the whole bunch of them back or none at all, that it wasn't right for me to cherry pick. Make no mistake, my guilt is exacerbated, not removed, by the fact that I thought the sellers were honest.
I accept the charges, Your Honor, and plead guilty, but the question remains as whether I am justified in returning this coin.
Sheepishly yours and with promises to be more prudent in the future, I am,
Guy
My first submissions to PCGS came back today, and for the most part I'm pleased. Two cracked-out NTC Morgans were kicked down two grades; was downgraded a point. Of four raw $2.5 Indians, only one of which I paid more than $250 for an ebay, one was MS62, two were AU58 and one, sadly, shows evidence of cleaning. All in all, those mistakes appear to have been mild and I'm thankful for that--better to have my hands slapped early in my ventures than to be clubbed to death.
One problem: Before joining the boards and learning even the rudimentary principles of how to buy for coins (and specific sellers to look out for), I like many others before me bought a bunch of pieces from the subjects of your admiration, the husband-wife team in Savannah. I was po'd to no end when a bunch of them landed, as even a novice could see the Morgans I bought were overgraded terribly, one Colonial was marked "copy" on the reverse, and a 1916-D Merc was in such poor shape the date was impossible to discern. Again, this was before I picked up the threads on these people, learned to recognize the shill bidders, etc. etc.
I sent all of the rogue coins back and demanded a refund. After some edge-of-my-seat waiting, they complied, returning some $2,500 of my hard-earned money. I elected to keep several other coins, supposing that the sellers themselves were on the up and up, that the poor quality of the coins from the "estate" was unintentional on their part. Moreover, my beginner-insecurity combined with "greed" in the sense that at least a couple of the coins would be legit and I would recoup, in sum, at least what I had spent.
One of these coins I submitted to PCGS was also 1916-D VG condition. A dealer acquaintance looked at it closely, the "D" in particular, and ascertained it was authentic. As I spent about $400 on it, I figured I hadn't been burned on that and I had pretty much broken even on that particular coin.
Well, it came back "not genuine." And my question is, as two months have passed, should I send it back and ask for a refund on that as well? Under normal circumstances I think I would be willing to take my lumps, but I'm so bleeping outraged at what I believe was intentional fraud, that even though months have passed since I acquired the coin, I am sorely tempted to ask for my money back on that one, too.
I am very much chastened by the "greed" aspect of my hanging on to this coin to begin with--yes, at the time I think I spotted a bargain, and even at the time I elected to keep it, Jiminy Crickett was sitting on my shoulder, telling me to either send the whole bunch of them back or none at all, that it wasn't right for me to cherry pick. Make no mistake, my guilt is exacerbated, not removed, by the fact that I thought the sellers were honest.
I accept the charges, Your Honor, and plead guilty, but the question remains as whether I am justified in returning this coin.
Sheepishly yours and with promises to be more prudent in the future, I am,
Guy
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Comments
<< <i>One of these coins I submitted to PCGS was also 1916-D VG condition. A dealer acquaintance looked at it closely, the "D" in particular, and ascertained it was authentic. As I spent about $400 on it, I figured I hadn't been burned on that and I had pretty much broken even on that particular coin.
Well, it came back "not genuine." And my question is, as two months have passed, should I send it back and ask for a refund on that as well? Under normal circumstances I think I would be willing to take my lumps, but I'm so bleeping outraged at what I believe was intentional fraud, that even though months have passed since I acquired the coin, I am sorely tempted to ask for my money back on that one, too. >>
You can certainly try- if you make enough noise, maybe you'll get satisfaction. Sorry to hear of your woes- I feel your pain. But 'tis better to have made mistakes and learned from them than to have gone on in ignorance, continuing to make mistakes. A certain amount of it can be chalked up as "educational costs", if you wanna look at it that way.
BTW, I've only heard a little about these folks in Savannah. I live about an hour south of there.
The statute of limitations for mail fraud is longer than three months.
Tell them the coin has been determined to be a counterfiet by experts and you want your money back.
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