Won my first coin auction on ebay

Soldier6575

I am new to coins and this forum. Did I get a good bargain, or pay too much on the coin below? I liked the coin, and liked that it was slabbed already and the price I paid was good for me. I was just curious as to if I paid a lot over. Is there a way to look up this coin like PCGS has?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260013111956&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=016

Does anyone here have an eBay store that they sell from on a regular basis? Do you know of any software that allows you to manage your collection?

I guess I should introduce myself a little better. My name is Shawn. I recently returned home from 15 months in Iraq. While I was there I started thinking about investments. I started buying stocks and bonds. When I returned home, I dug out a box that had some American Eagle silver coins that were passed down to me from my great grandfather.

I plan to start buying coins every month along with my stocks and bonds. I just like the fact that they are something you can physically touch and see. I would like to stick with graded coins for now. I am on the hunt for my first gold coin, but think I am looking for too much of a bargain, lol.

I would really like to find some members that are regulars here that sell coins on eBay and their own websites.

xbob

Welcome Shawn.

The coin you got looks OK, and it was cheap, but the grade is questionable given that the slab holder is from a grading company that is not well known. I don't know their track record for accurate or consistent grading. I wouldn't use the PCGS price guide as a reference for anything other than PCGS coins, and even then it's most always higher than selling values.

Read up on this forum. There is lots of good info regarding buying graded coins and maybe pick up Scott Traver's book, "The coin collectors survival manual".

Most of all, have fun!

also - I am glad to hear you are home from Iraq.

ibzman350

First off..............


If indeed that coin grades 64, and I doubt it will, hard to tell from pic, you did good.

Please stay away from those types of slabs (NNC)

I personally prefer PCGS, NGC, ANACS and ICG, in that order.

One more thing............stocks and bonds are proper investments, coins can be, but ..................



Herb

123cents

Welcome Shawn. www.heritageauctions.com has a program that will allow you to list and manage your coins. I don't think you paid to much for the Morgan but I doubt it will grade a MS-64 will any major grading service. If you are going to buy graded coins I would recommend you buy only PCGS and NGC coins. They are the top two grading services . As I said welcome and if you have anymore questions just ask this forum.

Barndog

Shawn, welcome to the forums and thanks for your service.

Bluntly, my advice would be to avoid coins graded and slabbed by any but PCGS, NGC, and ANACS until you have a lot more experience and education under your belt. Actually, avoid those too -- just get the education first. A numismatic library and non-buying visits to coin shops and shows is a good way to start (in addition to reading posts to this forum)

ziggy29

Doubt it's a 64 given what I see and given the grading service, but for the price you paid I think you did fine.

Be careful about buying coins from less-respected grading services. You did fine on this one because of the low price (unless the reverse is hiding something), but these will almost never make the stated grade with the "majors" and should almost always sell at a significant discount.

LeeG

home and too the forums. You took a great first step by joining here. Buy a "Redbook" that tells the history a value for coins. Purchase coins for collecting not investing. Spend some time searching and reading here for answers to all your questions. Don't rush into your purchases. Most of all "Have Fun"!

sweetwilliet

Ditto the above, I like the big three graders in a little different order: PCGS first, ANACS second and NGC third. All 3 are well-respected and fairly consistent, but even they make mistakes. My advice is to buy some common dates in decent condition so you don't throw a wad of cash on a questionable coin until you have the knowledge of what you're doing. Be very skeptical of any slabbed coin that is not in one of the three holders I mentioned above (a lot of people think ICG is good, too). There are a lot of homemade slabs people make themselves and will put an AU coin as MS65DMPL, trying to raise its value from $10 to $10,000. Welcome!!

AceK

Welcome home and welcome to the forums!

At $23.15, it's hard to imagine you did too badly. But I agree with what everyone says about sticking to coins slabbed by PCGS, NGC, and ANACS. You can buy nice common date Morgan dollars in their slabs for $30-35 for a MS63 or $40-55 for a MS64. Personally, I also try to avoid auctions where the photos don't allow me to get a better sense of what both sides of the coin look like - surprises off of e-bay are generally bad ones. If you stick around here, you'll be amazed how quickly you learn - this is an incredibly informative and generally entertaining forum.

Again, welcome.

TwoSides2aCoin

Hey Shawn, I salute you for your diligence in the servitude of our country, first off.
Secondly , a good ole Nebraska welcome to the boards, and finally, it goes like this (in my opinion):

PCGS
NGC
ICG
PCI
ANACS

but.... for the best in plastic, try the US Mint. Seek out proof gold, silver and platinum coins with LOW POPULATIONS and you will do fine. There are sellers here that are more fair than HERITAGE, SUPERIOR or any dealers/auction houses with big names. That is not to say they are not worthy of your business, but.... you can save a lot of money over on the BUY-SELL-TRADE boards.

Joe

Gemineye

Congrats and Shawn.......
So far you have received some good advice......learn what you can before you plunk you money down.
...........Collect what you like ......like what you collect...............

Soldier6575

Thanks everyone!

TwoSides2aCoin, I made a post in the buy & sell forum. Hopefully I dont make anyone mad, and it makes sense.

I think this is the busiest forum I have ever belonged to. The post go whizzing buy. That is pretty cool though.

notwilight

Shawn,
Thanks for starting a very informative thread. As for investments: a portion of your money is savings and a portion of your money should go for enertainment. Most people spend enertainment money on consummable stuff. If you spend your enertainment dollars on things with resale value, that's good. Coins not only have resale value but appreciate. So even if you pay 10% too much, you're much better off than the guy who bought a bungie jump. On the other hand, a fool and his money may be soon parted but memories of the orgy will last a lifetime. Make sure you arrive at old age with some worthwhile memories. --Jerry

PerryHall

<< <i>Hey Shawn, I salute you for your diligence in the servitude of our country, first off.
Secondly , a good ole Nebraska welcome to the boards, and finally, it goes like this (in my opinion):

PCGS
NGC
ICG
PCI
ANACS

but.... for the best in plastic, try the US Mint. Seek out proof gold, silver and platinum coins with LOW POPULATIONS and you will do fine. There are sellers here that are more fair than HERITAGE, SUPERIOR or any dealers/auction houses with big names. That is not to say they are not worthy of your business, but.... you can save a lot of money over on the BUY-SELL-TRADE boards.

Joe >>




I agree with your list but I would limit the PCI slabs to the green label with the 10 digit serial number. The other PCI slabs were produced later under a different ownership which had a more liberal grading standard.

TwoSides2aCoin

<< <i>Shawn,
Thanks for starting a very informative thread. As for investments: a portion of your money is savings and a portion of your money should go for enertainment. Most people spend enertainment money on consummable stuff. If you spend your enertainment dollars on things with resale value, that's good. Coins not only have resale value but appreciate. So even if you pay 10% too much, you're much better off than the guy who bought a bungie jump. On the other hand, a fool and his money may be soon parted but memories of the orgy will last a lifetime. Make sure you arrive at old age with some worthwhile memories. --Jerry >>



for the sake of the YNs (young numismatists) I am not gonna LAUGH OUT LOUD , jerry..

But i want too at the last two sentences, that is.

edit to add, thanks perry, I completely forget to mention OLDER PCI's... they are usually right on.

airplanenut

Since it was $23, you couldn't have done too poorly, as even junk morgans are around $12, so the difference couldn't be too large. I agree with the sentiments of others here that you should stick to the better slabbing companies. But, I also very highly doubt that coin's anywhere near a 64. I see a few hairlines on the cheek and odd coloration within the ring of stars--I think the coin's either a slider (and probably dipped) or it's been cleaned.

TorinoCobra71

To The Forums!

I smell CRACKOUT!

TorinoCobra71

robertpr

Welcome to the forums!

If you're going to buy coins in slabs, you should know PCGS and NGC are far and away the most respected companies, with old-style (small, white slab) ANACS being third. The newer ANACS slabs are also OK but they don't have a long track record. The rest is just an alphabet soup of bottom feeders (with the possible exception of ICG).

If you're buying off of eBay, make sure you get an image of BOTH sides of the coin. I only see an obverse image, and it's too small to even consider attempting to estimate a grade from.

Some other eBay rules:

• Make sure to use toolhaus to look only at negative feedbacks, as sometimes they can be buried. Negatives say a lot more than positives on eBay.
• Avoid buying from sellers that don't offer a return period on your purchase.
• Avoid seller with private feedback
• Look for large, clear photos. If you don't see any in the auction and you are interested, ask the seller to email some to you if possible.
• Click on some of the past items the seller has sold, by going into their feedback and clicking on the auction numbers to the right. That will tell you if the seller knows what they're talking about with respect to coins. If the seller has a history of selling VCR's for example, and just switched to coins, it's not necessarily a red flag but do take what they say with a grain of salt.
• Any auction that takes more than a few minutes to read the description is a PASS
• Don't ever bid on "mystery lots" or "grab bags", they're all scams.

relayer

Unless the coin is in a PCGS, NGC or ANACS holder - you should treat the coin as raw and ignore the grade.

DorkGirl

TOMCATTOM

Same as above. When it comes time to sell you will wish you had NGC and PGCS graded coins. I would have passed that auction by due to NNC grading and poor picture. Always look for clear pictures and be sure both sides are shown. Welcome to the world and welcome to the boards. Every one here will point you straight, as long as they are not arguing with each other. Get the Redbook, join trhe A.N.A., get subscriptions to Coinworld and Coinage to make you smarter. Enjoy.

Myqqy

Welcome, and spend as much time as possible reading and absorbing information. There's always good information around here on these forums, and many of the folks here sell and auction off quality stuff!

lkenefic

Welcome to the forum



I agree with the above sentiments about TPGs...I might add... try to avoid auctions where they only show one side of the coin and it's not enough to put it in the ballpark of a grade. While few and far between...ebay does offer some deals on occasion...Good Luck

Leo

JJM

looks ok, stick with PCGS and NGC, and if you must ANACS ( i dont , but only cuz I dont like there slabs)....if you venture into third world slabs , knock off at least one if not 2 grades and check out the pcgs price guide for the retail price,....then decide what you want to pay,.......I did buy some morgans for third worlds and cracked them out for my raw set and knocked down the grades,.......I believe only one of them I truly though met the grade...this one @ 64

seateddime

Whizzard

Shawn,

Welcome! Thanks for your service in Iraq.

The coin looks potentially a 64, therefore what you paid was good, but in the future, stick to PCGS, NGC, or ANACS slabs. Some of the other companies: 1) Can't grade consistently, or accurately and 2) the worst of them are scammers.

In addition to eBay, you might try Teletrade or Heritage.

Both are reputable auction sites that are not hard to use!

JJM

Welcome! Thanks for your service in Iraq.


yeah , missed that first time thru the post ,.......Your a true role model