Do you remember the first coin you bought on eBay?

TopographicOceans

I keep my eBay purchases in an Excel spreadsheet, but I see I had a Word document for my early purchases.
Looking at this now it seems like it was an amazing buy, but in my spreadsheet I have a note saying has drill hole
Gold was under $200 an oz. back then. I don't know when I sold it, but I don't have it anymore.

Anybody remember their first eBay coin buy?

eBay Bid History for
Scarce Type 2 1854 $1 One Dollar US Gold Coin (Item # 1309978719)

Currently   $46.05      First bid   $19.95
Quantity    1       # of bids   14
Time left   Auction has ended. 
Started     Dec-13-01 17:16:58 PST
Ends    Dec-23-01 17:16:58 PST
Seller (Rating)     dubsie (479)  

LanceNewmanOCC

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one can obtain this data from paypal records which are downloadable from a rather long time back.

i'm not that dedicated just now but one of the very first was an ebay coin and i nearly had to convince a co-investor over his dead body that i knew what i was doing (mostly) after looking at HUGE quantities of coins and selling prices.

1928 peace dollar with what i think may have been a minor rubberband burn but otherwise a solid au (made $50 +/- iirc. my coinvestor much to my horror took the coin to the sink and used some water/dishsoap? and started harshly rubbing the coin with a rag to get some of the black off. in his defense the method he employed didn't really harm the coin and some of the darkness did come off but my reputation was kind of on the line with whether or not i could buy coins from ebay (new to both of us) and make an acceptable return for the potential risk (in late 2008/early 09) being new to numismatics and somewhat to investing. if you want to call it investing.

if i coulda convinced someone to float me 10-20k, based on the results i got with much less from the sources i had at the time, the market at that time and availability of great coins at that time, i would have most likely made some big returns (over the course of a year.)

the past is the past and money is far from the most important thing in life but it was also about believing in myself in all the skills/qualities that went into the endeavor. i found out just how much faith others didn't have in me. i cannot see all ends of all paths in this life so perhaps it was good it didn't work out the way i wanted. who really knows what we really need in this life most of the time anyway?

i coulda just stated 1928 peace dollar to the op inquiry but what fun would have that been.
.

Weiss

Yep. 1998. $5 Indian from a guy in Canada. Brightly polished. I sent it back, and he kept the coin, my money, and he gave me a neutral rating. Guess I should be happy it wasn't a negative.

joebb21

yup- a 1999 Delaware certified by INB as pr70 dcam.

Pcgs price guide was $4,000

I paid close to $500.

I was thinking about how easy this business would be- even if I sold it for $2000 I was making 4x my money.

I called up a dealer in New Hampshire (it was the first "we buy coins" I saw in my "coins" magazine)

When I told him what I was offering for sale, he laughed and said to learn what Im buying before I spend that kind of money.

It was a good coin lesson

LanceNewmanOCC

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
.
one can obtain this data from paypal records which are downloadable from a rather long time back.

.

maybe not. they've changed their software and i dont see the way to get records older than 3 years. grrr
.

ok. found the switch back to older version link. will see if i gef the 2008 period. already have all '09 through 16.

DDR

I think it was a common Hard Times Token. Late 1990's. However, this particular token was pedigreed back to the Garrett sale. I only paid a couple of bucks for it, so my first experience was a very positive one. Most have been positive since then.

golden

@Weiss said:
Yep. 1998. $5 Indian from a guy in Canada. Brightly polished. I sent it back, and he kept the coin, my money, and he gave me a neutral rating. Guess I should be happy it wasn't a negative.

Ouch!

WaterSport

Lance - a long time back I think a lot of us were using checks and money orders as paypal was not yet required. LOL.

But I do remember my first coin purchase - 1922 D Lincoln Cent about MS 63 R&B. Still have it in my Capital Plastic Board. Won it on 6/1/1999.

WS

ajaan

$5 Liberty. Don't remember the date.

NotSure

First one was a PCGS MS63 1878 7/8 TF Strong. That was 2000, I believe, when, as a newb, wasn't really aware of just how freakin' hard (read, expensive) it would be to assemble a set of Morgans...lol Though, I DID pick up numerous examples of PCGS MS63 1899 Morgans for under $100 (and a few in MS64 that were just as reasonable). Those had nice returns when reselling.

jtlee321

I don't remember exactly which was first, but I remember back in February of 2002, buying two rolls of Mercury Dimes for $15.00 per roll and a 1924 $20 St. Gaudens NGC MS-64 for just over $400.00. I used my tax refund money to buy those. I wish I could find those at those prices again.

lkenefic

I bought a lot of 10 Indian Head Cents in 2002. I think I spent $5 plus shipping... I learned quickly about shipping :-/

roadrunner

No way can I recall that first coin out of 150+ coins. I do remember the ones I gave negs on as well as the one that was my biggest rip.

Barndog

I keep awful records, but I do remember this one. Bought a two cent coin for less than $20 as a stocking stuffer for my FIL

mustangmanbob

A matched pair of $20 Gold, a 1907 Liberty and a 1907 ST. Gaudens, both PCGS, Both MS64, with my bonus at work, for $1100.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

jonathanb

I also keep a spreadsheet. First line was from 10/15/1998, coming up on 20 years!
Was for a 1788 Massachusetts cent in VF, paid about $250. Probably worth a bit more now, although not incredibly much more.

Took me another 6 1/2 years to figure out that it would be clever to buy things that sold too cheap and resell them to fund the rest of my purchases. I hate to think how much I missed in that time!

2ltdjorn

SEGS 1918/7-D Buffalo. VF details. That was my re-entrance to the hobby.

oih82w8

No.

BustHalfBrian

I signed up for eBay in 2009 and I believe my first coin purchase was a 1970-D Kennedy half in cellophane for around $15.

mannie gray

No.

ms70

An 1876 Seated Liberty Dime, PCGS MS66 in the early 2000's.

1630Boston

I fondly remember that it was never.

ricko

It was (I think) a roll of 1943 steel cents - oh yeah - 'unsearched'... ... or, it may have been a CC Morgan... not sure which, but it would have been in 1996/7 time frame.... Cheers, RickO

TennesseeDave

One of the first was a raw 1955 DDO cent for $740. Looked like a 63 BR got AU-58 from PCGS. Cracked out and sent to Anacs and got a 60. I eventually sold it for $1000, but now I wish I had kept it in the PCGS AU-58. It was super nice for that grade. I joined EBay in July 2000

silverpop

never bought a coin on e-bay

jdimmick

No,

But remember the first one I sold:

1814 Classic head large cent in PCI F-15 holder

WillieBoyd2

It was a Mexico silver peso 1924 bought on Ebay for $6.00 on December 31, 2003, and received January 7, 2004.

I still have it.

Mexico Peso 1924 - Silver, 34mm, 16.68gm

I bought it because of it's association with the 1948 film "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre".

Humphrey Bogart is broke in Tampico, Mexico in early 1925.

"Say, Mister. Will you stake a fellow American to a meal?"

He receives a silver peso.

1630Boston

@ricko
What ever it was that you bought I know for a fact that you still have it, 2 decades later.

ricko

@1630Boston ...Yes, yes I do... and the roll of steel cents is still unopened...just as I received them... to be fair, although sold as 'unsearched' on ebay... looking at it when received, I am sure it has been opened and searched... just not by me.... Cheers, RickO

SaorAlba

I do know what I bought and when, it was March 1997 before eBay had paypal etc and I would send cash or money orders - it was a British Linen Five Pound note that I still have. I haven't used eBay since 2009 though. Just don't really care for it.

topstuf

Nope. But I do know it was before PayPal.
But I sure do remember the LAST!
Couple weeks ago and it convinced me to never use eBay for coins again.
It might cost a SMIDGE more to use dealer sites, but at least you know that their goal of repeat business will make them TRY to take good pictures.
Knowing a dealer has thought the coin worthy of putting in inventory is a pretty easy extra validation.
Returns are expensive.

Walkerfan

Yes, I believe it was a 1927-S Walker PCGS MS 63 circa 2005. The seller zinged me with some high retail number. He is well known but I will not mention his name. Like a fool I clicked the BIN button. It's OK, as I only lost 10%, when I sold/upgraded and the coin was of premium quality. Besides, I was just happy to be able to own such a coin back then.

291fifth

It was in 2000. I believe it was an AU 1907 Indian Cent. It was cheap, as appropriate since I was just testing eBay at that time to see how it worked. The coin, which was very ordinary, is long gone. I don't remember just when I sold it off.

johnny9434

a 1948 canadian half dollar. it looks like an xf 40. i dont remember what i paid for it though

dpoole

My first wasn't my dumbest, but wasn't particularly stellar. I "won" a raw 1999 ASE for $14.75 on 1/22/2000, that PCGS later graded as MS65.

northcoin

An interesting thread. Like some others here my first coin purchases on EBay were before Paypal became in vogue so those archives would be of little help even if still available. I do see I was corresponding regarding an EBay purchase of a 1917 Type I Standing Liberty back at the beginning of 2005, but am sure there were multiple purchases years prior to that date.

VanHalen

IIRC it was 2007 and I bought a raw $10 Lib for about $400.