is there a (legal/ethical) way to track down a coin owner to make a generous offer?

WingedLiberty1957 · August 7, 2012 11:29PM

I am not sure if there are any etiquette issues here or any unwritten rules (or even laws) on this subject.

If anyone can enlighten me, that would be great!

I recently fell in love with a coin that I know only through its TrueView photo.

I do not know who the owner is.

I want to respect the owners privacy but was wondering if there was a way I could make the owner a very generous and very respectful cash offer or at least let the owner know of my interest in the coin in case he or she ever wanted to sell it years from now ... while not stepping on any sensitive toes in the process!

I thought that if the coin had a Registry link on the CERT page, I could use that info to email a very respectful inquiry to the owner on the coins status and if they would entertain a very generous cash offer. Assuming they had their email link turned on in their registry page.

Is that rude or disrespectful? Or against any written or unwritten rules?

In any case, the Cert Verification page was a dead end.

http://www.pcgs.com/Cert/11756045

No registry owner listed.

In these types of cases, is there any way to track down the owner of a coin ?

Perhaps someone on this board might know this coin or the owner and could pass along the message? Or is even that sort of query considered illegal or at least rude?

I did a google the PCGS Certification Number (on a whim) and came up with this C.U. Post from July 2009 ...

https://forums.collectors.com/messagepost.cfm?postaction=reply&catid=26&threadid=730406&messid=8359605&STARTPAGE=1&ezquote=y&parentid=83596

I have to admit that I am at a loss on what is considered OK in terms of these kinds of actions, and what is pushing the envelope too much (or what is considered rude and/or unwelcome).

I am sure that PCGS knows who the owner is from their internal record keeping of the TrueView photo submission, but I am guessing (and actually fairly certain) they would consider that a breach of confidence to give that information out (which is completely understandable!).

It would be very cool if there was a way a message could be conveyed to the coin owner based purely on the Cert Number where no information is revealed to the person doing the search on who the owner is, so the owners confidentiality is maintained -- but information on interest in particular coins could be passed from collector to collector (interested buyers to coin owners) so that if someone wanted to sell, they would already have one or more interested buyers already lined up (with out breaching their confidentiality). Or perhaps even a setting on the cert page where a coin owner could say "no not disturb" or "no interest in selling ever" or "generous offers entertained" and some sort of anonymous way to pass a message to them.

Any thoughts on this are welcome

Banemorth · August 7, 2012 11:33PM

Personally I'd feel flattered that anyone would like one of my coins so much as to cyber-stalk me to make an offer!

AngryTurtle · August 7, 2012 11:34PM

PCGS might not know the owner, it could have been sold since cert'ing and TruViewing. If you can find it in Heritage, could do a "Make offer to owner". Dont know how much that feature is really used.

notwilight · August 7, 2012 11:37PM

Is the coin a top pop? If so, the experts in the series could probably point you to the owner. --Jerry

BAJJERFAN · August 7, 2012 11:38PM

I'd start by putting a want to buy post on the BST board and maybe ATS.

derryb · August 7, 2012 11:39PM

worst case scenario - he or she would be flattered.

You could post the pic as a WTB in the BST, maybe the owner shops there.

WingedLiberty1957 · August 7, 2012 11:51PM

Thanks for all the ideas ...

It's not on heritage ... at least I could not find it (going back to 1995)

It's also a relatively low grade PR64BN so I am pretty sure it's not "famous" or well known amongst the experts.

Posting on BST is interesting, but I view that as the longest of long shots as my impression is WTB posts don't get a lot of traffic.

Thanks again for all the input

TwoSides2aCoin · August 8, 2012 12:04AM

That's not love you fell into, brother.

WingedLiberty1957 · August 8, 2012 12:44AM

How about "fell in like" ?

By the way, turns out a friend of mine actually knows the owner and he sent him an email for me.

So my "stalking days" are over.

PerryHall · August 8, 2012 1:06AM

<< Posting on BST is interesting, but I view that as the longest of long shots as my impression is WTB posts don't get a lot of traffic. >>

It can't hurt and best of all, it's free.

barrytrot · August 8, 2012 1:11AM

That is a pretty one! I would image that posting a thread here + ATS would give you a pretty wide reach. If that doesn't work there is probably very little you can do.

LindeDad · August 8, 2012 1:29AM

Reverse spam at it's best.

It is amazing sometimes just how small the collecting fraternity is. Congrats on finding a link to the owner.

Hope the two of you can come to a mutually beneficial understanding.

WingedLiberty1957 · August 8, 2012 1:54AM

I think the odds of me getting the opportunity to buy this are slim to none; but thought it was worth a shot in the dark.

Thanks again for all the input and feedback.

Nice to know I wasn't breaking any written or unwritten rules.

mcgrover · August 8, 2012 4:04AM

I have been contacted by losing bidders on ebay asking me to consider them if I wanted to sell ever, to contact them. I printed out the messages (it happened twice I think), attached them to the coin, and considered them to be part of the provenance of the coin. One I followed up with years later and sold it to them at a modest (20%) markup from my cost, and all were happy. I needed the $. The other one I just don't recall. I think it was a songbook and I still have it. I think once you have the buyer/seller's ID, then it's just a private party deal. Getting the ID is the tricky part I think.

tahoe98 · August 8, 2012 5:23AM

...i would be surprised if the IRS couldn't help you.

Zoins · August 8, 2012 5:32AM

<< I'd start by putting a want to buy post on the BST board and maybe ATS. >>

Even better is a post to the CU US Coin Forum

Glad it worked out

magikbilly · August 8, 2012 5:43AM

It never occurred to me in that way. I get letters all the time asking to use my collection(s) in this book or that exhibit or to appraise this or that. They must find me from online chat. For some reason it might seem odd to me about a coin though. People don't steal fragments of ocean liners

Eric

WingedLiberty1957 · August 8, 2012 6:00AM

>> "It never occurred to me in that way. I get letters all the time asking to use my collection(s) in this book or that exhibit or to appraise this or that. "

Just a friendly FYI that as long as your coin photo that is being inquired upon is NOT a PCGS TrueView, you are golden with that type of permission giving. PCGS recently ruled that the coin owner has no rights in terms of granting permission on the use of TrueView photos of coins they personally own in books (for profit or non profit) or in 3rd party websites, even purely educational non-profit websites. Only PCGS has that right.

swhuck · August 8, 2012 6:00AM

<< PCGS might not know the owner, it could have been sold since cert'ing and TruViewing. If you can find it in Heritage, could do a "Make offer to owner". Dont know how much that feature is really used. >>

The Make Offer to Owner feature gets plenty of use, and we regularly sell things this way. But even in the best case it's a bit of a crapshoot; the person who bought it from us may have since sold it, or may not be paying attention to his email. Keep in mind further that at this time there is a minimum dollar value that the item would have needed to sell for in our auctions to be eligible for an offer.

LochNESS · August 8, 2012 6:10AM

<< Personally I'd feel flattered that anyone would like one of my coins so much as to cyber-stalk me to make an offer!

>>

renomedphys · August 8, 2012 6:16AM

Attractive '13s are tough. 64? That's harsh. Don't believe I've ever owned a BN '13.

magikbilly · August 8, 2012 7:20AM

<< >> "It never occurred to me in that way. I get letters all the time asking to use my collection(s) in this book or that exhibit or to appraise this or that. "

Just a friendly FYI that as long as your coin photo that is being inquired upon is NOT a PCGS TrueView, you are golden with that type of permission giving. PCGS recently ruled that the coin owner has no rights in terms of granting permission on the use of TrueView photos of coins they personally own in books (for profit or non profit) or in 3rd party websites, even purely educational non-profit websites. Only PCGS has that right. >>

Hello WingedLiberty1957,

Thanks!

I am good to go on those counts but I appreciate the advice and your time in relaying it. Many don't realize what you've mentioned, but it is true in so many instances apart from PCGS TV. I was actually speaking of non-coin items in my collections.

Best wishes and thanks again,
Eric

is there a (legal/ethical) way to track down a coin owner to make a generous offer?

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