Your best “Ethics Moment”?

TommyType · August 22, 2016 7:02AM

Reading another thread, “Wow, 10X Price Difference”, I got to thinking about ethics in the coin buying, selling, and auctioning world.

I know this can be a big money business...but to me, this is all for fun. I’m not looking to get rich, and certainly not at the expense of someone else! Maybe I’m an optimist, but I think most of YOU fall into the same bucket?

So, I’d like to open up a “Pat Yourself on the Back” thread.

Tell us about your most ethical experience in the hobby. That time when you just did the right thing, or saw someone else do the right thing, when “take the money run” was an easy option.

(Ulterior motive: I just like reading about the "coin game".)

Here’s mine:

- I bought an approximately $450 large cent from a dealer at a show. It was graded AU-58+....and as the grade would indicate, it was quite attractive.

- After getting home, in order to show the coin here, I emailed the dealer, and asked if I could use their photo from their website. (Because, that’s the right thing to do).

- I was told, “Yes”, that would be fine. But they also told me that, “You got a really good deal on that coin! I had just purchased it along with a large collection, and didn’t have time to properly price them yet. Because it is a Pop 1 at that grade, the seller thinks I sold it for way too little. And my seller is having second thoughts, and really wishes he hadn’t sold that one. I hope you enjoy it!”

- At no time did the dealer request it back, I should point out. They were being quite honest in congratulating me, and wishing me well with the new purchase.

- But knowing I had “taken” the coin from someone who probably appreciated it more than *I* did, (I’m not a large cent focused collector), I started searching for a remedy.

- Looking at the dealer website, I found another AU-58 of the same design that I really liked....just as much as the AU-58+....and offered to trade coins. The minor price difference was negotiated, and I received assurances that the coin would be going back to the original seller. I mailed the coin back, and the swap was made.

It just felt good to re-unite the original owner with the coin. I still had a really nice AU-58 example of the type. The dealer was pleased to have the coin back for the seller, and I’m assuming seller was happy to have it back. (The only loser may be the dealer, who “lost a coin in inventory” when you tally up the exchanges....but there was no hesitation on their part).

I want to pat myself on the back.

abcde12345 · August 22, 2016 7:16AM

In your example, it wouldn't have been unethical to keep the coin you rightfully purchased.

I do get though how it was a cool move on your part to return it in trade for another.

logger7 · August 22, 2016 7:52AM

I was at a show table of RCNH where Paul showed me a coin quoting a price that was a fraction of its real value as well as their regular price list, a mistake. I was interested and then Paul said he had made a mistake and was bound by it because a man's word is his bond. I did not hold him to it. I could give a lot of examples; one recently with a currency dealer who quoted a price, I asked if the note had any problems, he said no. Then the next day I get an email from him indicating he was embarrassed to admit it had pinholes and then re-imaged it to show them in clear exposure. Then he knocked $100 off the note, I appreciated it and bought it.

ModCrewman · August 22, 2016 7:53AM

A few years ago I saw a BST Listing for a "1967 Jefferson Nickel PCGS SP67 DCAM SMS - $125.00", A coin that recent Heritage sales have been over $2,500. I messaged the seller asking if the listing was accurate and indicating if it was that I'd take it, he was quick to reply that it was an error in the listing.

We had done business in the past so I ribbed him a little that an ethical dealer would have honored his listing, but I couldn't have slept with ripping him that badly.

BryceM · August 22, 2016 8:01AM

I've always tried to be a straight-shooter, but don't necessarily feel a need to take a bow. I'll take the occasion to mention that Larry Shapiro, Dave Wnuck, Mark Feld, and John Agre are dealers who have done things for me that demonstrated an uncommonly solid set of ethics when they didn't necessarily need to.

msch1man · August 22, 2016 8:06AM

I consigned some coins with Mark Feld many years ago when he was a dealer. First group sold and he sent me a check but accidentally included an extra couple hundred dollars. I pointed it out and we squared up when the second group sold, but as I recall, he lowered his commission percentage considerably on that last group as a sort of thank you for being honest.

TommyType · August 22, 2016 8:56AM

Y'all make me feel good.

I'd hate to be deeply involved in an activity where everyone is looking out for themselves.

My experiences wandering around the hobby have been overwhelmingly positive. But sometimes it's necessary to put those few selfish things we see back into perspective.

clarkbar04 · August 22, 2016 9:17AM

Once sold a small lot of graded coins via email and a price was agreed upon. Paypal was sent and coins mailed. I looked and one of the prices seemed wrong. The buyer had in fact quoted a price for a different denomination which was an over $100 difference in price. I refunded the buyer for the price difference.

Wabbit2313 · August 22, 2016 9:21AM

The ones no one knows about except me.

Coin Finder · August 22, 2016 9:28AM

Many actually, but the big one was discovering a very rare variety coin in a dealers case marked at a regular price. A dealer that knows varieties. Raw coin in a flip. It was MS o/cc or something like that. He had others working for him so it was not his mistake. I showed him right away and he was embarrassed but very thankful. He over paid me on some coins I brought in later. He told me he was overpaying me and would not take no for an answer. It was all good Karma..

DoubleEagle59 · August 22, 2016 9:29AM

I have on numerous occasions pointed out to dealers that they have undercharged me for coin purchases and overcharged me for consignment fees.

I have returned a 1 oz. gold coin that was on the floor in front of a dealers booth. The dealer had dropped it earlier and was so very thankful to have it returned.

All these dealers are highly ethical and truly respected in the industry.

Now that I've patted myself on the back, let me add that on one occasion, I made a purchase and I didn't find out until I returned home from a coin show that this dealer made an $800 mistake in my favor.. This dealer is truly looked down on in the industry as a low life and shall I say a 'crook'. I'm 100% sure of this. Needless to say I looked upon this as true 'karma' and I didn't return it.

SeattleSlammer · August 22, 2016 9:33AM

Before attending especially busy shows I sometimes don't eat beans for breakfast.

bolivarshagnasty · August 22, 2016 9:41AM

Originally posted by: SeattleSlammer

Before attending especially busy shows I sometimes don't eat beans for breakfast.

I think you are confusing ethics and common courtesy.

roadrunner · August 22, 2016 10:02AM

One time I had bought about $2500 worth of coins at my local B&M, even did the math myself, and it was checked by the dealer. About 10 miles up the road I'm rechecking what I paid in my head and keep coming up about $1,000 short. Sure enough, I had shorted guy. Called him up when I got home and that I'd put a check in the mail the next day for the difference.

Another time at a major show I had put a coin out in the case without checking its current CDN price. I just assumed it hadn't changed any. It was a GEM PF65 1858 half dime. I priced it based on my buy code on the back. When a dealer inquired how much, they noted it was $400 under CDN bid....and that I must have made an honest mistake. And this was pre-CAC when CDN bid always bought a decent NGC type coin. He didn't hold me to that price and said to quote him again. Frankly, since it was my own laziness/lack of judgement...it wasn't an "honest" mistake. I told him he could have it for the original quoted price....which he paid.

I've displayed "questionable ethics" too. None of us is perfect. Back when I was 20 I ran across an 1852 Fine quarter at my local B&M - priced at $20. Only thing was it had unusual mottled toning that neatly hid the "O" mint mark. It was a $225 coin. Considering the dealer undoubtedly paid $5-$15 to the owner of the coin, it didn't make sense to me to enrich him for not being able to identify a reverse mint mark. Not much difference from buying a rare variety at your local dealer that is not attributed.

I've been on the receiving end of so many "dishonest ethics" that I would need pages to list them all.

cmerlo1 · August 22, 2016 10:17AM

I work at coin shows taking in submissions for another grading company.

A guy showed up at the table and introduced himself, saying he was a police officer. He said he'd had these coins for years, and told me he had shown them to several dealers around town. Some told him they were worth face value, others said they were valuable. I asked him if I could have a look, and he produced a Cheerios card with the cent and Sacajawea dollar on it.

I told him they were definitely worth more than face, but explained that the cards could be found with a rare, valuable dollar, or with a normal 2000-P dollar. I found an article online showing the obverse die marker for the pattern reverse coins, and confirmed his coin was one of the rare 'Cheerios' pattern reverse Sacajawea dollars. I showed him some auction results, and needless to say he was very happy. He gladly submitted the coins.

For me, this is more of a feel-good story, although I could see where someone who is unethical could've totally taken advantage of the guy. I'm glad he brought it to me before selling it on the cheap to someone in the show.

roadrunner · August 22, 2016 10:31AM

Good cheerios story. Here's another finder's story on a territorial gold coin with a different ending.

A friend of mine got a chance to look at a supposed $5 Bechtler Carolina gold coin at the local shop. The shop owner and bunch of others all said it was probably fake. Offers of a few hundred dollars (for the gold) were made. The owner had been leading towards fake as well...IIRC. My friend said he wasn't convinced and wanted to do some research on it. He took the coin for some more research, determining it was likely real, submitted it to PCGS, and slabbed out an AU-50 to 55 as I recall. It was worth in the $20K range. My friend even lined up an offer from Heritage to buy the coin for $22K as I recall. All this was presented to the owner in a meeting at the coin shop. The coin's owner said they'd consider the options and get back to everyone. Never heard a thing from the guy again. My buddy was stiffed for the PCGS and REG mail fees as well. In retrospect, maybe some coin owners deserve to be taken advantage of.

Just reminded me of a story about an 1893 blue-baby Barber quarter from around 1988. It walked into a local shop near me. It was purchased by the family around 1893 and wrapped up in tissue paper. There was an inscription on the paper dating it (I hope that was kept with the coin these past 28 years). The dealer had me look at it as he was interested in sending it in for grading and hadn't done much with the TPGs. I figured the coin as a 65/66 and told him expect either grade (I expected a 66). The coin was solidly deep blue yet still superb. The coin came back NGC MS65 and worth around $3,000-4,000 as such. My mindset was to make the guy an offer and maybe try it again myself. The owner asked me for my "honest opinion" on the grade it received. Doh! Why did you have to say that? I told him it really should have gone 66. We send it in again....NGC MS66 on the 2nd time. Now worth $6K-$7K. He's happy with that and sells it to me for $6K. I flipped it to dealer Jay Miller at the next major show for $6500. No doubt in my mind the shop owner paid at most $1,000 for the coin and probably only a few hundred bucks.

DollarAfterDollar · August 22, 2016 10:57AM

I have a few but this one was very recent. I was at an auction where a coin valued between $700 and $1000 was a lot being offered. The problem was the PCI holder. I looked it over and felt it was a buy at the $700 mark even though I don't collect the series at all. The bidding begins and it's just me, and a guy in the center of the room who had already run me up on a few Morgans.

Time for payback.

I deliberated at around the $200 and then the $250 marks expecting someone, ANYONE to jump in. Nothing but crickets.

In a serious effort to ensure that the consignor didn't just give the coin away I bid it up to near $500 even though I really had no interest in the coin. Had I won it I'd have cracked it and sent it in to PCGS but my ethical deed was to make certain the consignor wasn't hurt too badly on the sale.

DNADave · August 22, 2016 11:30AM

This is true story.

I once asked an older man, a total stranger who was having a yard sale, if he had any coins to sell. He invited me into his house and showed me a table full of coins he was organizing to sell. We talked a bit and next thing I know, he says he has to go to the bank, and that he'd be back. I insisted no, but he was out the door telling me to take my time looking at the coins....that he trusted me.

I remember calling my wife, telling her I was in a strangers house all by myself looking at a pile coins. So for about a half an hour, I did my best to come up with a fair price which was offered when he got back home...about $1500 as I recall. He agreed, and then proceeded asked me if I was interested in gold? I said yes, hoping it wasn't too much since there wasn't much more in the checking account. This man then took me to his kitchen where he pulled out a vent cover in the wall, reaches in to a hiding place and pulls out literally a bag full of about twenty big Mexican gold coins, 50 pesos, 1.2 ounces each. After convincing myself on the fly that these were real, I picked out a nice 1947 (later graded a 63 at pcgs) which was all I could afford. It was $1100 at the time.

To this day I wonder what would have happened if this fellow had trusted the wrong person. The price I offered was solid with one exception, sort of. There was one box of misc world coins and tokens, nothing too good, in which I found a civil war sutlers token worth several hundred dollars. I didn't know what it was at time, and didn't discover it until much later.

mustangmanbob · August 22, 2016 11:38AM

Mine is boring. I bought some empty Dansco albums at a coin shop, and one of them still had Morgans in it. Shop owner pulled some out, and told me to keep the rest, as they were mostly just common worn ones.

Coin Finder · August 22, 2016 11:44AM

On Ebay many years ago a fellow had put up a beautiful 1909 S VDB mint state graded coin............for $19.99. He meant to put $1999. I bought it right a way with the then new "Buy it Now" feature. I emailed him and told him the coin was worth way more etc.... He saw the mistake and promptly thanked me. It was my good deed for the day.

Ablinky · August 22, 2016 12:11PM

I was at a show a year or two ago and while walking down an isle noticed an older dealer sitting at his table counting his money and noticed he had dropped a few bills on the ground. I could have just bent over, grabbed them and been on my way. But decided to give the $300-400 back to him. He more shocked than anything responded with a mere "thank you."

ChrisH821 · August 22, 2016 1:06PM

I once bought a paper wrapped roll of 90% JFKs on the bay just sort of on impulse, they were priced right and I just put in a bid that happened to win. When I got them in the mail I poured the roll loosely into my hand and thought "why am I struggling to keep these in my palm?" turns out the guy sent 9 extra in the roll. I sent him a message telling him that I wouldn't feel right unless I paid him for the extras. He was thankful and I slept well. I'll have to see if I can find a picture of the roll, after knowing this it is apparent that it was overfilled in his listing picture.

lkenefic · August 22, 2016 1:18PM

I was searching through bulk bin silver quarters at my local B&M shop. I had been a fairly avid patron at this shop for a while. The owner was getting up in years and probably just liked the company. I found a 32-S that was somewhat beaten up... but definitely worth more than bulk silver. I handed it to the guy and told him he should probably put it in a 2x2 holder instead. ..

Bochiman · August 22, 2016 1:37PM

Originally posted by: bolivarshagnasty

Originally posted by: SeattleSlammer

Before attending especially busy shows I sometimes don't eat beans for breakfast.

I think you are confusing ethics and common courtesy.

Shhhhhhh......

Whatever you call it, we don't want him to change that.... some us of see him at those shows!

Bochiman · August 22, 2016 2:11PM

Originally posted by: msch1man

I consigned some coins with Mark Feld many years ago when he was a dealer. First group sold and he sent me a check but accidentally included an extra couple hundred dollars. I pointed it out and we squared up when the second group sold, but as I recall, he lowered his commission percentage considerably on that last group as a sort of thank you for being honest.

That's Mark for you.

I dealt with him more than a few times. Always upfront and treated me quite fair and ethically.

Once, we got into a semi-argument because, imho, he overpaid me on some coins he bought. I asked how he wanted the overage back (paypal, check) and he argued with me that he had paid others close to the same amount so it was only right that he pay me that amount; though I had asked for less.

Buying from him, I would find myself agreeing to a price, him sending the coins on approval, and then, when getting the final bill, it was usually less than originally agreed to.

ChangeInHistory · August 22, 2016 11:04PM

I bought a two $2 1/2 dollar coins from a dealer, both at $275 each. Somehow we both came up with a total of $450..oops. I emailed him that night explaining I owe him another $100, sent it off the next day.

We still chuckle about our math skills that day!

amwldcoin · August 23, 2016 12:17AM

At a show I found a nice original 1846 Half Dime in VF. I asked the dealer what he wanted for it and he said $12! I said are you sure it's an 1846. He thanked me for my honesty and sold it to me for a very fair price of $200 at the time. Wish I had it now!

Honoring .99 cent auctions that sold too cheap on ebay, even with a message from ebay they had a system failure and I didn't have to honor the sales.

Couple years ago won a wonderful Barber Half for my collection for less than I was willing to pay. Couple weeks after I received the coin I was contacted by the seller and told he had made a mistake. He had accidently listed the coin which he had graded for a customer. I was asolutely in love with this coin and had already added it to my registry set. I tried everyway to get him to make an offer to his customer and told him I was willing to pay more. Yes I returned the coin and had my fingers crossed his customer would sell it to me. Didn't happen and I haven't seen one that even comes close to this one in several years.

I could go no and on and yes I sleep well at night!

IwasAgentjim007 · August 23, 2016 12:25AM

One is today honoring my offer to sell my allotment of US mint medals today for less than half my regular buyer is paying. Why didn't I sell to my regular buyer ? Didn't think these were big deal at the time and thought I was doing the buyer a favor. Got the email shortly after I locked in.

SaorAlba · August 23, 2016 12:26AM

Years ago at a coin show in the USA I bought an uncirculated Scottish tenner from the 1970s', a fairly pricey note even about ten years ago. After I got home I noticed I had not one, but two notes and that they were consecutive. I contacted the dealer and sent them back, not so much as a thank you, an eff you or anything. At least my conscience is clear, even if the dealer could have cared the less.

Dennis88 · August 23, 2016 12:45AM

As a dealer I will sometimes point out mistakes, but not always. It's one of those things where the situation, who I'm dealing with and my mood all play big roles.

It has to be an obvious error for me to point it out; a banknote that has a FV of $160 that is priced at $150 retail, yeah, I'll point that out every time as it wouldn't be fair and there's an obvious mistake. A coin that is a $90 coin in the catalog but actually sells for $500+? That one I'll gladly buy since IMHO the other dealer didn't do his due diligence.

Both are quite common occurrences in the world coin and currency market.

Dennis

Jackthecat1 · August 23, 2016 1:29AM

I witnessed my best example of ethics in the local B&M shop a few years ago. An elderly woman came in with a coffee can full of silver dollars. The owner was looking at each coin and generally offering her $15 each, which was a good price at the time. He came across a 1928 Peace Dollar and told her that he would give her several hundred dollars for the coin and explained that it was a low mintage date. Neither the lady or anyone else in the shop would have been the wiser if he has just put it on the pile of coins he was buying for $15.

asheland · August 23, 2016 2:31AM

These bars:

Were together among others in a group of silver bars. I immediately noticed the different feel of the smaller one. The dealer is a friend of mine and I promptly showed him what he had. He didn't even know it was in there!

I still ended up buying it for a good price, but there is no way I could have bought it as silver.

Elcontador · August 23, 2016 4:12AM

At a Long Beach Show, I saw a 24 S Nickel in a dealer case. It was an AU coin and it was priced too cheaply. I looked at it, and remarked to the dealer, "this is a 24 S, I think you have it priced as a 24 P."

He looked at the coin, realized I was right, and took it back (and I am sure corrected the error).

AMRC · August 23, 2016 4:30AM

I have purchased collections that turned out to have items in them that are of both higher and lower value than I had estimated when I figured out my offer. When I make a mistake on paying too much, it is exactly that, my mistake and I eat it. But there are many occasions where I have called the customer and told them I owed them some more money when it was in their favor. What never fails to astound me, is on a few occasions the seller took some convincing to take the extra money! "A deal is a deal" they would say until I had to insist that they take it for my sake!

Bochiman · August 23, 2016 4:48AM

Both buyers and sellers showing integrity.

Awful lot of sellers, who made mistakes, honoring their mistakes though.....

NickDanger · August 23, 2016 5:06AM

I'm of the opinion that one is either ethical or one is not.
If one is ethical, there is no "best" moment.
If one is not ethical, occasional instances of ethical behavior are, at best, hypocritical.
Just my 2¢

logger7 · August 23, 2016 5:45AM

I have been told that if dealers went back to the original sellers after they realized they paid too little for something to offer a fair share of the profits later it would be too messy. I disagree. I have seen too many people over the years rationalize unfair profits from unknowledgeable sellers. Fair is fair, what that should be is subject to debate. Of course the few dishonest ones ruin it for the rest of us. I was at a 12 step meeting last night where we were discussing step 10; it's about having a good conscience which cannot be underestimated imo.

WaterSport · August 23, 2016 6:02AM

I have a dealer who I occasionally work with and picked up a reasonable priced PCGS graded coin from him for about $400. Likewise another $200 coin was purchased a week or so later. Both were graded MS 64, But I felt they looked much better than that and cracked them out, gave them bath in acetone and sent them in. Sure enough, both came back MS 65. My $600 purchases were now worth over $2500. So I call my dealer/friend to ask if he wants to buy the coins back and he just laughs. He says lucky me, enjoy the coins!

A year later I buy another coin from the same dealer only this time, it gets lost in the mail. He reimburses me and eventually I get a replacement for my set. Then just over year later, the original coin arrives in good order with a battered and dirty envelope. This "lost" coin was better than the one I had but I called the dealer to tell him what had happened and that I would send the coin back since he had already reimbursed me. Needless to say he was appreciative and that is why we have a good working realtionship.

WS

DollarAfterDollar · August 23, 2016 6:36AM

One of my favorite stories is when a Dealer I have relied upon for guidance at times had an NGC Proof 67 1961 Penny in his case with great color. I asked him how much he wanted? Since the NGC slab was scratched to bits and looked horrible, he said $15. I immediately told him it's worth more than that and proceeded to give him $35.

I polished up the slab, photographed the coin and sold it on E-Bay for $140 (as I recall). When I saw him at an event a short time later I summoned up the coin on my E-Bay "sold" page. I then walked up to him and told him to "hold on, I owe you some money". He got that puzzled look and said, "no you don't"? I gave him another $30 and then I showed him my phone with the photo of the coin and the final sales price.

Obviously he was shocked to know that such a mundane coin could command such big money.

If nothing else he knows I'm honest and I returned the favor of his guidance.

Pokermandude · August 23, 2016 7:16AM

It's a nice feeling to get a rip once in a while from a dealer. When it happens, I generally just spend more money with them on more (non-rip or even retail price) pieces rather than just giving them more money for the deal already made.

david3142 · August 23, 2016 8:40AM

Originally posted by: Dennis88

As a dealer I will sometimes point out mistakes, but not always. It's one of those things where the situation, who I'm dealing with and my mood all play big roles.

It has to be an obvious error for me to point it out; a banknote that has a FV of $160 that is priced at $150 retail, yeah, I'll point that out every time as it wouldn't be fair and there's an obvious mistake. A coin that is a $90 coin in the catalog but actually sells for $500+? That one I'll gladly buy since IMHO the other dealer didn't do his due diligence.

Both are quite common occurrences in the world coin and currency market.

Dennis

This seems to be the exact opposite of what most would say. $10 is an obvious mistake, but $400 is not??

wrighty · August 23, 2016 8:59AM

I work at a bank and a man came in with personal rep paperwork for his uncles estate. The uncle had a safe deposit box along with some small accounts, after closing the accounts I let him into the safe deposit room, once finished and I verified the box was empty we went back to my office to sign the paperwork to close the box. Once the paperwork was signed he put his hand into the bag he had placed the box contents into and pulled out a handful of Morgan dollars and asked if he could turn them in at the teller line. For a brief second my mind raced and I wanted to say yes and then I could buy them at face value but my conscience took over and I said you don't want to do that. I explained the silver content briefly along with key dates and sent him to a dealer locally that I trust. He sold the Morgan's for around $1,500 mostly common circulated dates but got silver value and around 15x more than the face value of the coins. To this day I still feel good about my decision.

bigjpst · August 23, 2016 9:22AM

I have on several occasions surprised people with actions that I believe were just the right thing to do, but don't typically feel the need to pat myself on the back. I do them because I like to sleep well at night. One that I will share I believe I have seen the most reward from.

I believe it was the second show that I set up as a dealer and a man asked me if the price I had on a raw Unc Morgan dollar was correct. There was a price at what I had purchased it several years before $18 or $19. Now silver was I believe in the $30 range. I told him that because that was how I had it marked, that was the price I would sell it to him. He refused to take me up on the low price, but I was just as insistent that he get it for a bargain. We met somewhere in the middle. Until recently he stopped by my table at every show I set up in Southern California. I can't recall if he's purchased anything from me since that first coin, but I always enjoy seeing him and saying hi.

logger7 · August 23, 2016 9:56AM

I have heard of people walking into pawn shops with pickle jars of silver dollars and being paid face value and not realizing they were being taken. Last week I saw the daughter of a recently deceased man walk into a shop with gold rings and his Rolex watch and it looked like she was just going to accept any reasonable offer, not checking around because it was small potatoes compared to the other inherited things such as stocks and real estate. The dealers see the trusting unknowledgeable people coming in over and over again. The better ones treat all customers the same. I heard about a coin dealer in southern VT whose brother I did business with in NH. A banker walked into his shop with a large collection of currency that ended being worth big bucks, got it cheap from the banker; that dealer ended up dying early of drinking. Probably the banker dropped the ball on helping the family with the collection get market money.

TopographicOceans · August 23, 2016 10:01AM

I found a $100 bill on the ground and I looked to see if anyone was around before putting it in my pocket.

TennesseeDave · August 23, 2016 10:13AM

When the 2008 SAE with reverse of 07 came out I went to my local B&M. Luck was on my side and they had 7 that the owner had bought directly from the mint. They were priced at $30 each and I was going to buy all of them, but I had gotten to know the lady behind the counter pretty well. When she asked my why I wanted all 7, I told her about the differences and that they were selling on E-bay for over $200 each. I left 3 behind and told her she should buy them. She said she would have to ask the owner to see if she could buy one. Anyway I left some behind for whoever came along. I made close to $1K off the 4

TigersFan2 · August 23, 2016 10:52AM

Originally posted by: Jackthecat1
I witnessed my best example of ethics in the local B&M shop a few years ago. An elderly woman came in with a coffee can full of silver dollars. The owner was looking at each coin and generally offering her $15 each, which was a good price at the time. He came across a 1928 Peace Dollar and told her that he would give her several hundred dollars for the coin and explained that it was a low mintage date. Neither the lady or anyone else in the shop would have been the wiser if he has just put it on the pile of coins he was buying for $15.

I saw the complete opposite at a B&M store about 20 years ago. I was in the store looking at their bucket of cheap coins in 2x2s when an older lady came in with probably about 7 Mercury Dimes. She explained that she found these in a drawer and wanted to know if they were worth anything. At this time, the melt value of a 90% silver dime was about $0.40. The owner of the store explained that they weren't worth anything other than a dime and offered to give her $0.70 for them. At this point, I spoke up and interjected myself into their transaction and said that the melt value is about $0.40 each and he should be offering at least $0.20 to $0.30 each, not $0.10 each. The store owner told me to get out of his store. I've never been back to that store and driving by it occasionally, it appears to still be there. I have no desire to ever walk inside again. Trying to rip an old woman off over what amounts to probably a dollar. I have no idea whether she sold the Mercury dimes to him. Hopefully not.

roadrunner · August 23, 2016 12:06PM

I've only seen the damage once in person where a local shop ripped an old lady for a huge sum. In this case she had several key date 20th century coins in choice unc condition (raw) put away at time of issue and had no real clue as to their full value. At the time the small group of coins were worth around $90K-$100K. She got $30K for them. This was around 10 yrs ago. I just checked PCGS price guide on this group of coins and they list for over $200K today. It would be like several raw choice/gem unc 1921 PDS Walkers walked into your store one day. It never happens.

asheland · August 24, 2016 1:22AM

Originally posted by: TopographicOceans
I found a $100 bill on the ground and I looked to see if anyone was around before putting it in my pocket.

logger7 · August 24, 2016 1:44AM

It has happened to me a few times; money on ground at bank several hundred dollars in an envelope, took it inside to the bank, clearly the bank would not give an absent minded customer "lost" money that they dropped out of their own money, so hopefully the person went back and got it. Random money on the side of the road or sidewalk is another story.

GoldCoin98 · August 26, 2016 9:12AM

Originally posted by: david3142

Originally posted by: Dennis88
As a dealer I will sometimes point out mistakes, but not always. It's one of those things where the situation, who I'm dealing with and my mood all play big roles.

It has to be an obvious error for me to point it out; a banknote that has a FV of $160 that is priced at $150 retail, yeah, I'll point that out every time as it wouldn't be fair and there's an obvious mistake. A coin that is a $90 coin in the catalog but actually sells for $500+? That one I'll gladly buy since IMHO the other dealer didn't do his due diligence.

Both are quite common occurrences in the world coin and currency market.

Dennis

This seems to be the exact opposite of what most would say. $10 is an obvious mistake, but $400 is not??

I think what he means is that the first example would be due to a mistake putting the incorrect price on the item, whereas the second example is due to the buyer having more market knowledge than the seller.

Your best “Ethics Moment”?

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