Just got these in the mail... grieving has moved to bargaining
Basketcase
Posts: 24 ✭
Hey all,
These were 2 of my first coins bought on auction. Needless to say I am learning the hard way that not all coins are safe. I had these graded and just got them today. I knew the outcome before hand but for the week leading up to getting these, I was somehow hoping PCGS was just messing with me.
Thoughts on value if I sell these via ebay?
2
Comments
Not just cleaned but " harshly cleaned". Ouch.
I am no expert at grading so I am in the same boat as you, but might be best to stick to slabbed coins, at least for higher grades.
Yeah, a little backstory. I bought these from an online auction. The pictures on the 2 cent looked good, but I was too new to think of luster. On the penny I was pretty excited till I got it in the mail and saw hairlines across the face. The penny doesn't look bad really but you can notice the hairlines if you angle it so.
Take a close look at the color too. It can tell you a lot about the originality of copper.
In my opinion, for these two coins, it suggests that the surfaces are not original.
Sorry, but I do not know much about the value!
Learn from this.
Let your current mistake save you money (or make you money) in the future.
We all go thru this. The survivors learn and do not repeat mistakes made.
You paid what we call "tuition." We call it that perhaps to lessen the emotional blow of realizing too much was spent on a coin, as we've all been through it. Stick around here, look at a lot of coins, ask a lot of questions, and you'll avoid paying too much tuition.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Tough lesson but it happens to many. As to value an UNC details cleaned 1853 (NGC holder) recently sold for $99 at Heritage so less for sure with the harshly cleaned tag and AU details. An AU details example of the two cent piece recently sold on ebay for $50.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Welcome to CU
I am sorry for the results ... as bad as it is; couldn't been worst. It's a lesson learnt and stick with slabbed ones.
Have fun collecting!
I got very lucky on my first tuition piece. It was a double legged 1999 Delaware State Quarter I bought for $26 or so. I got the coin in and was not impressed at all as it was just some machine doubling. I then reevaluated what and why I was buying. I made sure that I knew what I was buying and why I was buying on (almost) every purchase since then.
Thinking before I buy has made all the difference in the world.
The coins are not easy to see in these photos, but the cent appears to have been cleaned and recolored. The darker areas around the stars are not natural.
Consider that after paying for shipping, authentication and "grading" your two coins have almost zero net value remaining.
Don't know how much you paid but if it was not too painful then I'd keep them with pride as part of your numismatic journey.
Just sell them and move on. You have just learned an expensive lesson about buying online.
Don't buy anything else until you are confident you can both grade properly and spot altered surfaces. Stick to coins that are already slabbed by a major TPG such as PCGS.
I would also caution you to not learn from buying copper vs silver. There is a look to copper color that best indicates originality. Master silver coins first is my advice.
Welcome to the forum and don’t get discouraged!
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
Don't bid more than you are willing to lose on an online auction where you have not personally seen the coin. When you got those coins, you should have noticed problems and saved yourself the grading costs (unless they are so valuable that being genuine will ease sale). Picture interpretation comes with practice and experience. Good luck.
Education can be expensive...hopefully you will hang on tho this lesson and not make the same mistake again. I have been there and done that in my previous years...but I am sticking to TPG certified coins...with very few exceptions.
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@Basketcase
The tuition you paid was hopefully not that exorbitant and the coins came back as genuine and not in a bodybag.
Thanks for all the great feedback. They did come back as genuine. I will definitely learn from this!
For sure! And i AIN'T gonna elaborate.
Pete
Good on you, it takes guts to send a coin in and find out what the pros say. Ignorance is bliss but with coins it kinda defeats the purpose of learning just buying stuff and not knowing what impaired surfaces look like. I mean it would be nice and easy to just buy what we like even if that is a problem coin, but naively buying problems will just compound the expense the longer it goes on.
Don’t let it get you down, this is a huge part of buying raw coins and as one learns the mistakes diminish and likely eclipsed by better buys in the future.
The best time to learn your mistakes is early in your collecting career. Many wait too many years to grade or sell anything and find out they have a lot of 'problem' coins.
School of hard knocks is an institution we all graduate from. At least it wasn't two gold coins. Keep them to show to young collectors. Peace Roy
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@Basketcase.... Welcome aboard.... Sorry about your experience. As stated several times above, most of us have had similar experiences early in our collecting days..... Learn from it, keep those coins and use them as educational tools. Good luck in the future... Cheers, RickO
Just start at 9.95 or say 25 pct retail on bay and get rid of it if u don’t like. There are dealers who specialize in problem material as their customers crack and put into albums.
Tuition can be expensive (have paid some myself) sch C loss the consolation prize. If u can’t take the hits don’t play the game.
Suggestion - Put PCGS in your eBay search.....before inputting other details.
I am sure that most, if not all of us has got stuck with something during our learning process. Think of it as getting a D on a test. Study harder. Make sure you look at plenty of coins and figure out the pros and cons of each one such as originality, strike, post or as made flaws, etc. Be patient and don’t rush. In addition, stay away from the dealer(s) that skunked you. There are lots of good honest people selling coins. You need to work with them and in return you should get many many years of enjoyment from this hobby. Don’t let the jerks bring you down.