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[LETSBUYCOINS]

I went to an outdoor antique show in February. I bought three loose morgan dollars in cardboard holders. That got me interested in Morgans. March and April I bought some slabs on ebay, and some more loose ones on ebay. Total spent? I dont know. I figure when I dumped my coins at the local coin shows I took home quick cash of $500 total (the coins were all 1880-o. It was a two month educational experiment. BOTTOM-LINE: Some lessons: If you buy coins in cardboard holders, grade them yourself. Dont pay $45 for a coin that is overgraded by the dealer, and grades very fine with a $20 grey sheet price. STAY AWAY from all slabs that are not PCGS or NGC. I had two PCGS slabs with MS-62 grades. THe guys at the show jumped on those. They all love the PCGS slabs. The other lower-tier grading company slabs, I was told were two or three points over graded. I disagreed, or rather I wanted to disagree. But you cant argue with dealers who buy and sell all the time. And when you want the quick cash, you have to take their appraisal. The coin collecting hobby is a screwed up hobby. I STILL say theres too many grades. And dont tell me about the ANC grading guide. That is no help. Theres no precise guide that tells you the difference between a weak strike, and circulation wear; or the difference between circulation wear and bag marks. Or how big the bagmarks should be for a given grade. OR wear the bagmarks are allowed, for a given grade. So ATTENTION ALL COLLECTORS: Be careful when you buy loose coins. Question the dealers grades. Buy a magnifying glass if you dont have one. Or stick to PCGS slabbed coins. Take an occasional gamble on a loose coin in a key date, but be careful. Dont PAY MS prices on loose coins. Theres too much risk. And DONT buy loose coins on ebay. I WOULD ADVISE A LETTER-WRITING CAMPAIGN TO EBAY: EXPLAIN to ebay that the coin hobby has too many grades, and the risk of buying over-graded coins is too severe. I would recommend that ebay BAN all coin auctions of LOOSE coins in MS grades. ITs called coin collecting. ITs not called coin gambling. Theres too much bullcrap and gambling in this hobby. it has to stop. Ebay does take steps to protect consumers, right?