What's the ethical thing to do?

I had a situation arise that gave me pause and I won't say who it is, but I wanted to ask what the ethical proper conduct is in a certain situation:

Seller takes a coin to a dealer to sell. He has been selling some stuff through this dealer, and the dealer expects to see more of his collection as time goes on.

The coin is a 1916 Lincoln Cent slabbed OLD ANACS MS-66 RD for which the dealer paid a market price.

upon further examination, it looks as if the coin may be a Matte Proof which instead of $300-400, may be worth upwards of $6,000.

It has been suggested to me that since the coin was certified, that any "mislabelling" is unfortunate and since it was purchased as a certified coin, that if it is indeed a MPL, that the dealer is entitled to keep it and any difference in value.

I'm pretty worked up about this...

what do you say?

 

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You’re asking coin dealers/collectors what is ethical? Ha…Ha…Ha..Ha Ha Ha Ha

 

In my opinion the ethical thing to do is to give the seller some of the profit from the sale if it is indeed a proof. If the dealer sells the coin for $6000, maybe give the seller a little less than a thousand.However I wouldn't have a problem if the dealer just kept all the money. The seller should've known if it was a proof or not and unfortunately its his loss. Easy for me to say since I didn't lose any money, but I feel that if this happened to me I would obviously be POed but I wouldn't expect anything from the dealer. Just a lesson learned for next time.

 

ouch

 

Ethically, yes he should tell the seller, especially since he seems to be a regular customer and will be buying coins from him in the future. But it wouldn't surprise me that in the same situation, most people wouldn't say a word.

 

Numismatics aside, I think the fair thing to do would be to split the difference 50/50. What a business man that makes money in the hobby would do...well, that varies by individual/personality profiles and so on. I would be the person in the prior, my conscience would get the best of me.

 

A Personal Quandary.

I don't personally believe I can tell someone else what they should do, but merely what I've done, would do.

I personally would determine a realistic net value, and offer the partner ~half of the difference above that previously paid, without explanation because of many variables. I would explain that it was consideration due for having been allowed the opportunity to transact/purchase. JMHO :thumb:

 

IMHO if you were not to notify the seller you are not an honest dealer, how is someone supposed to feel confident in your expert opinion if you have hidden motives behind them. The dealer would be wise to be honest because when the seller gets more than expected hes going to go home and tell his co-workers, relatives and so on. Word of mouth can be worth more than gold, im not suggesting the dealer not make his money just throw the seller a bone.....

 

It's a good Cherry-pick. Simple as that. What if I buy a roll of 70-S Cents from a seller at Grey Sheet list, and it happens to contain DDO-001? What if I buy a 1999 Proof set, and it happens to contain a CAM Cent? A Morgan that turns out to be a valuable VAM? This line of questioning could go on and on. As long as the dealer didn't fraudulently deceive the seller, and they mutually agreed upon a price then it's a done deal. If anything, the seller has a beef with ANACS; not the dealer.

 

I think that the seller should be informed by the buyer of the suspicion. If the seller wishes to buy the coin back from the buyer for the previously agreed price, then they can resubmit the coin to a real grader for verification of it being a proof.

 

The seller and buyer have a contract for the sale and purchase of an MS-66-RD cent. Should that coin turn out to be something other (within reason) than what the buyer and seller had agreed to buy/sell, then, summarily, no sale/purchase occurred and the coin reverts back to the seller. This assumes the seller is the original owner.

Ethically, good question.

 

If it is a matt proof, a wise dealer would give the seller a bonus, either cash or shop credit. Ethical question, does the seller split the bonus with the person he originally purchased the coin from.

 

I think the above is ok between two dealers but not when we're talking about a customer taking a dealer into his confidence to help sell some of his collection. I mean between two established coin dealers its generally agreed upon that it is up to each individual to know there stuff but when a dealer is selling coins for a customer shouldn't he be forthcoming with info that would increase his sellers profit and his commission? Thats the reason you would ask a dealer for help correct? Unfortunately this is not the common practice among most businesses today although i will say i have dealt with some truly wonderful people here at CT who help members without asking any reward.....

 

The label shouldn't factor in here. If the collector knew what they had, and not what a piece of plastic said he had, there wouldn't be an issue. Many dealers can claim they'd take the moral high road on this one, but I can bet not a single one actually would. Morally right? Probably not. Reality? Most definitely.
Guy

 

The label was probably a major factor in the understanding upon which the agreement between the buyer and seller was reached.

 

It is my opinion that the dealer should advise the seller that it may be a more valuable coin. His reputation is worth more than the few thousand dollars that he might make on the deal. Furthermore, he can sleep at night.

 

Which was my point. If the seller had known what coin he had, and not relied solely on a label, it wouldn't be an issue. One of the main reasons I don't care for TPG's...they promote laziness and impede learning.
Guy

 

The coin at issue might possibly be a matte proof cent. It takes quite a bit of experience to differentiate them from regular cents. I think even reasonably learned numismatists could not tell the difference between a matte proof and MS cent all the time.

 

Seller gets a 10% bonus of the difference between what the dealer sells the matte proof for and the price he bought it from the seller at. Fair all around.

 

I've reread the OP, and the way I'm understanding it, the dealer bought the coin outright. I don't think he was selling it on consignment.