There are a few dealers left who offer raw coins and don't have websites that show pictures. Have you ever ordered such a coin? What was the result? Were you satisfied with what you got? If you submitted it to a certification service, did it come back the grade at which it was sold?
I recently ordered such a coin, a 1932-D Washington 25c from a no-pictures dealer. It was purported to be in AU58 or better condition and priced appropriate to the supposed grade. I sent it to PCGS and it came back with a grade of AU50, which made it worth about $400 less than I paid. Just wondering if any other CoinTalk patrons have had similar experiences. Yeah, I know that I should have returned it when I first got it.
And I thought I was a gambler. You ordered a 1932-D Washington Quarter without seeing any photos? I think you are very lucky that it was even genuine. As for whether I would ever buy from such and individual, that is a hard pass. I provide people with high res photos of $5 coins. It is insulting to expect someone to purchase a $750 coin completely sight unseen given the advances in modern digital photography. I am not saying they have to photograph every coin in their website, but upon request, they should 100% provide a potential client with photographs.
What grade did you think it was when you received it? What is the dealers return policy? If it didn't look like a 58 couldn't you return it soon after you received it? Return for any reason in say 7-14 days is a customary policy. Most dealers do not guarantee grades. Trying to return after 3 or 4 months after you get it back from PCGS is pushing it. And yes many dealers inflate the grade on a raw coin by at least one step. Buying an expensive coin raw is red flag for me. Grey sheet shows an AU58 '32 D retailing for $775. AU 50 $360. If it was that valuable why wasn't graded in the first place? Have you spoken to the dealer yet? Happy Collecting
What grade did you think it was when you received it? What is the dealers return policy? If it didn't look like a 58 couldn't you return it soon after you received it? Return for any reason in say 7-14 days is a customary policy. Most dealers do not guarantee grades. Trying to return after 3 or 4 months after you get it back from PCGS is pushing it. And yes many dealers inflate the grade on a raw coin by at least one step. Buying an expensive coin raw is red flag for me. Grey sheet shows an AU58 '32 D retailing for $775. AU 50 $360. If it was that valuable why wasn't graded in the first place? Have you spoken to the dealer yet? Happy Collecting
No and no.... These days everyone has a camera phone. Heck, even my momma has one and she shunned cell phones as long as she possibly could. I could see a no photo purchase for a fifty dollar coin, but not one that valuable.
Many posts that you see from dealers and on the bay are stock photos and you dont get the exact coin pictured and receive an alike coin which in most cases is a lesser quality coin, for me personally I dont buy raw coins just to many headaches.
Some of the bigger dealers are doing this, you gotta pay close attention. And then there are scammers who post stock photos and flat out lie. That's where seller ratings and return policies come into play.
I prefer buying raw coins by a longshot over graded coins. Maybe because I haven't spent a small fortune (all at once at least) for a particular coin. I enjoy being able to hold the coin in my hands and once they're slabbed they're effectively dead for this purpose. Granted, if (when) I decide to drop thousands for something particular, it will certainly be a certified example... unless I can physically verify authenticity myself. And that part is rather difficult and/or time consuming that lots of people may not be willing to wait through as I do my thing. But to answer your query, no I have never bought a raw coin sight-unseen from any place, internet or in-person. I would have to trust this seller explicitly in that I wouldn't get ripped off, and I would also have to get reassurance of a "return window" in case it ended up being a flop in my eyes. It's quite exhilarating though, buying raw coins. More so than buying graded coins, at least in my mind. Once a coin is graded and encapsulated, that's about it in terms of what you're getting unless you want to play the crackout game. And that's not a promising game to play.
I'm still a little bit dizzy about buying a raw 1886 Morgan. I knew what Vam it was from the photos, it slid under the radar. That's the ONLY reason I bought it.I got it for less than 65 bucks including shipping. It was a one off by a seller who really wasn't a coin dealer, dealt in knick knacks. Someone stole grandaddy's collection and sold it for melt to this online etailer. I shipped it off to PCGS and it came back MS67 VAM 1-C Top 50 clash. I will never forget that, it's like a winning lottery ticket.
My anxiety would never let me buy a coin sight unseen! I consider buying from just photos a gamble. Luckily, many platforms now allow a seller to post videos as well, which I love! A short 10 second video has pushed me into buying and passing on coins!
I have not done that for over 40 years. The last time was when half dollar variety specialist, Sheridan Downey, advertised an 1805 half dime in PCGS VF-35 with no pictures in Coin World. I ordered, and the coin was great, but I would never do that today.
Exactly. Never buy raw coins sight-unseen in this day and age, and that goes doubly so for key-date coins!!! As mentioned, you're lucky you even got a genuine example.
