eBay Gamble - poor pics but the "right" coin - post yours!!!

Hi everyone, saw a similar thread about whether there were good deals possible on eBay. Well made me think of this experience (as well as a few others) where I decided to "gamble" on eBay.

Ever run across an auction for a coin that you think would be great based on the description or a coin that you would love to own in the grade but unfortunately the pictures were horrible???

That's what happened to me in my hunt for a Classic Head Large Cent when I came across an eBay seller with an NGC AU55 1814 "Plain 4" Classic Head Large Cent with only the following photo:



Well, given grade on the slab, the Buy it Now price was not bad. I decided to take a "gamble" so I sent a lowball offer to the seller based on the pictures, and after a few back and forth counteroffers, the coin was mine.

Here's what the coin looked like when I got it and photographed it myself:




I think my eBay gamble paid off in this case I ended up later selling the coin for almost $1000 profit :thumb:

Let's see some examples of your "eBay gambles" whether they were winners or whether they were losers... I have an example where I was a loser in my gambling on eBay that I'll post to the thread later.

 

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The good thing about this auction is ,you had a graded coin,So you knew roughly, what you were getting. In most cases when the picture is horrible you basically have to take the sellers word on the condition.I am not that trusting.But most good sellers do have a no questions asked return policy,which is good. By the way, I like the coin and think you came out on top,for sure!
What is that line above the date.

 

Sure, I had some comfort that it was certified, but there are certified coins out there that are dogs for sure... I'll show one later

This coin is a late die state and the "line" is a die crack that runs from rim to rim from the "8" in the date up through the thrid star going counter-clockwise.

 

Yes - and in 99% of the cases I skip them. Even with a good return policy I hate to think I have to spend $20 to just view a coin in hand. Now if I was constantly buying $2000 coins it might be different. But for my range I just skip them. With large cents I would definetly skip NGC graded coins - for the simple fact I do not think they are as good as PCGS. Just my opinion. PS - Your coin is very nice and I am glad you are happy with it.

Now the flip side is - how many people gambled with bad pictures(graded coins) and received one they were unhappy with? I have seen some dogs(my opinion) in top tier slabs.

 

I'll be posting an example of just that later on

Was hoping to see some other "gamblers" here on the forum first though

 

My avatar was a $600 poor pic gamble that slabbed 65RB.

Also, another 22-d with similar pics got me a YouSuck on the other site, it was only $200 and came with 5 other coins, 10-S, 12-d, 12-S, 31-D,31-s I think, I cannot remember them all.....all mint state.

CohodK, ask him. He bought the 22-D from me. It's now in a PCGS 64RD holder.

 

lets see it

 

Alright, here’s another one of my "eBay Gambles" an NGC MS64 1857 Flying Eagle Cent. Here are the seller's pics of the slab and their attempt at a close up shot:




The coin was listed as a Buy it Now for $1000 (and the going rate at the time for a certified MS64 was $1300 to $1400) so I jumped on it soon after it was listed and took the gamble based on the grade assigned by NGC

Here are my pictures of the coin when I got it:




Under different lighting:


All of the scratches of note were on the holder, had trouble imaging this one as it was tilted in the slab. Definitely was not a huge fan of the few spots on the obverse and some of them were so large they looked like snow capped mountains under a loupe.

This coin appeared to be an example of if the price is too good to be true, it probably is! However, the story didn’t really end there and ultimately didn’t end up all bad.

After owning the coin a little while and deciding that I didn’t want the coin, I tried to sell it. Most dealers were not interested and several suggested getting NGC to take it under their grade guarantee ("appearance review"). A handful of other dealers were willing to buy it, but the best offer I got was I think $500. For reference, at the PCGS guide listed an MS64 at $1650 and the greysheet bid/ask on it was $1050-$1150. Ouch!!

I eventually sent the coin to NGC for appearance review and had a wonderful experience with their customer service. Upon receipt, they were confident they would be able to conserve this coin and then have NGC regrade it. So, for the cost of shipping to NGC and a 2-3 week wait, they had NCS conserve it and NGC regraded it an MS64… Here’s what the coin looked like post conservation.






Before pic:


After pic:



In summary, I was pleased that NCS/NGC were able to save me from losing big on this “gamble” since at the next show I had no trouble getting my money back out of this coin and actually made a small profit on the coin. Since this coin, however, I’ve really pulled back on my eBay gambling!!

 

Wow, If someone else would have cleaned it, it would have been graded cleaned. The final images of the coin show it was tampered with. The spots will return in time.

 

I don't have the original pics (they were about 100 pixels square), but I bought this prooflike gold dollar from eBay for roughly AU money. It was submitted to PCGS (about the time I did my CAC submission), and it came back MS 65 and is worth about $1000 more than I paid for it.

 

wow nice score Leadfoot!!! :thumb:

 

This is going to sound dumb i am sure but what is the differance between conserving and cleaning?

 

I'm guessing: Who does it. Seems like a double standard to me. But a "Newbie" can destroy a coin soaking it in jewelry cleaner. Best to not clean in that case. Always experiment on useless change before even thinking of a better coin. Even then think about it a lot more before trying. what we do to coins today can ruin them in the future.

 

Here's a link to NCS regarding conservation:

http://www.ncscoin.com/conservation/index.asp

yeah, coop is pretty much right, the difference between cleaning and conservation is largely who does it... conservation is in short, professional cleaning done in a way that does not damage a coin to a point where it becomes ungradable. Obviously there are differing opinions as to how much a coin can be conserved before it is called cleaning. Like the 1857 cent I posted above, when viewed in hand, I'd estimate that 75% of folks told me that it looked like NCS did a great job conserving the coin and the other 25% just said it looked ok, but cleaned.

 

Interesting reverse. Notice the MAD on the reverse and the obverse is normal. I wonder if they reversed the position of the adjustable die then? Now the obverse ones show the MAD and the reverses are normal. Interesting.

 

Looks cleaned, just get this awkward feel to it.. Could be the lighting. I'd have it regraded

 

In what sense? Old coppers might have very well been cleaned, but it was so long ago, that it is disregarded. Most large cents I've seen, though, lead me to think that this one is not so and NGC got it right!

Nice cherrypicking Illini!

 

My gambles tend to be a bit different. The pictures were reasonable enough, but the seller was brand new and in Israel. It cost me $30 with shipping. After a month, I started to get worried. But it finally arrived! And it certainly was worth the wait. Similar specimens usually go for $60 plus.


First Jewish Revolt
AE Prutah
Jerusalem, 68/69AD
SH'NAT SH'LOSH
Year Three-Amphora with broad rim and two handles and lid decorated with tiny globes hanging around edge
CHAROT TZION
Vine leaf with twig on tendril
Hendin 664

 

I bought this high relief peace dollar from a flatbed scan that really sucked. It was a 35 dollar buy it now and came with an 89-O Morgan that was basically a cull.

The picture of the obverse is what was with the listing.....amd the pic of obverse and reverse is what I actually received. Not a big dollar coin, but a great deal for the money.

Nightowl

 

Wow excellent deal on the peace 1921 + morgan cull