So, it came in the mail today. While searching on Ebay, I found a 1948-D Franklin. All the title said was and I quote "PCGS 1948-D MS65FBL" There were no pics of the coin either. All the description said was: Nice looking half, no pictures available MS65FBL!! Someone even asked a question: Q: I would be interested in the coin if you can provide a picture of the front and back. I don't bid unless I see a picture.Dec-04-09A: I am real sorry that I cannot provide a picture, however if you bid and win and find the coin unacceptable you can always return it. I am not providing pictures as a test of the validity of PCGS grading. With PCGS grading you should be able to bid on a coin with the assumption that the coin is as advertised. I am tracking the bid difference between pictures and no pictures. Call it a social experiment. Bottom line, a coin that sells for well over $100 and PCGS lists for $150, I got it for $60 and it is a nice looking coin like he said. So much for the social experiment.
Nice! My best eBay find was a gold ring they had for sale buy it now $35.00, but I calculated the weight and purity and it was worth around 100. Needless to say I bought it, later resold it for an easy 60 bucks
I currently have a bid on Ebay for a Morgan dollar. What the title and description doesn't say, but the pictures do, it is a Carson City. Should be able to get a great price on a dollar worth over $100.
I just purchased 92-98 silver proof sets for a total of $180 including shipping. It is the best price for this set that I've seen for awhile. Furthermore, each set was virtually perfect with almost perfect cardboard boxes to boot. I ebay alot and really like it. You do need to do your research but you can still get good deals.
I suppose you couldn't go wrong with that auction for the unpictured 65FBL half if all you care about is a stated grade in plastic. But, if you like coins for their eye appeal, a grade by a tpg tells you nothing at all. I've seen some really horrible looking coins with some extremely high grades. Investors tend to buy sight unseen, not many collectors for this very reason. Simply put, you got lucky. Guy~
Well, hopefully it is a nice looking coin? Will you provide pictures for us, or are you doing a social experiment?
That's a very interesting story, and tells you the value of the PCGS brand as far as eBay bidders are concerned, IMO. If I were considering taking a chance on the coin, I would bid the average value of a 64FBL, just to be safe -- and I suspect that's right about were the auction ended at.
Well, it depends on how you look at it. First off, I LOVE coins, all kinds. Dark toned, Rainbow toned, blast white. ALL OF THEM. They all tell me something about them. So no, I am not some newbie who just loves a coin because it has brilliant luster. Second, this isn't just ANY TPG, it is PCGS...the BEST! I trust that they know what they are doing and would be happy with an unseen grade. Third, this is going into my registry set, so it's nice having a 48-D MS-65FBL until I can upgrade again. And, from someone who tracks the prices PCGS coins bring on Ebay, I got an AWESOME deal. Pics attached
This seller seems to adhere to the "Buy the slab not the coin" theory which is utter nonsensical in my opinion since he clearly should have shown pics. Just because it's a PCGS slabbed coin does not mean it will be a good looking coin even if it's MS65 or whatever. But hey, if you're happy with it, then you did well in my book..
One obvious reason a seller might offer a coin without photos is because the coin is hot. Why would a real collector take such a loss in this economy? Personally, I've never sold a $100 coin for $60 ..but that's just me...lol. How does he know that the owner didn't write down the barcode number and is searching all of the Franklin auctions hoping to find a picture of it. How many collectors record that information? If you were robbed tomorrow would you have a list of serial numbers? Now that's a social experiment for you.
I would think that most collectors that keep records would definitely record the certification number of the coin. Personally, I photograph every coin I own, log it in an excel spreadsheet, add to mycollection feature on Heritage, and add it into the NGC registry if it is not a duplicate. BTW: Dave, lay of the kool-aid.
I personally am pretty much done with ebay when it comes to purchasing coins for my collection. While I've gotten some decent deals, I've also gotten some that were not as nice as the picture, not what the seller claimed, and some that were obviously cleaned upon a closer inspection. I talked to my favorite local coin dealer this week, and he stated this is common conversation in his shop, and ebay has actually helped his business from people's bad ebay experiences.
I am way old school, I guess, but I think implicitly trusting anyone but yourself to grade an evaluate a coin is a mistake of huge dimensions. Imo, it's worth the time and effort to learn what you need to learn to have confidence in your own judgment. As I've stated on these boards more than once, I have seen huge mistakes from all the TPGs, including the top-tier ones, and I mean mistakes that could alter the value of an item by $1000s. And I'm not talking about grading errors, necessarily. I have seen an 1866-S Seated dime incorrectly attributed as an 1866-P Seated dime by PCGS. Look up the difference in value in any price guide you wish, and you'll see what I mean. What's worse, the date position in this case is an absolutely definitive diagnostic. Check out: http://www.seateddimevarieties.com to see what I mean. So trust them if you wish, but you'll please forgive me if, as an old-fashioned old timer, I consider that to be a "rookie error."
I really understand what you are all saying. And, although I trust PCGS a lot, I don't trust them explicitly. The whole point of this thread was, the guy had a coin listed. Didn't even have "Franklin" in the title of his auction, which means he wasn't going to get a lot of hits. On top of not having a picture, I picked up a pretty nice coin for a great price. But, I do wonder now how someone had mentioned about the coin possibly being "hot" When I went to add it to my registry set, it shows being part of another set. I am checking into that now. As a new member of this forum, I can tell you I love it here. The knowledge I am going to gain from this forum will be 10x better had I never found it. Thanks everyone. I appreciate everyones opinions.
