I just started collecting coins so I wanted to start by getting some good ones. I just bought an 1892-s Morgan dollar for $32 on Ebay. the seller has the coins condition at VG+ I dont know how to grade coins so could you all help me out. Was this a good find? The pictures I have attached are from the ebay sellers page the pictures you see are the coin I got.
It looks like it has some rim damage at 12:30, 3:00, 5:30 & 9:00, but here is what I don't understand. Why are you buying coins if you don't know how to grade? How can you determine what would be a fair value to pay for it? You musn't take the word of any seller on SleazeBay, especially when it comes to buying raw coins. What you really need to do is buy a book on grading such as ANA Grading Standards of United States Coins and learn some of the fundamentals before you start throwing your money around. If this had been a $200 coin, would you have done the same? What makes this any different? I'm just trying to help, so please don't get discouraged. Chris
Looks like a original VG-8 to me. Only 1.2M minted, however a F-15 is about $32, the jumps to about $130 in VF-20. I personally like your coin.
Perfect advice Chris. Don't buy raw coins on eBay if you are brand new to collecting, you can stick to coins graded by a reputable third party grader such as NGC or PCGS. Also buy the book Chris was talking about, I recently wrote a thread about Grading The Morgan Dollar, using ANA Grading Standards. You can take a look at PCGS Photograde and also post coins you are thinking about buying here for a second opinion. All the best!
Thanks for the advice im going to buy the book today. Also, I have heard the reputation for Ebay hundreds of times from this sight, and I would never spend that much on anycoin over the internet.
Just as many people might put a premium on bright toned coins, in this grade level, the even gray tone is also such a coin if one prefers originality. It deserves a pop up to the next grade level for appearance IMO. I noticed the rim dings, but still I would have paid that myself. Price guides should be used as an average point at best. Jim
You do realize that the majority of prices on Numismedia.com are auction prices, ie what the coins sold for at auction?
Something you might want to consider when buying on ebay. If you win it, you are the person willing to spend the most money on it at that time. I don't know of much bigger viewing audience than ebay. I'm not trying to be hypocritical about this either as I do buy on there, but I know what I'm getting into and can live with the fact that I paid the most at that time. If you think you're going to buy on there and flip for a quick profit, you might want to think again. (unless you have some serious experience and know-how, it probably isn't going to be profitable) I do like the look of that for a nice circulated example on a more difficult date coin, congrats.
It's still a nice Morgan, despite the rim dings etc. It's got that classic gun-metal grey toning, nice even wear, it's a pretty coin. I'd call it G-4 instead of VG, but you don't need to have any buyer's regret...we all learn one coin at a time. Use this one to build your collection of circulated Morgans.
Odd - that's not what Numismedia says. "The pricing information we report comes from all over the numismatic market including many reliable dealers known for their unbiased market knowledge and information."
If you want accurate pricing info then use Heritage. On Heritage you will see actual realized auction prices, both current and historical. And you will also see the Numismedia price, The Coin Values price, and the PCGS Price Guide price - all of them in one place. For example, a 1902-O MS66 with a CAC sticker sold for $632.50 on June 6, 2010. Numismedia says it's retail value is $550, and they say the PCGS(nmp) is $410. Here, look for yourself - http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=1140&Lot_No=8571#photo Now does that sound accurate to you ? Yeah, it's in the ballpark, but the Numismedia price is still $100-$200 off.
