i have to go back to my LCS today for some things. i like the owner. he had a bunch of pricey coins in proof sets in his clearance bin that i found and bought. well i bought them, took them home, then discovered they were varieties. i went back and bought the two i left knowing they were most likely the same, and they were. i feel a little twinge of something, but he does own a coin shop, and should know what he puts out in his bin. do i tell him and show him the difference so he doesnt make this mistake again? should i go back and cherry pick the rest? what would you do?
hmm I would go back and cherry pick the rest, buy them and then tell him so he does not make the same mistake again.
Cherry pick the rest. It's not a question of moral. He's the professionnal, he should know (or study about) what he sells. Q PS : a smart professionnal, even if you point out a variety before buying, should say ; "Ahem, well, OK, the price is the price, take it and please come again soon" He will have a new very faithful customer
A variety is a variation from the intended design. It could be a doubled die (DDO or DDR), repunched mintmark or date (RPM or RPD) or any number of other anomalies. However, you shouldn't confuse a variety with an error. They are two different animals. Chris
varieties can be a bunch of different things. different mint mark designs in the same year for instance. or a large date/small date, a subtle change in obverse or reverse design, i guess some would say double dies, etc...
There are many varieties that don't command a sufficient premium to justify paying the additional grading fee. It's very possible that the store owner knew, but didn't care. Chris
are double dies not considered errors? i wasnt sure. i have heard people say yes, and people say no, variety.
Since you have bought several sets that appear to have the type 2 SBA, I would mention it to the dealer. More likely, it was an employee who put those sets into the bargain bin, and not the dealer, not realizing the variety of the SBA, and the potential value of them either. He/She may not even know those type 2 sets are in the bin.
Let me ask you this. If you were selling these sets to the dealer do you think he would point out the variety to you? 99/100 he wouldn't. There's a war out there and in order for you to win it you've got to arm yourself with knowledge. Score one for the good guys and don't lose any sleep over it.
and this is part of my moral issue. he has a young son that works in there and it seems like he has no idea what he is doing. if it isnt scrap, he is disinterested. and this is from a guy that doesnt know much himself(me).
another part of my dilemma, he has always been really fair with pricing as both seller and buyer. i dont think he would point out if i had tried to sell them to him though. ok. tough love it is. buy the ones he has for $8, then show him so he doesnt do it again, or tells his employees to wake up.
If your concerned tell him what you discovered. If you have a good relationship with him, he will probably appreciate the information. They most likely paid very little for the sets so nothing is really lost on his part. Personally, I don't think you are obligated to say anything, but I can understand why you feel a little weird about it. If it helps, you can point out other sets in his inventory that have varieties and he may even honor the price he has on them. If so, then your conscience would be clear and you will have strengthened the relationship. If you really want to feel guilty then you should consider that the LCS probably did not pay a premium for those coins so paying him more would not "correct" the situation. You would have to find out who sold them to the LCS.
I went to this year's ANA Seminars. Two weeks: Grading 1 and Grading 2. [OT: Two weeks may be too much. I think it was for me.] A moral issue question arose in the course of one of the seminars, just as an aside. So I asked one of the instructors off to the side about the following: Several years back I bought an 1858 FE from MFD slabbed AU-something. A couple years later I got a Cherrypickers guide and for GP's went through my collection. It turned out to be an 1858/7. So the coin went from about $150 to $1000+. And MFD knew since I sold it back to him for the new price. This had been gnawing at me ever since. The seminar instructor left the decision up to me but suggested it would be right if I split my windfall with my dealer. So in paying for a recent purchase from him I added $500. MFD has treated me VERY well over the years. He hand-picks IHCs for me and charges only 10% over his cost generally rounding down and sometimes absorbing S&H if that's involved. I think I did the right thing.
The truth is that most dealers don't care about varieties unless they fall into the handful of well known types. They usually buy them by accident at normal coin prices. The dealer is making a profit he is comfortable with. You're under no obligation to educate him about varieties. I never feel bad about cherrypicking a dealer.....I do it all the time. The ONLY time I point out something to a dealer is when he completely screws up and puts something like a 31-S into a 31-P holder and prices it wrong. In those cases, I will ALWAYS point out the error since it's a mistake. Woeful ignorance and a failure to understand varieties on the dealers part is not cause to fess up that you found something in his inventory. IMO, keep your variety secrets to yourself, give your dealer lots of business, and you'll both be happy in the end.
Technically, yes, because it was an accidental mishap that created it. One of the biggest differences between recognized varieties and errors is that the major grading services will identify the varieties in their census, but errors are not separated from the rest. Here is an example...... I have the 2005-S Silver Proof KS SQ with a die dent on the bison. When I submitted it to NGC that year, it was listed as a "Mint Error" and is not identified in their census. However, the newest CPG (released this year) has included it as FS-901 which makes it eligible to be listed in the NGC census as a variety. So, when I go to the FUN Show next January, I will have NGC reholder it with the CPG provenance. It will probably be the only PF70UCAM "Top Pop" for this variety. Chris
NOW I WANNA CHERRY PICKERS GUIDE! I think buying it and telling him after the cash is exchanged is fair. I did that when I got a mint set for below face
Keep your mouth shut....NEVER reveal your secrets to dealers or they'll use it against you later. It's always best to let them think they are the ones who got the deal.
