hi all, i have to ask this here. Has anyone ever purchased from ebay a roll of pennies where the description says indian head penny on top and wheat on other end. Is this for real. and even the descriptions that says the rolls are unsearched. i want to purchase from a good seller who has a 99.9 percent rating but this sounds to good to be true. i mean an unsearched roll. i have seen that term unsearched on policeauctions.com. especially onthere but the bids are much morebthan some of the prices on ebay. ok enough said. thank you in advance for all opinions.
They're searched. Otherwise the seller couldn't say it is an unsearched wheat roll with an Indian cent on the ends. If it were unsearched, they wouldn't know the contents!
It's for real that it is a searched group of coins with an IHC placed as a seed on the end to attract artificially high bids from folks who do not know this scam. Don't feel badly about that; these scams are so common because most folks do not realize they are being taken.
You also see wheat cent rolls with a Mercury dime on the end on eBay as well. Many times these dimes are showing the reverse with a D mint mark...leading people the think that it is the elusive 1916D. Maybe the person writing the listing has not searched them but someone they know certainly has done so. I would be highly suspect of these rolls. TC
I agree with the others. I don't believe in "unsearched" rolls appearing on eBay as actually being unsearched. If you find them in Grandma's attic or something then that would be ok. Be careful! Bruce
Just ask yourself, "Is it too good too be true?" If you use common sense, then you'll say yes to that question and skip to the next auction. My personal opinion will tell you, don't even bother with these type of auctions, you're just wasting your time and money.
I think it's safe to state unequivocally that there are no unsearched rolls with "seeded" ends offered for sale on eBay. I consider this practice borderline scam as stated above, albeit a profitable one for the seller.
My advice is to bid like you're getting the two coins you can see, and 48 1940's and 50's Lincoln wheat cents.
I love the endless amount of Mercury Dimes that seem to end up on a roll of pennies. It is just crazy isn't it?
And there's plenty of 'em. Over 2,400 listings as of this moment: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313&_nkw=unsearched+roll&_sacat=0&_from=R40
I hear they get a shill bidder friend to "buy" a couple and say in their feedback, "FOUND a 1909 S VDB!!! BEST DEAL ON EBAY!"
I don't know that all of these are true "scams" or not. If you bid on exactly what is promised in the auction, and not make any assumptions that are in your favor, you'll be OK. Most of them say something along the lines of "Unsearched roll of pennies with IHC and wheat showing on ends". Assume you're getting a roll of pennies with a IHC and a wheat on the ends. The "pennies" could even be from a box they just picked up from the bank. Do not assume the roll will contain any other IHC's or even wheats, unless it says it's an "Unsearched roll of wheat pennies with IHC on one end". Then it's safe to assume you'll be getting some low quality wheats. Do not assume there will be any key dates or more than the one IHC in there and you'll be OK. These guys are counting on the fact that there is no legal definition of "unsearched". Unsearched could mean they didn't search them for errors or varieties, but maybe they did "check" them to make sure they were all wheats, or no other IHC's. It could be that they bought them from someone else at a price that would virtually guarantee the lot of wheats to be all 1950's. Or maybe they're all thoroughly searched and they're just claiming they aren't. Who can say with something like that. It's not like searching coins leaves any evidence behind that they've been "searched". Only the seller knows...
That's why I called them "borderline" scams, but I'm sure many CT members would consider them "true" scams.
It's probably a safe assumption. I just like to give people the benefit of the doubt unless I know what their true intentions are. Either way, don't count on getting anything more than the minimum that's promised in the auction and you'll be OK. If you don't get what is promised, then file a claim with ebay.
The best ones are the ones with a "VDB" on the ends. If the pictures are close up, you can distinguish between an S VDB and a normal VDB by just looking at the initials. On an S, VDB, the period after D is located in the center of the initials (V . D . B), where as a non S mintmark, the period is close to the D (V. D. B.). Be careful of altered initials as well.
Let me start by saying I have bought a fair number of these rolls. Yes they are searched and you can expect at best a few half decent key dates out of any roll (most give you nothing) So if you must bid on these I strongly suggest you only actualy bid what you would be willing to pay for the "end coins" that way when you get nothing but doodoo in the rest of the roll you won't be disapointed.
I really am disliking ebay,paypal more and more. They ALWAYS hold my funds even well after the 21 days is up, I have positive feedback, AND provide tracking. I have more than 25 sales and a 100% positive rate. Their customer service was not help. When I explained I am past the "new seller" stage, 25 sales or less, there's no reason they should be holding my funds. I am about to cancel ebay and everything. It's been like this for months.
