Too Good To Be True ? - GEM BU 1908 Indian Head

Yes you got taken looking at them all now i must say they are all altered and most likely on purpose !! Open a claim, it may be an uphill battle but you should be able to at least get a refund !!

 

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The seller had this part of his listing,

"Coins are very difficult to photograph so most coins will probably look slightly better in hand than they do in the pictures. Also, please keep in mind that I am not a professional coin collector or grader. I sell coins as I buy them. I cannot guarantee the grade of coins so remember to always look at the pictures to determine the value and grade for yourself."

But, here is the real kicker, I gave him a positive feed back, actually 5 positive feed backs. When something is too good to be true.... well you know the rest...
I just hope that other won't make the same mistakes that I made. As far as the 1800 Bust Dollar, I knew it was a fake and just gave the old lady like $5 bucks for it.

 

The surfaces look off to me, and the coin looks lack luster. I am guessing that the coin has been stripped and recolored. Cyanide salts are often used on copper coins to attempt to produce artificial red color. Initially the metal surface is stripped. Look at the coin in hand under ambient light - often coins treated with cyanide will look pinkish until they later retone.

 

When you buy coins as a new collector if you try to get more then you pay for you will end up losing every time

 

Bad.

 

Vic, that kinda sums it up my experience as a collector sofar. So, if I have a few thousand to play with and wanna get something for my future grand kids, what direction should I focus on? My collection ranges from junk silver to wheat pennies to modern silver eagles to.... even pocket knives.

 

Books and by learning first; leave that money for something else until you know what you're doing, and only then start small. If you wish to leave coins for "future grandkids", do it because they were something you enjoyed and not for any hoped-for future value.

Pocket knives, huh? Do tell....

 

I think some sellers on eBay are altering pics with lighting or software to slightly misrepresent their coins for sale.

Sellers pic on left, my pic of that coin that I received on the right.

 

Vegas Vic's guide to the beginner who likes nice stuff (speaking strictly as a beginner who likes nice stuff)

Of course I have to tell you to read and learn first. However if you want to start now and be as safe as possible this is my method.

Do the following

1. Subscribe to the coin dealers news sheet aka grey sheet. This gives you a basic price frame for common coins. $200 for a year of on line only access pays for its self.

2. Get coin facts. Go to pcgs.com or the coinfacts website and sign up. Best $80 a year you will spend. Very valuble site. It has recent sale prices for many coins. It is most useful for coins that trade infrequently like patterns ( which I love).

3. Sign up for heritage account at ha.com. It is free and you have access to past auction records.

4. Use ebay to review completed trades. Again a good reference point.

Now that you are armed with the above info you can buy coins knowing what they are worth.

MAJOR POINT

As a new collector rely on the crutch I call pcgs and ngc. Buy no other coins. Unless they are modern or $5 dollar coins it is hard to be totally screwed this way.

Now you can look at pcgs/ngc coins on ebay or anywhere else and see what prices look resonable PRIOR to buying. You can use ebay sniping programs like bidnapper to help get auction coins cheaper. Make sure any dealer you buy coins from takes returns. If they don't you don't buy from them.

Note- toned coins are valued higher then the standard market price and I suggest you get a second opinion from someone you trust (like cointalk) before blindly accepting a sellers valuation. In time you can learn the toned market but for now if you do what I recommend while you might lose a little money here or there you won't be seriously taken.

Buy what you like, not what will go up in value.

Last point. Personally I don't buy modern graded coins. Some have made money but most have crashed. My above rules do not apply to moderns and my own recomendation to you is to avoid them. If you really want to buy them there are people here who can advise you better then I can. Hope this helps.

 

Wow!
I haven't had a syllabus like that in ages and that's just for the course 101.
All you guys in CoinTalk have been just amazing. It's really web sites like this makes me feel that there is a hope for humanity, seriously, thanks..

 

Please do not depend on the forum as a hope for humanity, it is usually like herding cats

 

When you read a red book it is critical to avoid believing anything they say about price

 

I think the Greysheet is worthless as it overestimates the value of a good number of series. Morgan Dollars, Peace Dollars, and Silver Commemoratives come to mind but I know there are others. Overall, I don't think it is reliable and I agree with @geekpryde that it is redundant with other pricing tools.

 

I actually started buying silver coins, any silver coins purely as an investment purpose. Anything I could get at spot price, back in 2011 when silver was above $40 per oz., there were tons of people selling silver coins at spot price. Needless to say, I got stuck with a semi-hoard without out a common theme waiting for my silver to go back up but you know where we are, still. Lately, I have started buying silver coins again, again as an investment purpose, thinking we are at the bottom. Then, I started to develop a kinda attachment to some of the coins I had. I even found out that I had a 1921-d mercury dime, trying to grade it AG03 or stretching it to G04. I didn't know I had 1921 Walking Liberties, all P D & S. I realized that I need to send some of these coins in to be graded. Then I found myself with a loupe trying to read 'LIBERTY' off of my Liberty Dimes. I became a collector, just a few months ago and start getting into trouble, like buying them Indian Heads to start this thread. Well, that's the short version and looking forward to hear from experts on where to focus on my collection. I'm starting anew, all over again. And here's my long version of how I got here, https://www.cointalk.com/threads/too-late-to-turn-back.250572/#post-1973090
Anywho, I need to go back to bed....thanks geekpryde.