I bought 15 two cent piece on the bay of e in one lot, seller said there were three ef the rest good 1864 lm to 1871.They arived on my birthday one was ef one au and one bu R/B great score for 114.00. I must look at 1000 coins for every one I buy on ebay because there is alot of junk coins and over graded coins.It sure was nice to get some that were under graded and not cleaned.
In other words, you do your homework before you buy. That's my kind of collector, and congratulations on the buy. It's well worth the effort, because you can be proud of every coin in your collection when you are a careful buyer.
2 Cent Deals NICE going on the lot of 15. Guess one can still find an occasional deal for REAL coins on feepay. I rarely bid myself but when I do tend to ask questions first. A few months ago I picked up an EF 1871 for $20. A no problem coin. My best was probably 5 years ago. Picked up a small motto for $71. ORIGINAL XF45. Had a friend sending some stuff to PCI (yeah I know) and it came back XF45. Will crack it out someday and send to PCGS. Think it merits the XF45 by the way. You hit it on the head though. You have to look at hundreds or more auctions to score the big finds. Have to take risks sometimes as well. I've had some good deals from new sellers with horrible scans. LOVE MY TWO CENT PIECES clembo
So help me understand what the point would be to crack out a XF45 (I presume that's the seller's grade) coin that graded XF45 (by PCI), that you feel is XF45 and spend money (again, unless your friend paid the grading fee the first time) to have it graded a fourth time by another grading company (PCGS), in the hopes that...??? It grades XF45? This is about as opposite as you can get from "Buy the coin, not the plastic." Sounds like all you care about is the plastic. By the time you're done, you probably could just find the coin at auction already in a PCGS XF45 holder and save grading fees and time.
An excellent point samjimmy. I DID buy the coin and not the holder but someday I will sell the coin AND the holder. Unfortunate but true. I have 8 small mottos from AG to MS63. Most, if not all, will eventually end up in a PCGS slab. I love my coins but eventually will sell them or leave them in PCGS slabs for my wife. I have no children and won't have any dealer take her to the cleaners. That's part of what's so cool about coin collecting. You can enjoy them all of your life then sell them to someone else that will enjoy them. I call my coins my "401clembo" as it were. Love the hell out of the hobby but am a long term realist as well. I have not had any problems with PCI coins but they are knocked for inconsistency. PCGS is the BIG name and everyone knows it. Should I suddenly leave this world would my wife get more money from an XF40 PCGS coin or an XF45 PCI coin. Willing to bet the PCGS would get better money for the holder only (and I still believe this coin would go XF45 by PCGS). Once again unfortunate but true. My wife can read a Greysheet and a Coin Prices. That and my coin collecting friends could help. She can list an auction on Feepay to get top dollar. I've taught her how to scan coins as well. Bottom line is that I'll want top dollar possible for that coin when it's time to part. It will be worth the extra $30 now to realize an extra $100 later. Does that math make any sense? I bought the coin and not the holder but someday someone will buy the coin and pay extra for the holder. Hey, at least I'm not planning to put it in an AU58 SGS holder. Now THAT would be wrong. Thanks for your input. clembo
I'm sure you'd get more money for a XF40 PCGS coin over a XF45 PCI coin, but I guess what I'm trying to say is... is it really worth it for a XF45 coin? Just seems like a lot of effort for a coin that isn't really going to bring in the big bucks any time soon. Due to the condition, I'm not sure it would bring that $100 more that you're thinking. By the way, for some reason I like that particular coin as well. I have a 1864 2c Lg. Motto graded by ANACS @ MS62 RB and another 1864 graded by NNC @ MS66 RD. I haven't looked at it in a while, but I doubt it's quite 66, and I recall assuming it was cleaned.
I get what you're saying samjimy but this isn't the only coin that I own. Like I said it's LONG term here. I'm 44 now but hopefully someday I'll be 74. Who knows SGS might be king by then (LOL). But really we don't know. I'm just looking to the best avenue I can find NOW for the FUTURE. I am a self professed 2 Cent Junkie. I am not a wealthy man but have made my choices carefully in the past ten years or so. If I thinks it's way under rated I buy it and wait a few years. Usually I'm right if not by huge dollars (which I can't afford) but by percentage increase in Greysheet and retail value (and therefore resale). I still buy coins that strike my fancy but "hoard" those that I believe will keep going up and are affordable. It's a hobby and an investment to me anymore. In the area I'm from I've seen people work for a company for 25 years and then lose their pension. Not going to happen to me. So if I die in a year and have a PCGS XF45 small motto that my wife can sell in 20 years will it be worth it? Probably so. This is an under rated coin that has been going up in the past several years. Just look at what the big dealers (and I mean reputable) are getting for these. I sure don't buy then anymore. I guess the bottom line is this though. If I'm gone and my wife can buy an extra bag of groceries and a tank of gas on the EXTRA that was made from the "slab" and not the coin then it is BEYOND well worth it. SHE'S worth it to me. clembo
Awesome deal! Now that is a good deal. Keep researching! Been said before, knowledge is a powerful lesson. Somehow I missed this thread. I swear I need glasses lol. Keep it up! Phoenix
Maybe I'll dig out one of the 2c pieces and see what you think of it then. Regardless of any problems and/or off-grading, it's an excellent piece to show my students as it's one of the few older copper coins I have that isn't dark and hard to see. I love old coppers, but from an educational standpoint, they are sometimes so deep brown that they almost look black (and thus, look more like a black disc). The RB is really nice though, with a gorgeous marbled-like red and brown surface. Probably one of my favorite coins in my collection.
I had some luck two weeks ago at a coin show. I got my second 1872 two cent piece. The first was a fine without the WE in the motto, later graded as a VG-10. This one was PCGS XF-45. Also, I have two small mottos, one G+, and another VG-10. Now, for that 1873! (not likely).
Hey there samjimmy, Yeah old copper is hard to represent especially on the net. I'd be willing to share some of my pics with you for your use. By the way and I AM NOT KIDDING, my wife lost her job today. More fuel fot the PCGS thing. I'd love to really chat with you though. Just got to figure this thing out. I've never been into the chat lines but this one is actually worth it! clembo
