I can search eBay, Heritage, Stack's and Great Collections for specific coins. BUT if I can't find them there I run into trouble broadening my search to other sites. I use Google to search but I'm wondering if I don't have my search parameters correct to narrow down the returns I'm getting. For instance I'm looking for this coin: 1853-O with arrows half dime in an XF/AU PCGS/NGC slab not DETAILS/GENUINE. Double quotes seem to work; "half dime" appears to eliminate dime, half cent, etc. Suggestions about refining my search parameters to get closer to my target will be greatly appreciated.
A "minus" sign, for example, means "not", but you may have figured that out. Have you tried the Advanced Search? http://www.google.com/advanced_search
Try this search term. Really its just what is printed on the label of an NGC holder for this coin. 1853 O H10C MS You may be able to get results also by swapping MS with XF or AU. I tried this in another search engine and it brought up the various sites that had the coin for sale.
Thanks for your suggestions. The Google Advanced Search might do the trick. I don't see it in the Google window; I know it used to be there. So I'll use the link you provided.
If I were looking for "1853-O with arrows half dime in an XF/AU PCGS/NGC slab not DETAILS/GENUINE" on the bay, I'd use: 1853 half dime (xf,au) (ngc,pcgs) -details -proof -dollar (for google maybe add "+arrows" to emphasize that term) I don't normally leave out the mintmark but sometimes people use zeroes for O or something else like 1853- O or somthing along those lines. When it's a newer coin or one with many mint mark possibilities, then I'll add -s -p -d -w, etc, etc.
