Buying a high value raw coin on eBay? (1943 Ireland Florin)

I collect Irish coins for post-Independence Irish coins, by far the key date is the 1943 Florin.

I noticed one for sale on eBay but it is raw. I know eBay has a buyer protection guarantee, but the seller doesn't accept returns and I have no idea how well that would work out. This particular coin is quite uncommon and only 4 examples have ever sold on Heritage Auctions (all were graded).

The seller is asking $4,000 which is more than the minimum price NGC suggests this could be worth, but significantly less than any sold example I can find.

Anyone have any advice on this? I would absolutely love to get a 1943 Florin, but I don't really want to throw away 4 grand. I do have a PCGS membership so I could presumably try to have this graded.

 

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I have bought raw coins on eBay that ended up being fake. Even if the seller does not accept returns, you can still return the coin if it is fake. You have to label it as "not as described" and give proof of it being fake. You have to upload pictures. I have never yet had a fake denied, even if the seller refuses. eBay has always had my back so far. As much as I dislike eBay, I do appreciate that aspect. If you really like the coin, I would suggest that you offer what you think is reasonable. Check it immediately once you receive it and send it back if it turns out to be fake.

 

I'm hardly an expert so I would pretty much have to send it to PCGS right away. It looks like the $150 option gets a result in 5 business days. I'm out of town for 2 weeks starting on Friday which complicates this a bit.

 

Do you have a reliable coin shop nearby? Perhaps members here could look at the listing and give an opinion as well. I have no experience with that specific coin.

 

I have no idea about the coin's authenticity, but wow. Checking Numista - were there really only 35 minted??

 

I am not aware of one. I travel quite a bit and usually send all my stuff to my mom's house in SE Michigan since it's a safe place to store things until I can pick them up. She knows absolutely nothing about coins, especially Irish coins, so I hate to rely on her to do much.

 

The 1943 issues in general are pretty rare. I have a PCGS certified 1943 half crown and those are also quite rare with only about 500 examples thought to be minted. Irish coins in general aren't super popular so despite being orders of magnitude rarer than things like a 1909S VDB, it was only like $350 as a PCGS 15.

Ireland also has some very rare coins from 1986. The halfpenny, 10p, and 50p all have 20,000 or less minted when most other years have 2-100 million.

 

Not worth taking a chance. I wouldn't blow 4 grand on anything on eBay. Too bad also. Keep us in the loop so we can learn. Do you have substantial Pics? I would have to see it in person. Just my opinion.

 

The only pics are the ones on the eBay listing. Normally I would agree with you and run, but this particular coin is quite rare. It has never sold on Stacks Bowers and has only sold 4 times ever on Heritage Auctions so finding another example may take years.

 

Well. It's your money and time. I'm confident that you'll do the right thing. Good luck and fortune. Post pics if you do get it. We'll be here, still.

 

If you are absolutely sure of being able to get your money back in the event it is a fake, might be worth at least finding out.

 

That's the part that I'm not sure about. It's eBay and I think they're pretty good about that? I would also pay via PayPal to get PayPal protection. I would also use my credit card on PayPal to get credit card protection. So I think I'm covered?

The coin is so rare that even if it was raw from something like Heritage Auctions I would be suspicious of the authenticity but to me it's worth the $150-200 that I would pay PCGS to get it looked at just because the listing doesn't have any red flags. The coin looks real enough (granted I'm not good at detecting counterfeits). The seller is US-based and only sells coins (albeit not a ton of them) and the price is good, but not too good to be true.

 

There does seem something odd about one of these just popping up on eBay like this...but again, if it really is legitimate, and you can safely ascertain that, I can see why you wouldn't want to pass up that opportunity.

 

Yeah it's a tough one. While if genuine it is an extremely rare coin, it's also quite obscure that it seems like an odd choice to fake and the price isn't clearly ridiculous like you'd expect for a Temu fake. I'm leaning towards risking it but it's a tough call.

 

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.