I will try to post some pictures of the two coins I won on eBay today when I get them! I think that I really got one of the best deals that I have ever made on coins and it was probably due to the end time on the auctions. Well anyways, I had been checking out some 1909-P VDB Cents for days and came across a listing which said 1909 Wheat Back Cent in the title. Being curious and thinking that the Seller is probably not that knowledgeable about coins, I checked out the Auction. The pictures were poor and dark and the coin heavily toned, so I copied and pasted them to my PC and edited them to add brightness and contrast and to my surprise, a really nice but heavily toned and possibly dirty 1909-P VDB Cent showed in the pictures. From what I could make out, the coin is at least an AU but may even go MS. I bid on the coin this morning and won it at a little after 11:00 AM EST for the opening bid of $5.00 before shipping. I decided to checkout the Sellers other items and came across an 1854-P Seated Liberty Half Dollar that the Seller had noted as EF and with the Auction ending at around 1:20 PM EST. I again copied and pasted the pictures to my PC and by adding a little contrast and blowing the pictures up, it appears that the coin is a high AU or low MS. Since I have been working late and getting up very early every day, I try to nap before going in to work. Before I laid down, I put in a bid of only $50.97 on the coin since our funds have been fairly tight lately and if I did not win, I wouldn't worry about as I lost many nice coins before. When I got up, I signed on to eBay and was pleasantly surprised that I had won this coin as well. The total was $60.34 with the shipping and Insurance which is less than half what I am pretty sure the two coins are actually worth. Maybe my luck is changing and things are actually going to get better! Frank
Frank, I hope you got a bargain and the coins turn out to be as nice as you think they are. Post some pics when you get the coins. The '54 half is an interesting variety - With Arrows. (Too bad it wasn't a '53 - With Arrows & Rays.) You're right about auction end times working in your favor sometimes. I know a guy that bought an 1885 Liverty nickel in Good for about $150 - one third of its true value. That auction ended on Thanksgiving afternoon when most people were eating, visiting with family or watching football.
Hobo, Yeah, I had trouble determining how good the Half was from the Obverse picture but when you can make out every detail and feather on the Eagle on the Reverse, then it should grade high! It looked to still have some Mint luster and I can only hope that it has not been cleaned. I have seen a lot of items go cheap when the Auctions end from late morning to early afternoon on weekdays! I have experimented with different ending days of the week and hours and have found that 7 day Auctions that end on Friday or Saturday nights and no later than 10:00 PM EST/EDT seem to do best. I have tried 5 and 7 day Auctions ending on weekday nights or Sunday nights and they always seem to do poorly. Frank
Here we go again! Well Folks, I picked up the coins from the Post Office today although the 1854 Seated Half Dollar is a nice EF-40, the Seller pulled a switch-a-roo on me on the Lincoln Cent! I won and was supposed to receive a heavily toned (RB) and dirty but nice grade (probably AU or better) 1909-P VDB Lincoln Cent. However, I received what appears to be a 1918-P Lincoln Cent that is so worn, corroded, toned and dirty that i doubt that it will grade even a G-4! This coin was the Cent listed in her Auction (item # 190198068461) that did not sell and was also listed as a 1909 Lincoln Cent. I sent her an email concerning the coin and just received a response saying that she got it mixed up with the other Lincoln Cent and would mmail it out right away via Priority Mail. Well, I hope that she is true to her word and that I received the correct coin. However, I won't be holding my breath until it gets here, as i have been told BS stories before by other eBay Sellers! Well anyways, even if I don't get the 1909-P VDB Lincoln Cent, the 1854 Seated Half Dollar more than makes up for it! I won it for $50.97 before shipping and Insurance and it is worth around $125. Frank
Pictures of 1854 Seated Half Dollar! As promised, here are a couple of pics of the 1854 Half Dollar! I am sorry that they aren't that great! "LIBERTY" appears to be very weak on the "E" but it really is more due to the lighting. I am almost certain that the coin is authentic but the reeded edge looks almost like a Clad Quarter, Half or Dollar edge. The planchet composition either was mixed with too much Copper or the coin was kept in a bag of Copper coins for many years and received rub-off from them. Also, the coin may have had an old cleaning but most of the friction on the coin is from good old, honest wear! Frank
With all due respect, that coin is not worth $125 -- how did you arrive at that number? From the photos, the coin has been (over)dipped and/or cleaned, and I would value it roughly the same as you paid. Regardless, the only thing that really matters is if you are happy with the coin and price. Respectfully submitted...Mike
I agree Mike. I'm sorry Frank but I don't see how that coin could go over what you paid for it....if it would go for that much. The coin has been harshly cleaned. Speedy
New and Better Pictures! Hey Folks, I have taken and posted some better pictures of the coin taken in natural light! The previous two pictures were contaminated with too much light from the flash which distorted the actual condition of the coin. As you can see from the new and better pictures, the coin is not as bad as the previous pictures showed! Frank
That's a great looking coin Frank - it's amazing how much different a coin can look when you change the lighting! Thanks for sharing! BTW: did you get the second coin straightened out? Hope so! Best Regards Darryl
Darryl, Thanks! Yes, I did receive the coin as the Seller promised. It's great to find that there are still some decent and honest Sellers on eBay! I did not take pictures of the coin but may get around to it later. It has MS details but there is a couple of gouges across Lincoln's face. However, for $5.00 for the coin plus I won another 1909-P VDB Cent that is EF-40ish for $0.01 and the 1911-P Matte Proof Lincoln Cent which I posted a Thread about, it was a pretty good week eBaying! Frank
Just a quick question (and remember I'm still learning), but aren't those dark spots in the deeper crevices indications of cleaning (inside liberty's left arm, left side of where liberty is sitting)?
