May I ask why you would want to go to the extra expense of sunitting the coin for grading yourself ? You have virtually nothing to gain by doing this and a good bit to lose. I mean no disrepsect, but based on this thread you don't know how to grade gold coins yourself, or recognize potential problems - so the odds of you picking out a nice one for a fair price are slim indeed. And for the same reason, the odds are good that you will pick out a problem coin that would not be graded and slabbed. Thus you would be losing money for nothing. Whereas if you bought a coin already slabbed, you would not have the added expense of grading, which is considerable percentage wise to the value of the coin. And you would at least have the benefit of buying a coin with a reasonable expectation of it being graded correctly and a guarantee of authenticity. Seems to me to be a no brainer to buy a coin already graded and slabbed.
Smart decision, I would send it back as well. Use the money to buy a nice, already slabbed $5 Liberty. They are fairly common, so be very choosy. Don't buy the first one you see. Look for nice, original surface toning. Just my humble 2c.
Might sound trite and foolish, but I enjoy the hunt and the satisfaction of finding one myself. The pictures in the auction made the coin look amazing. Your points are well taken though, I'm gonna persue one through the upcoming Heritage auction. There are 5 or 6 I have my eye on.
Ok, coin was sent back. Once the Post Office "finds" it, I should have my refund. After searching many lots on Heritage, I like this one the best (for my price range). Look like a keeper? Price seems kinda steep - well over the PCGS price guide. http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Inventory_No=800033317
Kinda steep ? How about a whole lot steep ! Value of that coin is around $390 and they are asking $660. You need to keep looking. And forget about the price guide values listed there - go check the auction records.