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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ksparrow, post: 641442, member: 7638&quot;]When I first started to collect, I gravitated towards the big sellers with multi-page ads in Coin World, etc, assuming that they must be REALLY GOOD dealers, to afford that much ad space. What I found out was that they were really good at making money off of naive collectors like myself. When I submitted 40 or so coins to a TPG for grading, I was introduced to the body bag concept, and found that many of my coins were hairlined from cleaning, and quite a few of those that were deemed slabworthy were in fact AU sliders, sold as BU. Lesson learned, avoid those sellers!&nbsp; Next, I thought, great coins must be found at bargain prices on eBay!&nbsp; My experience there has mostly been that eBay auctions can turn out to be an expensive approval service, and I have found that I really don&#039;t like standing in the Post Office line to return cleaned coins. I had thought that I could find nice, mid-grade original surface coins in series that I collect, like Seated, Barber halves, bust halves-- and you can, with patience, but so many of these turn out to be problem coins that I have become much more selective in my buying habits with the more expensive items (say over $50)</p><p>A few examples from my Hall of Shame:</p><p><br /></p><p>1911 Barber Half:&nbsp; <img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/Barberhalf1911-sobv.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/Barberhalf1911-srev.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Looks like nice, original gunmetal gray. however, it has been cleaned as evidenced by long vertical hairlines across the bust from top to bottom- not seen in mine or the auction photos. One might suspect a cleaning from the look of the right obverse fields, but nothing stands out. Still an attractive coin, but probably &quot;worth&quot; 1/3 less than what I paid.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now this 1847-O half:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/seatedhalf1847-Oobv.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/seatedhalf1847-Orev.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>The reverse on this coin is actually prooflike, and quite lovely. The obverse is not, and I believe someone tried to make it so by polishing, which you can see as a hazy patch in the right obverse field. I did not detect this at the time of purchase, it wasn&#039;t very expensive, but with what I know now I am sorry I bought it. </p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.&quot;&nbsp; As I gained confidence in my collecting, and became somewhat impatient to acquire more scarce or expensive items, I simply made more expensive mistakes. For example, this 1872 Dollar:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/SeatedDollar1872obv.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/SeatedDollar1872rev.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>In hand, this is an attractive coin.Seller&#039;s photos looked good.&nbsp; It is somewhat bright, suggesting a prior dip, but that&#039;s no crime (to me, anyway!)&nbsp; It has AU details, and a goodly amount of luster. however, under bright light, with a lens, hairlines can again be seen crossing the fields and devices, cutting through all that juicy luster. Another &quot;genuine&quot; candidate. </p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, I have this 1864 Double Eagle, purchased simply as &quot;uncirculated.&quot; Technically speaking, I don&#039;t believe it ever saw circulation, but the obverse doesn&#039;t cartwheel due to many patches of hairlines in a number of directions. The reverse is only marred by a patch of hairlines near the bottom, and cartwheels beautifully. What looks like wear on the obverse is actually due to the crisscrossing of hairlines on the high points, which under magnification have &#039;muted&#039; luster. Fortunately, I paid about low AU money for it, but I wish it had a nicer look. I had suspicions when it arrived, but did not trust my skills enough to make a decision to return it. (Listen to your gut-- it is wise!)</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/20dollargoldLiberty1864obv.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/20dollargoldLiberty1864rev.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>So what have I learned?&nbsp; If you buy raw coins at auction without having a chance to inspect them first, anticipate that many will have problems. If you don&#039;t mind using eBay as an approval service, fine, but be prepared to spend a lot of time and money returning coins you don&#039;t want. I have no problems with &quot;old&quot; cleanings per se, if not overdone, I just want to pay what is appropriate for the condition. I now buy almost all of my costlier coins in top tier TPG holders, they aren&#039;t perfect but they are a good screen against many problems. </p><p><br /></p><p>Sorry to be long winded. I hope this thread is of use to new collectors, and others please feel free to add you own comments, stories, and words of wisdom![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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