So I put an ad out on craigslist just asking people to contact me if they had old coins they no longer wanted. An older gentleman contacted me and said he has 20 Morgan Dollars oh and seven Carson City Dollars!! I don't have a whole lot of money to spend, so I'm wondering what some of the more experienced collectors think I should do. I only have about $400 dollars to work with unfortunately. He says he is not a collector and he had just been taking them to pawn shops for the silver content. He has no idea of their grade (which I don't know what to make of hoping for the best prepared for the worse). He only had the dates of the CC's here they are: 1882 1883 1885 2x 1890 1891 1893
I'd be very leary of buying uncertified Morgan's (especially CC's) from anyone on Craigslist. There are just too many fakes out there. No buyer protection, so you're stuck with whatever you purchase. However, if you feel the coins are genuine, it's very possible you might get a good deal. Personally, I wouldn't do it unless I was very astute at identifying unmarked replicas... some of which can be quite convincing.
This may sound a bit harsh and it's not intended that way, but....if you're going to throw and ad like that on craigslist.com, you should be prepared to buy what people offer you in response to that ad. I mean $400 is really not a lot when you think about it and what people potentially would have to offer you too. 1 or two rolls of 90%ers would eat $400 up quickly.
I would be very careful about getting CC Morgans of Craigslist. Bring a magnet, loupe and a lot of knowledge. And I don't know what you're planning to pay for them but Unc. common date CC Morgans run about $200 each if real. The 1893 CC is pretty rare.
it also seems a bit risky to put an add on craigslist to buy coins, especially when you don't have a real sizeable bankroll to rake in a profit. were you just expecting a quick steal on some junk silver? just wondering what exactly your plan was.
So five out of the seven are at least somewhat better date CC's? An 1885-CC sitting around for silver AND available on craigslist in 2012? You had better be darn sure you know EXACTLY what you are doing and be very familiar with how to authenticate genuine CC's of every date listed. I will go out of a limb and say there is a 99% chance this is not a real find. Everyone scours craigslist these days searching for a find or a sucker, so be very wary of some "old guy" claiming he has some old Morgans sitting around for the silver value and 35% of them just happen to be Carsons. At least he did not claim to have any of the "rare 1903-CC's". If you follow through with this, take the advice given. Take a magnet, loupe, scale, etc and learn the PUPs used to authenticate.
