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Why is this auction going so high ?? Do the coins look that nice ?? Here is the link....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8427098103&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

 

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I see no reason for this auction to be bid to where it is. It looks like the winner is gonna end up paying more than 5 times the value of the coins, even if there are no more bids placed, this is nuts!

 

That is what I thought. I could not figure out why these are going so high. There are a LOT nice coins going for a quarter of the price these are.

 

Maybe bidder just got caught up in the excitement of the auction or something? Those aren't rare dates or anything, and for that price he could get these same dates in quite a bit higher condition.

I'd also be weary of buying these without seeing the reverses, lol... have see too many coins where the obverse looks nice but there's some ugly scratch or other problem on the reverse.

 

Take a closer look at the 1920 gentleman. Its ugly but from what I can tell. It might be a pretty high grade. The pictures are grainy thats for sure when you try to blow them up any, maybe somebody is speculating. An AU 1920 is in the 175.00 range. Just a thought.

 

You took the words right out of my mouth....IMHO that is why the bidding is what it is.

Speedy

 

Also....The picture only shows the Obv. of the coins. Perhaps the bidders asked for additional pics of the Rev. and found that they are mintmarked. A 1920D in XF is a $400 coin.
Maybe the old line..."I don't know much about coins" is true this time.
This auction is for a 1918 and 1920 Liberty Walking Half Dollars. Please look closely at the picture for information on grade etc.., these are the actual coins you will receive. I do not know much about coins, I am selling these coins and many others because of a death in the family and he collected coins. Please check back often as once I get used to this I will be listing many many more. If you have any questions or would like other pictures please email me and I will be happy to send them to you.

 

I use the expression I borrowed from the real estate market: "Highly motivated buyers."

This happens over in the model train world as well. Some items which typically be, uh, let's say "entry level" wind up going for premium prices. Ocassionally this is because a shill has got a live one, but most of the time there are other explanations.

There is the "I don't know much about trains" expression used as well. A great deal of the time the seller has generally low value material, but once in a while it's a truly scarce item. It's funny, but when people ask me about whether their old model trains are worth anything, I would say, "It's possible, but not likely; like finding a rare coin in your pocket change."

 

Unlike some of the "I know nothing" coin sellers, his feedback as a seller is 1, for a Morgan with a smilar quality obverse-only picture.

 

Likely he is genuninely a seller that doesn't know much about coins, lol. Some have to exist I guess. I've bought coins on eBay from such people... often they have high feedback as sellers but not for selling coins.

It's pretty common for coin sellers, even knowledgable ones, to back off trying to estimate a grade unless it's slabbed, because they're worried they'll have to deal with the hassle of returns and possibly negative feedback if the buyer disagrees with the seller's estimate. You'll also find phrases like "here's the pics, you decide the grade" or "I think it may be this grade, but you may disagree" and such to avoid that kind of thing.

If that 1920 is in fact a 1920D than even in that condtion that price is a bargain... I agree that it's quite possible that the high bidder asked for pics of the reverse and saw that it was a D... if both of them are D's or even S's suddenly the price doesn't seem unreasonable at all.

 

When I first came to this board, I saw several members use a line when asked what the value of a coin is. The coin is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. These may the last coins to complete a collection or any of the other reasons you mentioned above. It seems like this auction is out of the norm to our standards and our views of worth, but not to someone else. It is still always best to look at several auctions that are comparitive, drop the highs and lows and get the average.....

 

Maybe the buyer is foreshadowing the price of silver to reach $100 very shortly and is only getting ahead of everyone else. JK-really the bidder does not know anything about coins. Maybe she thinks that they are quarters-even though it says halves.

 

Very much with you on your explanations, GDJMSP. Thanks for sharing.

Due diligence can't hurt and has steered me away from bidding on something, sometimes for good reasons and sometimes because while I'm checking I decide that maybe I could live without the item!

 

I contacted the seller and got photos.....it does have a D and the 1918 has an S.
I emailed her/him back and told her about how much they were worth and what they graded.
Heritage has sold a VF30 one lately for $210 so I think she is getting a great price.
I've also suggested that if she has any moer questions or such to come here and post photos as we could maybe help.

Speedy

 

Great advise. It's amazing that sometimes on ebay there are great buys and sometimes a real rip off.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/1894-O-MORGAN-S...426420780QQcategoryZ39465QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

look @ this... yeah title says SUPERB GEM MS65... picture shows what looks to me like a cleaned VG... isn't this false advertising?

 

Myabe they don't understand what "MS-65" means lol.

 

yeah, our MS-65's will be obsolete against his VG