Don't be tempted by this one . . .

Final price: $307.77

 

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I hope someone here had the winning bid and sends it for authentication, so we can put this to rest.

 

Me too. PM me and I'll donate 20 bucks to the cause.

 

I hope someone here bought it and will send us more pics and specs.

 

I bet @ToughCOINS or @V. Kurt Bellman won. They were just trying to get us away from this expensive beauty.

 

HAHA! I'd bet my next next monthly coin budget that neither of them touched the bid button.

 

You are correct. I didn’t even follow the auction one iota, nor would I.

 

I confess. I bought it and am sending it to Kurt for authentication

 

Can I bite it? I promise to use my Bond villain teeth.

 

It may be foil wrapped chocolate.

 

Like, ohh, doing business using pictures instead of coins in hand, waiting so long, dealing with post office baloney, snipers, etc. If you like doing business by eBay, have at it. I pretty much hate the entire experience.

Yah, I have seen 'em, too. But I've never bought one. I have NEVER had a coin returned by a TPGS not straight graded for ANY reason, much less for being fake. There was one that came back "cleaned" once, but on resubmission to the SAME service, it came back MS65. It never was "cleaned" in the first place.

Actually, I think that a SOLID majority of ALL coin dealers are crooks of one sort or another. That doesn't mean there aren't some good ones - there are. It just means MOST, as in, more crooks of some sort than not, numerically.

Have you run this by @Peter T Davis and @GDJMSP ? They seem to be of a different opinion. Anyone who is given unfettered power to throw his weight around pretty well BETTER be infallible, wouldn't you say?

True, but you should have.

 

I have really enjoyed this thread. I'll be studying it for some time. FWIW, the ribbon on the motto certainly appears to be way off compared to the heritage auction example. Would love it if someone on the forum has it and can do further research!

 

Look at some certified ones for comparison; especially the luster and color.
https://www.greatcollections.com/Au...arto=&af_s_keywords=&af_gd_min=1&af_gd_max=70

 

Suit yourself. I find myself quite successful on eBay, but I snipe and have a bit more patience.

That is where knowledge and experience comes in. You simply can’t condemn a venue simply because of the presence of counterfeit or cleaned coins; you just skip over the junk and buy the treasure. For someone of your supposed experience, it is quite easy.

Now you said it yourself.

They have very good judgement, but alas they are human. No one is correct 100% of the time.

Meh.

 

Please DO keep in mind when I say that most coin dealers are crooks of one sort or another, I'm including tax cheats in the category.

 

Thank you, yes. When I'm interested in buying something it's usually a specific issue/coin and since I cannot get out to shows I have to research/find all of the pictures I can. This entire thread has been helpful. I think is was stated in several ways here that when it gets down to color and luster it's very difficult to use pictures for verification - of validity, condition or even just eye appeal. I've returned a coin a two that I bought from reputable dealers because they just didn't measure up in hand. That said, specific details like the motto ribbon edging on the coin in question seems like a better benchmark - but even that is subjective due to wear, etc. All of this is one reason why I appreciate coins with CAC certification in addition to TPG. As many (hopefully) objective assessments as possible make it a little easier to feel confident about the validity of these historic pieces.

 

Yes, CT can be useful and I've learned a lot as well. Sometimes the discussions get carried away and stray off the original topic. You should be able to determine which members opinions are most valuable.

 

This, this right here, edited down to its essence, is why my opinions so often differ from so many here.

I choose NOT to be picture-dependent, nor even Internet dependent, BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE TO BE! I have an embarrassment of local riches in the coin hobby, with the opportunity to see and touch coins in person, in the hand. Not just, nor even primarily, brick and mortar shops, but coin clubs, frequent local coin shows, a veritable plethora of massively open coin-specific auctions without Internet bidding, and yes, person-to-person buying opportunities. I also typically get to 3-6 large national caliber shows per year, the kind with judged exhibits and talks and a killer bourse.

I frankly don't think I'd be interested in coins if I felt I needed the Internet to carry it off well. But I understand some people choose to live in places different from where I do, so they might feel they have a need to use Internet resources to carry off the hobby well. That's fine, but I wouldn't like it.

 

You are in a completely different environment than I am and if I lived where you do I'm sure I wouldn't rely on the internet as much as I do now. Yes, pictures can be deceiving and I admit that I've been burned a few times. That said, I enjoy the search as much as getting a coin. Brick and mortar stores where I live are few and far between. Either the inventory is limited or overpriced. Local shows tend to have the same dealers and inventory. I guess it doesn't matter which path we choose as long as we are happy with our choices.