Great Southern Coin (GSC) joke of the day

I know these guys are scams but why would anyone bid $780 on such a nice "proof and deep cameo" coin if it was raw. I guess my real question is with their 30-day money back guarantee how are they still in business?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1863-Seated...ROOF-Stunning-Superb-Gem-PF-CAM-/351794226198

 

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I've never had dealings with them but why are you questioning this coin? I'm not being a smart a$$ I'm just curious. I'm not familiar with this series but that coin looks nice to me. Please help me learn.


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@MKent, I'll take a few guesses...

1) As the OP said, if it is a legitimate "proof and deep cameo" coin... why is it raw? If *I* were spending that much on a coin, I'd want to know it was authentic. Some folks here have that knowledge in their heads.

2) The toning on the reverse perhaps?

 

So the authenticity may be in question or the color questionable?


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The coin is genuine. It has a problem we cannot see as the photo will not enlarge.

 

Because the collectors who buy these just like em... even if they're cleaned. And the dealers who buy them enjoy selling them to unsuspecting buyers. Just my guesses. But regarding my first comment, IF the coin looks anything like the pic, then it's still a beautiful coin, even if it is altered in some way. Then again, I know for a fact that they use a photographic setup to highlight the coin's strengths and hide the weaknesses.

 

I have bought several nice coins from them. Believe it or not, not all nice coins are already graded. If that was the case, you would not see any new instances of nice coins in new holders.

 

I opened it with my phone and it will enlarge there but I don't see anything obvious. That's why I want help. I'm not buying it by the way.


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I'm no expert, but my initial guess is: authentic, but polished and artificially toned. Can't wait to hear from the experts, though. Maybe I'm wrong. Just my $0.02.

 

I know a dealer I met at the Baltimore show that said this company buys all of their problem coins, then cracks em out and sells them raw on eBay. So at some point this coin was in a problem holder, most likely. Search Heritage and it may turn up. You never know.

 

They use photography to enhance coins and do so much business that ebay either helps them outright or turns a blind eye. The only coin I will ever even consider bidding on from them is a rare VAM that will survive the value drop of being a details coin no matter the condition I receive it in.

 

FWIW, I bought a raw bust half from them once that graded XF45 at pcgs. It was an unidentified overdate, and I nearly doubled my money.

 

I will admit I've never bought anything that expensive and if I did it would be graded because l don't trust my skills that much.


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I've seen a lot of the coins you post and your photos are very nice. And I've been very close if not right on when you had a gtg post leading me to believe your images are honest. Judging from pics is tough when you don't know who you're dealing with I guess. Because I would say that piece in the OP was PF65 as far as the Cameo I'm not sure because of the lighting.


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Never have bought from GSC. The eBay negative and neutral ratings confirm in my mind what many have warned about on these threads. Lots of dealers to buy coins from; for me, this isn't one of them.

 

Keep in mind, from a digital photographic standpoint there's very little perceivable difference between a nice coin accurately imaged, and one you're very deliberately "spinning" the photographic process to present in an unrealistically-appealing light. C-B-D does the former, this seller does the latter.

This seller appeared to build their business in the direct aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when all of a sudden they had a *bunch* of coins which looked water-damaged. I've been watching them hone their imagery and presentation skills ever since. Now they have a huge following of people who don't know any better and exert little effort to change that status.

 

Someone who knows high ups at ebay and can kill listings instantly of counterfeit coins tried to get an obvious counterfeit s-vdb Lincoln removed was told in no uncertain terms that ebay brass would not pull GSC listings. He got very angry over this and almost stopped reporting counterfeits all together. Point is, that it showed how ebay protects high earners. Granted they have a high relative favorable feedback rating but this guys opinion was never questioned until it was a GSC coin

 

Compare how that coin was photographed to how this one was which is also listed by them http://www.ebay.com/itm/1921-PCGS-M...868273?hash=item51e84022b1:g:WQoAAOSwARZXj9UM.

There is generally a reason why someone blasts something with a spot light to wash out the fields.

 

If I thought it would look as nice as in the photos I would. But I know the companies reputation for their images.

Still at that price if I had the free cash available I'd take the chance since they do honor their return policy.

 

In the good old days of "direct coin reporting" supported by Judith, I got one of the big dreck sellers a 30-day (or maybe longer) selling holiday. I had the distinct impression that Judith got more push-back when she tried to act on big sellers than on small ones, but even the big ones could be taken down.

It's possible that one reason eBay shut down the direct-reporting facility and group was that they got pushback from some of the big sellers. It doesn't much matter; the facility is gone, and the bad actors are mostly operating without restrictions at this point.