Hi, I bought in ebay half Dollar 1830 as you see

in the link.

The link is:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=320362086335

The coin in the picture look bright , but today I got the coin

and the coin is not bright as shown in the picture, the coin

is close to the black color. I ask if the brightness is going

to be black, the grade of the coin is less than the grade

that was shown in the picture in Ebay?

Thank you very much.

 

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Looks like it's lite up for the picture, he has a return policy. You can return it if you're not happy.

 

I would it looks nice in his pic, i see how you could see that

 

But the grade of the coin, it is not different from

bright patina to black patina?

That is my problem, I prefer white bright patina.

I don't expect to a white or brilliant patina, but

I don't expect to a black patina too, I expect to get

something in the middle, at list as shown in the picture or

little less.

 

Looking at the picture I see the black what is bright is just camera flash.

 

That's a real nice coin. If you return it ..maybe he will put it up again.
I don't know how I missed that one. I'd love a second chance at it.

 

It looks like it had been harshly cleaned in the past , with plenty of hairlines , is this how it looks in hand ?
rzage

 

I have a friend in Israel , and he will examine the coin

very carefully.

I have a magnifying glass X 30 , and maybe I can check by

myself.

Thank you for your advice.

 

30X is good for looking at very tiny things like tooling marks or altered MMs , to just see hairlines , a 5X is good enough .
With the 30X every mark will look funny and exaggerated .
rzage:thumb::smile

 

I don't think the seller manipulated anything, that's just direct flash and it will lighten up any coin. It will also make a nice patina look more washed out...this is why I prefer buying from my local shop. Even there the quality of light will differ. I've caught myself walking out of a store checking out my change in the bright sun thinking I got some nice BU cents only to see more of the flaws in the more subdued light of an indoor light source. Photographing coins, like anything, takes some skill and know-how. If the dealer is willing to take it back he's straight up, I personally think you got a great coin with alot of detail based on the photograph. Maybe in hand it looks like it's been cleaned but I think you got a solid deal for a coin over 150 years old!

 

Here are the pictures.

both sides.


Can you grade the coin?

 

My opinion- JUST my opinion-- is that the coin was corroded, cleaned, and then retoned, whether naturally or artificially I can't say.I'd say it has vf details.

 

That's quite a difference between his pictures and your pictures. They look like two different specimens....

 

vg-8

 

IMO, That does not look like it is the same coin in the auction photos. Just compare the greenish spot under the PLURIBUS on your coin to the reverse of the sellers coin. Looks to be 2 separate coin to me.

Wait for some more opinions and let's see what develops.

Bruce

 

Yep - it is the same coin. I had to lighten his pictures to see the marks. On auction pictures the dark toning grows green when I lighten the second set of pictures. If you look before the 0 you see a rim tick before and after the zero in both sets of pictures. I am not sure what the coin looks like as far as the green glow. Too me it looks like an old cleaning that has turned the coin dark. It looks like it has F-15 to VF details. I would really like to see this coin in hand to get an idea of what it really looks like.

 

I agree with it being a old cleaning. Not really a bad coin for what you paid for it, but I can see where you have been expecting something different from the original Ebay pics.
Guy~

 

Yeah, definitely the same coin; but sheesh! that is a misleading picture...I would say that is borderline dishonest. I mean this is a very experienced online seller...and when the closest thing a buyer can get to the item they are potentially purchasing and bid solely based on the pictures provided, the seller should get the pictures much closer to what the coin would look like in hand. He has a 100% positive feedback rating, so I'm sure if you're not completely satisfied with your purchase, I'm betting he would be willing to work something out with you.

-LTB

 

Hello, My name is Mark and I am the seller of this coin.
First off, I would like to state that I am not out to deceive anyone, EVER!! Coin collecting should be fun and rewarding, or we would have no need to do it at all & I would do anything to keep my customers happy, short of breaking the law but that is where I draw the line.
How I take coin photos: I use a Pentax Optio M30 7.1mg digital camera with settings of "Super Macro" & "White Light" with flash off. Pictures are then taken on our oak kitchen table with use of a small arm adjustable desk lamp. I use this lamp with silver and gold coins to bring out every bit of detail my camera can capture. I do not use direct light with copper or bronze coins because the white light gives the coin a silver reflective look. While the light does bring out more detail it however gives the coin an unnatural color look in the photos. So I use just room lighting on copper.
Now regarding this 1830 Bust Half Dollar: While I will admit this was my first attempt at photoghaphing a coin as deeply toned as this that in hindsight I should have used my copper photo rule but I used my silver coin rule because the coin was silver. So the coin does pick up some of the white light as explained in my copper rule.
How does this coin look in hand? It looks way better than my customer's photos posted here and it does not have as much white shine as in my auction photos but it is a very beautiful coin to me in hand. So did I deliberately try and deceive my customer? In my eyes NO. I took what I thought to be at the time was the best possible photos using my own personal photo experience. If I had it to do over again I think I would take two sets of photos with one set in white light and other in room lighting so people can see the differences.
Now on to my final two cents. Upon my customer informing me he was unhappy with this coin, I replied back telling him I had a 7 day "no questions asked" return policy and for him to please send it back for a full refund. He replied back demanding that I pay him an extra $40 within 2 days (for wasting his time) or he would file a claim with Paypal and harm me further on feedback. Well I didn't pay the "extortion, blackmail" fee and he followed through with his threat. After 11 years & 3,179 positive feedbacks with a perfect 100% score, it all comes to an end with this coin.
Thank you for reading & I look forward to more discussions about coins on this forum.
Kind regards, Mark

 

Well, a nice coin, looks cleaned, most likely dipped...
the brightness seems to be from the camera flash...
It is a nice coin...
I'd return it, if you are not happy