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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 1898049, member: 27832&quot;]Had a couple of lots waiting for me after a quick trip this weekend. These were sort of bad-picture gambles.</p><p><br /></p><p>The first:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOT-OF-19-BARBER-HALF-DOLLERS-NO-BEN-FRANKLIN-/121304540966" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOT-OF-19-BARBER-HALF-DOLLERS-NO-BEN-FRANKLIN-/121304540966" rel="nofollow">LOT OF 19 BARBER HALF DOLLERS NO BEN FRANKLIN</a></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]324157[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]324158[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>This looked like a mostly-harshly-cleaned lot with one key and one semi-key date. It turned out to be an <i>entirely</i>-harshly-cleaned lot, still gunky enough for a couple to stick together, and smelling strongly of stale smoke, but it does have the 1892-S and the 1904-S. I was the only bidder; I rather expected at least one or two others to take a chance at the starting bid ($200 shipped). Not a real bargain, but I think I got my money&#039;s worth on the basis of the 92-S even if nothing else is worth more than melt.</p><p><br /></p><p>The second:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-11-US-silver-coins-1809-1943-includes-dimes-quarters-half-dollars-/141229297335" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-11-US-silver-coins-1809-1943-includes-dimes-quarters-half-dollars-/141229297335" rel="nofollow">Lot of 11 US silver coins 1809-1943 includes dimes, quarters, half dollars</a></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]324159[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]324160[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I was eyeing that 1919-S at the bottom right; it looked F or better to me. I won the lot at $113.61 shipped; my snipe was a good bit higher than that on the basis of the 1919-S and the 1831, and possibly the 1923-S (although it was obvious that that one had problems).</p><p><br /></p><p>In hand, the 1831 is a disappointment; it&#039;s been cleaned, as the photos and description indicated, but it actually seems to show <i>less</i> detail in-hand than in the photos. Still probably a $50-80 coin, I&#039;d guess.</p><p><br /></p><p>The 1923-S is a bit of a bummer. It&#039;s got solid XF details, I think, but it&#039;s been scrubbed hard and put away wet with PVC. I&#039;ll hit it with acetone ASAP, and then probably try come Verdi-Care on it. It&#039;s still got enough meat to be worth a bit of work.</p><p><br /></p><p>That 1919-S, though... it looks like a solid VF-20 in hand, and while it has some hairlines under strong directional light, it&#039;s got good, honest dark toning around all the crevices. I think it might actually grade cleanly; even if it doesn&#039;t, it&#039;s appealing enough to easily cover the cost of the lot.</p><p><br /></p><p>All in all, I&#039;m happy. I&#039;m finding it pretty absorbing to cruise the poorly-photographed mixed-lot auctions, looking for hidden better-date/better-condition combos. I don&#039;t find much to bid on, but on the few I do land, I seem to be doing fairly well.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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