Several years ago, I wanted to buy a large sized bill so I went to my favorite coin shop and bought a 1917 $1 bill labeled as CU. It is a gorgeous note! Later, I decided to trade it for coins and went to a large coin show where I showed it to a currency dealer who scoffed at it and offered me less than half of what I paid for it. He said it wasn't CU because it had a bent corner at one time. It is true that you can see where it happened. This guy had a real snake oil bearing and I didn't trust him at all. The original dealer is now out of business and my confidence in the note is not 100%. I want to sell it, but how do I know if I am being honest in my description when I sell it? Before you say it- Yes, I should have learned to grade before I bought it, but this dealer was meticulously honest with me in my coin dealings which amounted to several thousands of dollars, so I trusted him with this. It is my only purchased bill. Thanks- Mike
Rule number one. A lot of honest coin dealers honestly know very little about currency. They can be great to cherrypick by currency people. Now, seeing that you live in the burbs of Seattle why don't you see if any CURRENCY shows are coming to town. You have a much better chance of meeting a real professional there. However, I think you'll still lose money but not due to an insult. Bent corner quickly drops a note to AU in most cases.
yes, if the note had a bent corner, depending on severity, it most certainly possible it would be able to be seen. If you can post pics, we would be happy to take a look at it, give you our opinions the sad part to collecting coins and/or currency. when you buy an item from a dealer, they need to make a profit! to do this, they mark up prices on the item. It is possible to way over pay for the item, and be unable to recoup the amount you spent in a sale for quite soem time. Some items take alot longer then others. Say for example you bought this note the last time currency was VERY hot, you would have paid top dollar for the note. Then, the hobby market took a downturn - numismatic prices will always go through this roller coaster ride - with all prices (hopefully) trending up over longer periods of time. So now, when you go to possibly sell, the note might not be worth quite what you paid for it - remember, dealers give sometimes 50-60% of retail when they buy, and sell for as much as 125% to sell to you... essentially.. its possible BOTH dealers were being honest and fair, but if you had a gut feeling the second dealer wasnt being honest, right or wrong - trust it.
