Normally, if i dont trust it, i walk away. But this time the coin is just too nice, and i have been looking for a nice specimen for quite some time. So I apologize for asking, but i have to resort to your knowledge and willingness to share it. Attached is a crop of one of the pictures on the auction site. Yes, its a running auction, and yes, i am aware posting this may be to my disadvantage. But since im seriously considering placing a bet, and the fact that its - for me at least - quite a serious amount of money, i do have to ask for help this time. If this for now theoratical disadvantage materializes, no hard feelings of course and i truly hope that the one who wins will enjoy the coin. So, having said that, the weight is in accordance with many examples found on acsearch, and i cant find a fake one that looks like this one (f.a.c. - fake coin reports). Why the doubt? I've not dealt with this dealer before and in the picture you can see this strange line on the edge. Is this an indication of a cast? Thank you for your help!
It's not unusual to find file marks on these coins. So by itself, it is not reason to condemn the coin.
Before jumping on Limes, read his post. We regularly tell people NOT to post identifiable lots in active auctions because we consider it either inappropriate of ill advised to draw attention to a coin that we might want to bid on. He clearly states that he knows it might be a bad idea to post even so much as he did to ask his question but it is altogether inappropriate for the rest of us to try to get him to post other images that would help lurkers or ourselves to decide to bid against him. The only additional picture that might help here would be other edge shots and it is unlikely the seller posted a full circle of images. Victor is, as usual, quite right. This is an issue that often has edge irregularities that would make us question some coins. That does not mean that we can tell that the coin is genuine from the photo or even a stack of photos but the image provided does not show anything that proves to my satisfaction that the coin is to be avoided. I hope it is genuine and I hope the person who enjoys the coin is Limes.
I think it was what appears to be a seam on the edge, not just the files marks, that Limes was questioning. The question is: does that appear to be a real seam, which would condemn the coin in my opinion, or just an artifact of the lighting? I can't tell. Even if you've never dealt with this dealer before, it should be possible to investigate his/her reputation online. If the dealer has a good reputation and appears trustworthy, you can probably assume two things: A) the dealer would spot a coin with an obvious casting seam, and B) the dealer would offer a refund if the coin were shown to be fake. As long as the dealer is reputable--and I wanted the coin badly enough--I would bid on it and wait to examine it in hand before condemning it.
Thank you all for your answers and help. Especially Victor Clark for giving me very usefull info, and to Dougsmit for making a true point concerning my mixed feelings about this post. On that note, reality for me is that the collecting hobby is a solitary one and some advice also about auctions is some times greatly missed.. Nevertheless, if the situation turns for the positive, i would like to inform you of the outcome. Including more pictures!
Its been a couple of weeks, and since i made a promise, and things did turn out positive for me in the auction, here is the coin in question: it took some time to arrive and then i had to find time to make a good picture and edit the background etc. For some reason the pictures make it look like the pitting on the reverse at the end of the chain are horrible. But in hand its not that bad. thanks again for the help!
