I was snooping on Ebay yesterday and noticed a coin offered as a 1796 that will go off in a couple of days. The seller mentioned the edge lettering in his description which immediately gave me pause. Having both the 76a abd 76b of 1795, I was quite certain that a 1796 with edge lettering would be quite rare or unique since the edge lettering was discontinued about the same time the planchet thickness was reduced. I know there are a few plain edge thick planchet coins and a few 76bs with edge lettering on thin planchets, but that was it except for the Jefferson head group that probably predated the 76b, though it is listed later. Anyway, I'm sure it's a 1794 rather than a 1796 and I'm wondering if I should inform him. Now I've notified sellers before with other possibly misattributed coins (wrong photo is also a possibility) so the seller could avoid an angry buyer by either confirming or correcting things. But am I wrong in taking away another buyer's opportunity to cherry pick an error by the seller? I never do this with unattributed coins since I assume that they are selling as a date and not a variety.
Many times I will point out errors and omissions to a seller, but a lot depends on the seller and what they have to offer. If you look at their auctions and feed back and see that they are trying their best to provide a good product, reasonable shipping rates and good service for the customer, then yes, I would let them know. However, if you find that the seller is offering mostly average merchandise with a lot of hype and their feedback is only so-so, then I might be inclined to let him "take one on the chin". Chris
Forgive me. I'm talking about Early Large Cents and Sheldon numbers. I can't attribute it, but I can eliminate all known 1793, 1795 and 1796 Liberty Caps quite easily.
Success! Well, the end of the story is that i notified him, he posted my question/statement and otherwise left it as is. Of course I'm now the proud owner since I picked it up for about a Fr2 price and I think it will do better from what I can see. While I can't confirm attribution from the picture, it may be a very scarce S-23 rather than the common S-24. I'm hoping much of the discoloration is dirt, rather than corrosion, but a nice lettered edge for under $70 takes practically all the risk out of the equation. Of course, I out picked another last minute picker who cost me about $10, but I've learned a few things since this past winter. Anyway, that's the second bargain in two days I couldn't pass up, even though I'm in the red for a while. I picked up another S-235 (R3+) which looked to have nice surfaces except for one pit in the obverse field. I had picked one up a few months ago to complete my 1802 set of collectible varieties, but it was a typical corrosion problem Fr version. I have to run to the bank and figure out how to pay bills now. But after a little discomfort now, I'll be smiling for years to come.
Here goes nothing. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250643856181&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190401112589&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
Can't be S-24. On S-24 the Junction of the Hair and Forehead is to the right of the center of the T and the L is very close to the cap.
I like the sellers comment: ...This coin was from my fathers collection, and all he ever told me about his coins, (when he was alive), was not to touch them. Funny and sad at the same time.
