Do you have any experience with Liberty Coin? All I know is they are located in California, and do high volume on EBay. Well, now I am glad I held back on the 1908 NM Saint. For a while I felt like I had let one slip by.
I do not. However, I should point out that *some* coins on their site do NOT use stock photos. This one for example here. "Photos are of the actual coin you will receive."
Not sure I have seen or heard of LC, got a link ? Maybe show us the listing. I am not totally averse to buying a Saint-Gauden if you have close-up photos and it's already graded. If it has a Return Policy if you are not happy, that would assuage me completely. Just make sure the place is legit so that if you buy you get the coin and the Money Back policy is legit.
Update...saw your link...seems like a legit place, 5% restocking fee on CC purchases so for a $2,000 coin will cost you $100 to get a refund. If the coin is THAT much worse in person than from the photos, that's not the worst cost to incur to get 95% of your money back. I'm not thrilled with that coin, JMHO. Based on a quick look, I just saw lots of bag marks on the obverse fields that really stookd out for an MS64. Seems more hidden on my MS65's.
I've purchased items from them, but NOT St. Gaudens. The only coins I buy from stock photos are bullion pieces. Liberty uses some stock photos, but not always. My advice is BE PATIENT with your purchase.
I appreciate the good feedback, thanks to all of you for responding and I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed this forum since discovering it last week. Look forward to learning something new everyday.
@hesteria69 , welcome to CT. It's a lively place with a wealth of knowledge. When you make your purchase, please post pictures of it. When I bought my first Saint, I wanted to make sure the head area was free of dings. This area on a Saint can be pretty "deformed" from the original design. There are Soooo many Saints available, take your time. If you're not 100% happy with it and you buy it, you'll likely never be happy with it.
If you see something you like on ebay, contact them directly via their website, and if you can be reasonable (key word), don't be afraid to make a fair (likely to be accepted) offer.
Generic type and grade (TPG) offerings are a common practice, especially with common saints; it is a perfectly legitimate way of selling, and are usually/often priced accordingly. Not that one should purchase this way, especially if they're looking for the "perfect" (for them) example, but it is only fair to be aware of it.
And for good, and arguably legitimate reason. If even the slightest so-called "rub" (friction) relegated a coin to AU-land, the price of even what are presently considered "common" MS saints would go through the roof. The situation is somewhat similar to that of Walkers.
I think we had a big back-and-forth on this when I first joined a few years ago....you have to separate normal bagmarks and friction from circulation wear-and-tear.
For Saints, the MS's should still command a slight premium unless a top-notch AU-58 really kicks-ass. I have seen some AU-58's that were better overall and for the money than MS-60's to 62's.