I bought this coin: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200319438691&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123 What I couldn't tell form the scans was this: At first glance the coin doesn't look cleaned. It's not polished or anything. I would even say the color looks natural, but clearly it was cleaned sometime in the past. This was the first (out of 5 or 6 coins) time that I wasn't satisfied with this seller's product. The thing is, I still like the coin (in fact I had some trouble taking a picture that would show the hairlines) but I wouldn't have bid that high if I knew it had hairlines. Before losing 6 or 7 dollars in shipping back and forth, I let the seller know all this. Here is their reply: Hello - Sorry you were disappointed on this coin. Yes - I should have mentioned that this coin was cleaned. Of course you can return the coin for a full refund OR how about if I send you a $10 partial paypal refund to make up for the problem? Thanks for being a repeat customer. I am just looking for your input on this situation, and perhaps some advice (other than "don't buy raw coins on ebay", please). Thanks
If you like the coin, keep it. The seller is being generous, I believe. But, that depends, how much was it? And how much would you have spent if you knew that it was cleaned?
Was 38$. If I knew it was cleaned, I would have waited for an uncleaned coin to show up. That is not to say that I think this coin is worthless (as I'm sure many would say here), but now it's on my hands. The way I see it, I can either simply lose about 7 dollars, or keep the coin for about 30 if you include that discount.
The dealer would know if it was cleaned or not since he had it in hand, but the last photo showing the lines is questionable as to being cleaning damage since it is advertised as an EF/AU coin. The high points of the devices ( like the helmet strap) don't show any visible ( to me) cleaning lines. Most are in the fields only, and I would expect some in an EF coin. I don't collect foreign coins, but this is a handsome coin if it comes close to the first 2 photos. I would take the money and keep it myself. I don't know if this is a premium price for the coin or not, but assume it was close to your expected price. Jim
Keep it cause where else are you going to get a lession Keep it cause where else are you going to get a lession on hair-lined coins much cheaper - take the deal, it's not a bad coin at all.
Return the coin, and learn a lesson from it... BE CAREFUL OF ANGLED PHOTOS THAT OVEREXPOSE THE FIELDS -- THEY OFTEN HIDE HAIRLINES AND OTHER PROBLEMS.
p.s. this particular dealer knows EXACTLY what they are doing and should be avoided at all costs, IMO.
I really don't see a problem. I have purchased cleaned, polished, washed, etc coins many times. If I like a coin, I really don't care about it's past. If it was cleaned, it's to late to do anything about that so again, if you like that coin, keep it. It's yours so unless you plan on reselling it, be happy with what you have. Isn't it odd how if you were looking for an old car and it was dirty you would probably pass on it. But if cleaned and polished you really might buy the same car. If looking for a home, you sure don't want a dirty one. You meet someone of the opposite sex and if dirty, you pass. If cleaned, nice new cloths, smells nice, your interested. Yet with coins, old furniture, oil paintings, etc. they have to stay dirty. Sometimes I wonder about our hobbies.
I think the price was a bit on the high side if he knew it was cleaned, I paid about 15 euros for this one a couple of years back
It looks to me like it was cleaned after the picture was taken. The coin in the first pic and the coin you took a pic of doesn't look the same at all. But its still a pretty cool coin. It just surprises me that he wouldn't have said it was cleaned, cause he seems to know about coins.
E-bay offers a "Ask the seller a question" option on the listing. Under the pressure of a direct question in writing (electronic) with a printed record the seller is likely to come clean about the real condition of the coin. Ask before you buy seems like good advice. Most reputable dealers will describe a coin as cleaned when appropriate. There is no doubt that there are misrepresented coin on Ebay.. BUYER BEWARE. This coin below is listed as unc. In the description the seller adds method of mnufacture as PROOF. And material as silver. It may be silver clad. It is not a proof per the Littleton desc. on the env. http://cgi.ebay.com/Silver-Clad-197...QptZCoinsQ5fUSQ5fIndividualQQsalenotsupported
I would take the generous offer that the seller is giving you. That is a nice coin and $10 is around 25% of the total price you paid for the coin. I think that the seller is being very generous and you should take the deal. Lesson learned and it was cheap one. Nickeldude
I don't see a problem in owning or even buying a cleaned coin either. Simply, you can't argue with the fact that if you have two coins looking exactly the same, but one is full of hairlines, then this one will be worth less. Could be. Or maybe yours was a terrific deal The problem with focusing your collection on world silver coins is that not always you will know everything you should know about a coin, including the market prices for the several grades... Highly doubt it. The thing is the first two are his and it looks like a scan. The last is an actual picture I took last night. If it had been cleaned recently, it wouldn't have retoned. It surprises me too. I follow this dealer for a long time now and I have bought several items from him. He has tons of auctions saying the coin is cleaned, so I am not going to assume he did this with bad intentions. Otherwise I would. This one usually does, hence my surprise. I haven't decided yet. Later tonight I will have a talk with the coin and make my move.
take the ten bucks and enjoy the coin, or if you find you can't live with it return it. I personally own a couple of cleaned coins that I enjoy.
"To return or not to return..." p.s. 98% of the time I read this, the answer is return the coin. As they say, "If you're even asking the question, then...." And with the aid of hindsight, the same has been true in my own purchases.
