Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;SuperDave, post: 90986, member: 1892&quot;]I shop Ebay for raw coins fairly often, although the window I have open in the background is Heritage, as well as a Greysheet.&nbsp; Heritage gives me an idea of what the coin is actually selling for in the real world, as well as populations. I try to follow all the advice above, and I hold myself to strict rules about what I want and how much I&#039;ll pay. Generally, I will not exceed Greysheet Bid for any coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve learned not to buy slabbed coins on Ebay. Top-tier slabs are too expensive, and lower-tier slabs are untrustworthy (a label which can be placed on any TPG, IMO). I once bought an NGC MS64 Morgan, a New Orleans coin which was such a poor strike that I couldn&#039;t keep it.</p><p><br /></p><p>You have to trust yourself as a grader, and you have to be worthy of that self-trust. Don&#039;t shop for raw coins if you can&#039;t accurately estimate the grade within a two-point swing, and never pay the price of that upper point. I look at Large Cents, Twos/Threes, Barber Dimes and Quarters, Walkers and Morgans, and within those categories I don&#039;t find more than 4-5 coins a week worth my while. Of that, only two or three a month stay within my financial limits.</p><p><br /></p><p>Even with my caution, I&#039;ve been burned a couple times. I&#039;ve bought coins which have had the photographs capably altered (I&#039;m proficient with Photoshop and they fooled me).</p><p><br /></p><p>For me, it&#039;s about the thrill of the chase and I&#039;m willing to be occasionally burned in return for things like this:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://members.arstechnica.com/x/superdave/1879S_Obva.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>You could shave in the mirrors, and I got it for $50-ish. Or this:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://members.arstechnica.com/x/superdave/PICT0092a.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><img src="http://members.arstechnica.com/x/superdave/PICT0104a.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>I don&#039;t think anyone would argue that this penny isn&#039;t a high AU, and I paid VF money for it.</p><p><br /></p><p>The deals are out there. If you have the willingness to work diligently at learning, and the discipline to stay within your limits, you can find some nice shiny objects at very dull prices.&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in