Everyone has a pet peeve. Mine is the use of PQ ( Premium Quality) coins in advertising. I was meaning to write Dave Harper of N.N. about this but let's see what you say. Many years ago I made some purchases from one of the two big box advertizers in N.N. of some silver dollars, a lot of 5 Indian Cents and a lot of 3 Liberty Nickels all said to be P.Q.- B.U. To me B.U. means just that, Brilliant Uncirculated, not brilliant cleaned, dipped or whizzed. Years after the purchase I decided to grade these myself only to find that every single coin had been cleaned. This of course was my fault for not being more diligent from the time I got them. Instead I set them aside for a rainy day. I have also found that both of these companies cherry pick even the modern issues and sets, proof and mint and even single coins so it is nearly guaranteed you will not get a coin that is worth the effort to have slabbed. To me this is both deceptive and in the case of 19th century coins, outright , outrageously against everything we hold dear to our heart in this hobby. Of course I willnever order anything from either of them in the future. This preys on the newbies, YN's and even us seasoned collectors. I know someone will say "If it's too good to be true...." but have any of you run into this before? What are your experiances and have any of you called them out on their practices? Thanks folks.
That was your first mistake. Agreed, these biggies are nothing more that companies that take advantage of the newbies.
I grew up on a farm Frank, so call me naieve but it was my first purchase from them and Dad always said to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I did and it was their loss in the end because word of mouth has a way of doing enormous revenge. So does the internet. A hard lesson but worth passing along to everyone.
There are a number of advertisers who irk me. For example: One of the real biggies: Jack Beymer. Who advertises VG-7 (!) coins. What the heck is that? Then he has VG-F 8 Is that the real VG? I saw his stuff at a show many years ago, I really, really wanted to get a nice G-04 1901 S Barber quarter. He had two of them in his showcase. Both marked G. Both were cleaned and G obv, full AG reverse. I never got the chance to buy a piece, and it took me over 10 years to find an honestly graded piece, and I settled for a nice AG-03, honest PCGS graded.
Problem is there is always a fresh crop of newbies that haven't gotten that word yet. And a lot of them buy for some time before they do get it. That keeps those companies in business.
One lady dealer near me had 3 nice slabbed Bust $1/2's. I needed them, but she priced them way over trends. Pass. Then another dealer had a piece, (Bust $1/2) that I liked. How much? Way too high. He told me: "find another!" I passed and weeks later I showed him one -- well, you told me to find another, and I did. At a much better price.
Beymer's coins are way to highly priced for my pocketbook, at least 30% over trends and not just for the good ones. And yes, I have noticed these "Odd" grades also. I will also not buy dual graded coins (vg/fine) for example because come time to sell, especially if selling to a dealer, it is a fact they will give you a price based on the lower of the two grades.
I don't believe there is such a thing as a perfect coin, although MS70's are near perfect if graded correctly. As far as older coins such as IHC, Liberty or Barbers you will find it hard pressed to find ANY of these type coins that have not been cleaned at one time or another. Dave
I normally cannot afford EAC (Early American Copper ) coins but I would imagine that these series require a more "scientific" approach to grading because of all the variations involved. My knowledge of these is not too good, so when I was putting together some Lg. and Half cents I was not too picky, just trying to fill holes by limited eye appeal.
I'll agree with that sentiment in a small-town environment, maybe, and among peers. But when you're an individual buying from a national mail-order dealer... I don't remember who taught me "caveat emptor", but it's generally served me better than "give everyone the benefit of the doubt".
And of course I'm much older and much wiser these days. ( I hope) And it's like Chris is so fond of saying, these days "it's all about the cha ching".
When my Father and I were new into collecting we decided to sell some extra coins. We took them to a local dealer and he said that we would have to leave them overnight (first mistake). When we go into the see what he would offer he said that we were dishonest and were trying to sell him fakes! We either had to accept an extremely lowball offer or pay $60 to get them back. We paid and got them back. When I went through them he had placed some fake quarters with our lot. They said COPY on them bright as day. I have not set foot in that shop from that day.
When I first got my son involved, I took him to a local coin shop. My son insisted on taking the latest guide book with him. I kept in my pocket until he found a few coins he liked and then brought it out. This dealer threw us both out, screaming at us in the process. Never went back there either.
What an idiot. Were you just supposed to trust him on his prices? I'm glad that you never went back. Sorry to hear about this, he was a crook. I hope you spread the word.
I really hate hearing stories about how dealers knowingly defrauded collectors. I hope Karma catches up with them!
Second mistake. Should have gotten the cops and report him for the theft of your coins. He took them and is refusing to return them. Maybe nothing would come of it, but I'm sure he wouldn't like the cops in his place filling out a report on him.
