U.S. Coin HELP! Blog

Archive for September 24th, 2008

Ebay is flooded with coins graded by a copious amount of different grading companies. Many of these companies are “basement” company, third party graders, practicing grading techniques that are suspect. Also, there are many horror stories of these companies grading counterfeit and damaged coins in their holders, but sold as authentic.

       Often, the dealer company (seller) might own, or is personally affiliated with the some of these “slabbers” and this creates a conflict of interest. A circumstance that introduces the unethical practice of starting grading companies for the sole purpose of selling more coins, at a higher premium, by assigning grades that do not meet the accepted standard for that particular grade.

       When looking slabbed coins, one should always question the grade of the coin. If the holder is not from a top tier grading company, then make an offer or bid that matches the book value (BV) a couple of grades lower than the holder states. Also, look for certain other details like the coin’s letter or date fonts, wrong mint mark year, etc. Try to compare the coin using an authentic example to be sure the coin in the holder is authentic.

       Another detail that requires attention-anyone can buy the Coin World holder (known by the little earth symbol in the bottom left hand corner of the holder), put a coin inside, and affix a label that states any grade they chose. This is important, because there exist many examples of coins that jump in BV from grade to grade. One example of note is the 1884-S Morgan Silver Dollar. The price dramatically increases from AU58 to MS60, and this coin is difficult to find in mint state, providing an easy target for the uneducated coin grader. Click here to see TPGS Holders

Selling coins on ebay can be fun and rewarding with advice from another experienced seller; not just any seller either, but one who sells coins, knows about coins, and has a good reputation. You would want a seller who could help you in all aspects of coin selling, because just taking pictures or scans and listing coins on ebay is not enough. The more you know about coins, and the better the pictures, the more money you will sell them for!

Are you interested in making the most money selling your coins? click here