Beyond potential bump in "value", is there any other incentive to doctor coins?

[James_OldeTowne]

And by "doctor", I mean to apply artificial toning.

 

In other words, if the grade wasn't so darned important to a coin's value, would coin doctors still run rampant? Would they have any other incentive to doctor coins?

 

I just can't shake the notion that ultimately, the incentive for coin doctoring is simply the absurd prices people are willing to pay for certain grades.

 

Sorry to be a wet blanket, but it's sad for the hobby.

[MarkFeld]

How about liquidity (even though not at a higher price) for a more appealing looking coin?

 

And please don't blame collectors for the unethical acts of others.

[DC Dawg]

Why else would anyone doctor a coin?

 

You know... this is not only a problem in numismatics. Fine art and antiques also have this problem. Forgery of fine arts are a bigger problem than with coins since authentication is more difficult. Some forgers are so good that alleged experts are fooled. These people get caught when they get too greedy and too careless.

 

Last year, when Antiques Roadshow visited Baltimore, I picked up a portfolio of old political memorabilia and went to the Baltimore Convention Center. One person had a vase which he said that his grandfather called a Ming Vase. He was sure it was a 20th century reproduction and not a 15th century work of art. I remember them having a laugh at the next table as the appraisers huddled around and figured out it was a 19th century forgery and that it was worth a little more than a 20th century forgery. But it was a forgery. They explained how they could tell it was a forgery but admitted it was a very good one and may have fooled experts of the time.

 

Sometimes, it helps to know that it is just "not us," but it happens elsewhere. It does not make it better, but sometimes "misery loves company!"

 

Scott

[jman425]

In the end, it all comes down to money and ease of transaction. How much more money can you get and how much easier is it to move a more attractive coin.

[MunkyMan95]

What if you wanted to doctor a coin for personal reasons, and not necessarily for financial gain?

[jesbroken]

Then, Chad, it wouldn't be a rampant problem as it is now. The few that did it for their own reasons would not affect the coin market prices.

[MunkyMan95]

Then, Chad, it wouldn't be a rampant problem as it is now. The few that did it for their own reasons would not affect the coin market prices.

 

James didn't ask whether the masses would doctor for this reason, but an individual might doctor for personal reasons. That would be an incentive.

[James_OldeTowne]

And please don't blame collectors for the unethical acts of others.

Marl, collectors aren't the only ones who pay absurdly high prices for coins. I wasn't singling out any particular crowd.

 

One non-financial reason I can think of to doctor a coin might be simply to hide it's provenance.

[lkenefic]

I dislike being so overtly cynical but what the heck. This hobby only comes down to one thing...money! Let's face it, coin collecting would have gone the way of stamp collecting if it weren't for revitalization of the hobby every few years whether by the US mint, collecting moderns, collecting die varieties...whatever.

 

One of the crazes to hit the hobby is "monster toning" and the stupid money collectors are willing to pay. So of course the market responds with what the people want. Unfortunately, alot of nice coins are going to be ruined in the process.

[Conder101]

One non-financial reason I can think of to doctor a coin might be simply to hide it's provenance.

But why hide a provenance except for financial reasons? Typically the only reason someone wants to hide a provenance is because they don't want the potential buyers to be able to go back and see that you are offering it at a higher grade than it was in an earlier sale or so that they can't see how much you paid for it and that you are seeking a huge mark up. Or if the provenance is from a sale that was known for a lot of problem coins. (For example a lot of coins from the 1954 Palace Collection sale have had there provenance hidden because of the reputation the collection had that most of the coins were harshly cleaned. For a long time having that provenance was a distinct negative.) But once again we are talking a financial reason.