How to buy and avoid counterfeits

[HarryRod]

I am new to this hobby but have been reading this board and CT as well for the last several months and have just started to buy into this hobby and make purchases over the last several weeks.

Mostly i am sticking to proof sets and dollars/halves. Sticking to the rule "only collect what you like" and these are the coins that really speak to me.

However, with that being said the more i read, the more i feel scared to purchase dollars, especially Morgans, which are probably my favorite coin design of all time.

 

Let me explain my situation. I live in a medium sized town in Alabama and have only found two coin shops in town so far. One caters only to the super rich from what i can tell, and the other i refuse to go in due to being treated very rude every time i have tried and the fact that it seems like the owner is only interested in buying/selling silver and gold.

 

So.....that pretty much only leaves Ebay and what i can find in my travels.

 

How do i avoid getting scammed on Ebay or with raw morgan buys? Is the only real answer to only buy slabbed coins?

 

I guess what I am really asking is.....how prevalent, really, are counterfeits in this hobby?

I know that they exist, but on a day to day basis, what is the likelihood of geting stuck with one.

 

[bsshog40]

Well as most have said before, study them. I would think a good way to start distinguishing these are to start looking at slabbed coins, same year as the raw ones you might be looking at. Compare them in every way. Most counterfiets can be easily spotted but the very good ones need to be disected in every way to detect any characteristics that may look odd to you. If there is time before you have to purchase and you have pics (even the ebay pics work ok), post them here and get opinions. If you don't take your time with them, it could cost you many dollars until you learn. You can google all kinds of pics of authentic morgans and also counterfiets so you can start looking at some of the characteristics of them.

[physics-fan3.14]

If you are buying on Ebay, unless you are well versed in the hobby, the likelihood of buying a raw counterfeit is about 30-40%. Until you can quickly and easily spot them, I would stick to slabbed coins. Plus, that way you know you are also avoiding problem coins (cleaned, scratched, scraped, banged, dinged, mistreated, mishandled, AT'd, or any other problem). If you include that sort of stuff, you are up to probably at least 80-90% of raw coins on Ebay.

[Ducksoup]

I'm not sure if posting an ebayer's store is allowed here but I've personally dealt with Chris at Coins and More and he's always treated me fairly. His physical store is about a 15 minute drive from work but he has most of his inventory up on ebay and generally offers free shipping. If posting a link to his ebay store isn't allowed, the mods can remove it

 

Coins and More

 

Rob

[michael]

How do i avoid getting scammed on Ebay or with raw morgan buys and the only real answer for coins with values of $100 and up to only buy slabbed coins?

 

(thumbs u AGREED 110% also if you buy a slabbed morgan pcgs/ngc more than likely the grade is at least correct even if low end for the grade and assuming the slab is also legit

 

I guess what I am really asking is.....how prevalent, really, are counterfeits in this hobby?

 

 

for stuff you want to buy on sleezebay------- extremely prevalent

 

good luck and welcome to the boards (thumbs u

[e1cnr]

the more valuable the coin, the higher liklihood of a counterfeit

 

if you are buying Morgans raw on eBay,

 

 

I would stick to sellers that have over 1000 positive feedback heavy on coins

I would stay away from sellers that do not mostly buy and sell coins

 

 

You are much more likely to get a 'problem' coin than a counterfeit on eBay

 

 

a coin that is cleaned, scratched, ex-jewelry, artificially toned, bent, filed rims...

is worth much less than a comparable problem free coin

 

 

buying a coin in a PCGS or NGC slab will help only if you can verify that the slab and the coin are both authentic, as counterfeit slabs exist as well

 

 

Generally there is no Santa Claus in numistmatics, and usually you get less than you paid for until you have learned from (experience, classes, courses, mistakes, submissions, others) how to dodge the mines in the minefield and to acquire some gems

[James_OldeTowne]

So.....that pretty much only leaves Ebay and what i can find in my travels.

 

How do i avoid getting scammed on Ebay or with raw morgan buys? Is the only real answer to only buy slabbed coins?

If you must resort to purchasing coins online, why do you feel eBay is your only option? Personally, I would urge you to stay far away as possible from eBay, especially if you are relatively green!

 

There must be hundreds of coin sellers online who are legitimate and trustworthy, and a great number of them will have coins in your price range. Instead of supporting the immoral practices of eBay and on eBay, why not support a dealer who is working toward support of the hobby instead?

[PerryHall]

More money is lost overall by collectors buying overgraded and/or problem coins (cleaned, tooled, damaged, whizzed, etc) than by buying counterfeits. Buying NGC/PCGS/ANACS slabbed coins from established dealers helps put the odds in your favor but be aware that there are now fake slabs in the market place. Also, there are a ton of fake coins coming in from China---especially silver dollars. Many of these fakes are low value coins that sell for only a few dollars so buying cheap coins is no protection from buying a fake coin.

[HiHoAudio]

I have used this company for years and they have quite a nice assortment of certified and raw Morgans in stock:

 

http://www.northeastcoin.com/inventory.jsp#

 

Their photos are the best in the business in my opinion and if a price is underlined you can make them an offer.

 

More expensive than eBay but better safe than sorry.

 

PS - If you want to go the auction route Scotsman is excellent, and I'm not just saying that to put a smile on James face. Here is their link.....

 

https://www.scoins.com/default.aspx

 

 

[Dudley the 1st]

I am new to this hobby but have been reading this board and CT as well for the last several months and have just started to buy into this hobby and make purchases over the last several weeks.

Mostly i am sticking to proof sets and dollars/halves. Sticking to the rule "only collect what you like" and these are the coins that really speak to me.

However, with that being said the more i read, the more i feel scared to purchase dollars, especially Morgans, which are probably my favorite coin design of all time.

 

Let me explain my situation. I live in a medium sized town in Alabama and have only found two coin shops in town so far. One caters only to the super rich from what i can tell, and the other i refuse to go in due to being treated very rude every time i have tried and the fact that it seems like the owner is only interested in buying/selling silver and gold.

 

So.....that pretty much only leaves Ebay and what i can find in my travels.

 

How do i avoid getting scammed on Ebay or with raw morgan buys? Is the only real answer to only buy slabbed coins?

 

I guess what I am really asking is.....how prevalent, really, are counterfeits in this hobby?

I know that they exist, but on a day to day basis, what is the likelihood of geting stuck with one.

 

Welcome to the Boards and thanks for posing a question that deserves comments from our members.

 

My first suggestion to you is to see if there are any local coin clubs to join. These are a great place to make friends, learn and offer a safe place to trade, buy or sell.

 

Secondly, I would suggest that whatever series you are interested in collecting, learn the diagnostics.

 

Third, remember if it looks to good to be true, it probably is.

 

Enjoy the hobby.

[mtnstyne]

Lots of feedback with great rating.

 

Liberal return policy.

 

Buy the book for your collecting genre.

 

Be patient (that is the hard one for me)

 

Oh and lastly, don't drink and bid...speaking from experience...

 

welcome to the boards

[noow]

Hi

 

I would buy slabbed coins on eBay ONLY, and with a legit return policy.

 

But we have to remember- eBay takes away 12% of the sale amount from the seller, so you are most likely to buy an overpriced (or mutilated) coin.

 

There are many other sellers that have online stores and sell for less than eBay. One of the most reputable is-

 

APMEX.com

American Precious Metals Exchange. They handle both bullion and rare coins (mostly gold and silver). You can search rare or common Dollars and Halves, raw & certified. They sell quality stuff, and you can trust them to give you what you want.

 

Now, I have mentioned Coast to Coast Coins & Currency on other threads, but it seems that most of the people here dislike them for selling problem coins, and the guy that owned it actually got KICKED OUT of the ANA for doing so. There is a reason why I mention a company that seems like a lowdown pile of

 

First thing, NONE of my coins have been problem coins; NGC verified that for me. They also charge low shipping rates and don't charge extra for credit cards.

 

IF YOU DO FIND A PROBLEM COIN, they have great customer service and you can return the coin(s) with no hassle.

 

Hope this helps.

 

[James_OldeTowne]

I would buy slabbed coins on eBay ONLY, and with a legit return policy.

 

But we have to remember- eBay takes away 12% of the sale amount from the seller, so you are most likely to buy an overpriced (or mutilated) coin.

Also remember that there are plenty of lousy coins in slabs of every brand.... and somehow as if by magic, they very frequently end up on eBay.

[michael]

If you must resort to purchasing coins online, why do you feel eBay is your only option? Personally, I would urge you to stay far away as possible from eBay, especially if you are relatively green!

 

There must be hundreds of coin sellers online who are legitimate and trustworthy, and a great number of them will have coins in your price range. Instead of supporting the immoral practices of eBay and on eBay, why not support a dealer who is working toward support of the hobby instead?

 

i like the above the best (thumbs u

[Kamillion]

ebay doesnt take 12%, it takes 7%, and 3% from paypal, so 10% at most.

[noow]

ebay doesnt take 12%, it takes 7%, and 3% from paypal, so 10% at most.

 

Last time I checked it was 9%

[coinman_23885]

ebay doesnt take 12%, it takes 7%, and 3% from paypal, so 10% at most.

 

On most auctions, eBay's fees are 9% and Paypal gets 3% (they are owned by eBay). BIN prices incur 12% eBay fees + 3% to Paypal.