Buyer Beware When Shopping On eBay!

Recently I have bee shopping for some early Panamanian coins from 1904, of course they have to be silver! Why 1904 you might ask? It was the year they used a new design for Balboa on the obverse (front) of their coins. In most cases, it was only produced in 1904, but in other denominations there were some in 1905.

While browsing, one coin caught my eye, because it's surface was so brilliant. So I clicked on it and the coin is indeed very white, but there was a reason for it. It had been cleaned, and I could tell with one glance. I looked down at the seller description and to their credit they did state it had been "mildly" cleaned. This wasn't mildly cleaned, but at least they were somewhat honest!

From eBay.com

About the coin:

From numista.com

These were produced in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the US Mint. As you can see from the valuation chart an about uncirculated coin is worth around $35, and that's uncleaned. This moron is selling this coin above for $140! What a rip off artist, just hoping some sucker will come along and buy it because it looks pretty and is old... Buyer beware, because there are many looking to steal your money on eBay and even some coin shops.

These were produced with this design on the 2 1/2 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, 25 cent, and 50 cent denominations. Once you get to the 25 and 50 cents coins the about uncirculated coins are very expensive and even more so if they are uncirculated. So my shopping will remain in the smalls category, at least for the time being!

The Cleaned Coin

Picture is mine, sorry the picture is so small! It's an older picture!

I once fell victim to a cleaned coin, where things just looked so good that you miss the subtle details. This 1836 Capped Bust Half Dollar I purchased from a respectable dealer with assurances it hadn't been cleaned. I sent it in to be graded shortly after and it came back as a cleaned coin. Fortunately, I was able to return it for a full refund but was out the grading service fees and postage. But isn't it a pretty coin? It just looks gorgeous! What a shame it was cleaned...

When someone cleans a coin to make it look better it immediately decreases the coin's value. Many times amateurs find an old coin and decide to take a wire brush to it to make it look better only to make a potentially valuable coin worthless. Moral of the story being: if you find an older coin resist that urge to clean it up. Leave it as it!

If you are buying coins on eBay or other sites that aren't reputable precious metals dealers, buyer beware. You never know what you are getting! That's why I will only purchase older coins that are graded on eBay. Newer one's I don't worry unless they're expensive, but you have to be careful. There are lots of scammers out there!

That will do it for this Monday, I hope you're all having a nice start to your week! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below, and as always thank you so much for all of your support. I really to appreciate it! Have a great day everyone!

References:

https://en.numista.com/5166

Disclaimer

I am not a financial planner and this isn't financial advice. Please always do your own research before investing your money. You worked hard enough to earn it!

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