Honesty or knowledge

[PWA 1967 2,125]

I have spotted over the last couple of years varieties of pennies that were not described as such on ebay.

Sorry wasnt sure weather to post as a new topic / more pennies.

The seller has been informed that the coin they have listed is scarce/rare (sometimes by a forum member).

I think in the cases i have noted the person has one already ,infact i know.

Question..........

Would you tell the seller or not ?.

I have been watching pennies and all of a sudden the price has gone up considerably.

After looking at information added on EBAY they have been informed its RARE.

This can be frustrating after having the coin in my watch list for a few days.

Alternatively if you DIDNT have one would you be as quick to SHOUT.

Opinions please as wondered weather its right or wrong ?.

This i appreciate happens in auction house descriptions but slightly different .

Pete.

[Nordle11 564]

I'd tell them IF;

-It was someone I knew

Or

-The coin value is less than £50ish

If it was more and I didn't know the person, I would just buy it myself and resell it because why not? That's part of the game. Anything that costs more than that the seller should be aware of what they have or at least spend a few minutes to do some research, the reason we know what it is is because we did do that research.

Good question though.

[scott 144]

of course not, most times the price flies up anyway when people notice.

you should do your research, the B over R halfpenny i bought a while back (remember that?) for a tenner, was listed at the same time that other example was on ebay, and listed as such, so knew exactly what it was.

[Bernie 203]

I wouldn't tell them but at times I believe some smartass has contacted sellers of such coins. On many occassions coins have been withdrawn from Ebay. I have been most disappointed and wondered if punters have told them that they have rare coins or they have offered to Buy it Now.

[PWA 1967 2,125]

Smartass made me smile , Bernie i know for a fact some have been told from forum members.

The question is would they have done so if they had one ?.

I dont think so........ .

The forum members on here would like your honest opinion.

[DaveG38 405]

As far as I'm concerned it's the equivalent of caveat emptor but for sellers. If you want to sell a coin, you take the trouble to research it, and price it/describe it accordingly. If you are lazy and don't do this, and the coin goes too cheaply to somebody who has used their knowledge to spot a rarity then its caveat seller!! I bought my NF condition 1893 Jubilee head 6d from a general antiques dealer who had it in a box of well worn coins, and I can only assume that he just tossed it in as another worn coin. His mistake, but for 50p my gain. Do I feel guilty? No! Do I feel smug about it? Yep! Not nice I know but .........

[Paulus 1,975]

Seller beware (or caveat venditor) especially applies on eBay, where the buyer can claim not to have received the coin (even with a signature) and eBay will invariably side with the buyer in the absence of any hard evidence either way

[copper123 1,482]

If you pick a coin out of a £3 coin box in the birmingham coin fair that you know is worth £50 is the first thing you do?

A/ pay the dealer £3

B/Tell the dealer and let him pocket the extra £47

Answers on a postcard

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[Sword 1,456]

Of course I would pay the dealer £3.

He obviously paid the person selling to him for less than £3. So why should the dealer benefit instead of me?

[Sword 1,456]

However, if the coin is for sale in a charity shop, I would still pay the £3 but I will then make a donation.

[PWA 1967 2,125]

So the question is why are people telling the sellers ?.

[copper123 1,482]

Smart arsses

Edited December 9, 2015 by copper123

[1949threepence 3,367]

I noticed one guy had a few 1869 pennies, and at least one of them suddenly shot up in price - all were BIN's.

[PWA 1967 2,125]

I noticed one guy had a few 1869 pennies, and at least one of them suddenly shot up in price - all were BIN's.

In fairness they were probably described as such.

Interested in the forum members who spot something thats just date listed.

The seller is then told of the variety they have missed.

[Peter 615]

I once emailed a seller who had a Wiliam 1 coin and believed the Spink nr was the date.

He was grateful as the last hr brought him good bids and he was a happy seller.

He got a copy of Spink and his remaining coins were described correctly.

I felt better for it.

[Matteo95 120]

good but also hard question is your !

I think you have to consider if the seller is a professional dealer or not , because if he/she is.. it is his job and he should know perfectly the correct classification of the coin and you can don't tell him anything ...while if the seller is a private it isn't his job and probably he is ignorant in numismatic field so I think it should be right inform him.

I hope you can understand my opinion

[copper123 1,482]

I must admit I have been a smartass myself never ever with dealers though just private sellers , its the dealers who you feel should not need info , often private seller do.

[Paulus 1,975]

Many private sellers will be just like us, fervent collectors

[Bernie 203]

I paid £380 once for what I and 11 other bidders believed a coin was an 1862 8/6 penny. It was not advertised as an 8/6.

When I received the coin is was an 1862 with a stain left of the 8, The layout of the date spacing and legend led us all to believe it was the rarity.

I therefore do not have any conscience about buying unidentified rarities cheap. Please stop informing sellers ! I have a lot of making up to do !!!

[RLC35 288]

I paid £380 once for what I and 11 other bidders believed a coin was an 1862 8/6 penny. It was not advertised as an 8/6.

When I received the coin is was an 1862 with a stain left of the 8, The layout of the date spacing and legend led us all to believe it was the rarity.

I therefore do not have any conscience about buying unidentified rarities cheap. Please stop informing sellers ! I have a lot of making up to do !!!

I've made that mistake a few times also Bernie, so I know where you are coming from.

[bagerap 706]

Matteo, sono d'accordo completamente.

[alfnail 845]

I told someone about a rare coin only a few days ago after he had already listed on ebay..........because he is a mate and I wanted to see him get a fair price. If he hadn't been a good friend then I wouldn't have said anything, tried to buy it myself cheaply and sell for a profit.........that's the only way I can afford to buy pieces like the ones selling at the next LCA without upsetting the wife's holiday plans

[Mr T 175]

As others have said, I'd only let the seller know if I knew them, otherwise it's seller beware. It's tough but if the seller hasn't done their research and hasn't shown due diligence then it's not my job to do it for them.

Also, I've had to source all of my books on British predecimal varieties from England (postage and the exchange rate don't help) and if any local sellers don't wish to go the same lengths then that's their problem.

Also, anyone who signs up here and asks a question about any coins they have will always get an honest answer, usually within a day.

[Gary1000 41]

Conversely do you tell a seller when they have a common coin they are trying to sell as a variety. There's a dealer on at the moment trying to sell a Goulby X which obviously isn't and he has dropped the price thinking it will shift. Mind you he could just be being dishonest.

[davidrj 194]

I paid £380 once for what I and 11 other bidders believed a coin was an 1862 8/6 penny. It was not advertised as an 8/6.

When I received the coin is was an 1862 with a stain left of the 8, The layout of the date spacing and legend led us all to believe it was the rarity.

I therefore do not have any conscience about buying unidentified rarities cheap. Please stop informing sellers ! I have a lot of making up to do !!!

I've made that mistake a few times also Bernie, so I know where you are coming from.

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt many times, I've just wasted £10 on a standard 1863 penny, that looked a little odd in the photo. I spend a lot of time looking at coins on Ebay trying to find varieties, many of which are never listed even by experienced sellers - how many listings do you see for 1913 die pairings? I'm still trying to find a decent 1+B F175. 1909 F169 and 1908 F164a are still on the radar.

I take the view, if I've done the leg work, and I'm prepared to get it wrong more often than not, then interesting items I do manage to buy at a low price are fair game.