mark

HT:

I have experience at GC and Heritage only as a buyer. I have bought a few coins at GC and many more at Heritage simply because Heritage has more of the type of coins that interest me. For example, the last coin I purchased from Heritage was a pattern. Currently Heritage has 30 patterns that are or will be for sale. It's not quite as easy to find patterns on GC's website but when I checked last week I think they had 6 or 7.

I also collect classic silver commemoratives. Heritage currently has 501 that are or will be for sale. GC has 109. And a LOT of GC's are "retreads;" coins that have been appearing in their auctions for 6 months or more and do not sell because their reserve is too high.

I think it's easy to see why I like Heritage. But there are times when GC has commemoratives that I really like and I've been fortunate enough to win a few. I think GC does a MUCH better job of (occasionally) having commemoratives that interest me in their weekly auctions than Heritage can manage in their weekly Tuesday/Sunday auctions. Indeed, I am not a big fan of Heritage's weekly auctions because I think the coins are generally lower grade.

So, as a buyer, I prefer Heritage but GC is definitely worth looking at every week.

Mark

Mark:

Thanks from me, too. Unlike the OP, I actually read Heritage's terms, so I have known for a long time that Heritage may bid on a coin. But I did not know how the buy-it-now price was determined.

Mark

Number200K:

I have no affiliation with Heritage so you can now remove that little thought from your mind. If you care to apologize, the apology will be accepted.

Sotheby's and Christie's do effectively the same when they give a price guarantee on a work. They will bid/buy the item as long as it is below the guaranteed price. Sometimes they even pay a specific bidder to bid on an item so they (Sotheby's and Christie's) do not need to take possession of the item. Maybe you want to add them to your lawsuit?

Mark

As a buyer, I am not thrilled that Heritage will bid on coins because that means no bargains for me. As a seller, I'd be thrilled that Heritage will bid on coins because that means no extreme losses for me. As a buyer, I am happy that sellers are thrilled because that means they will consign more and better coins to Heritage which gives me a chance to acquire them. Also as a buyer, more often that not I win coins for less than my maximum bid. I am very content with Heritage and think any such law suit as the OP suggested is basically a waste of time.

Mark

MJ:

Even though you and I disagree about the DCarr "coins," you and I are in total agreement about "no minds changed."

Mark

The moment DCarr shows up here, I predict at least a 70 post thread...

Mark

As I recall the 60s when I started collecting, Coin collecting used to be more fun, back when whizzed coins were common, counterfeits were everywhere, and the same coin was BU when purchased and EF when sold. Yeah, I can see the response to this comment now: People should learn to recognize whizzed coins, detect counterfeits, and how to grade. What a great hobby...I have to study, study, study rather than simply relax and enjoy.

These are the golden days of collecting. Encapsulated coins are (virtually) never whizzed nor counterfeit. With the ever-increasing sophistication of counterfeits, that last fact is very reassuring. Plus the encapsulation means that when my kids were much younger, I could let them look at my coins with no fear of harm coming to the coins. Grading remains an issue, but much less so with the big 2 (or 3) grading companies.

Plus, no one tells me that I have to chase "grade rarities" (such as the coin featured in this thread way back at the start) and pay a hefty price to acquire them. I can do so if I want or I can choose to pass. Moreover, if others want to collect these sorts of coins because they enjoy doing so, more power to them. Let them have a good time because their good times have no effect on me.

Mark

I have two suggestions:

1) One poster ought to change his or her name here to Mrlastword. I won't mention who it is because I sure don't want to get into a posting match with him or her.

2) Rather than calling this place "Sleepy Hollow" as it has been sometimes described ATS, perhaps "Nasty Hollow" would be more appropriate.

Mark

I agree with Mark and Mark.

Plus, I have to wonder why Mitch even bothered to comment in this thread. I think it's pretty clear that no one who has posted in this thread has any interest in buying on the coin. Instead, the only interest seems to be in criticizing the coin and criticizing Mitch because he 1) Doesn't remember the coin from years ago, and 2) Is unwilling to comment on what are two marks on a coin from a picture.

If I were Mitch, I'd have looked at the posts and the posters, shrugged my shoulders and moved onto other endeavors. That said, I am glad Mitch did post because I thought some of the history he posted was fascinating.

Mark

AHFreak:

I am aware that some coins tend to come with planchet roughness showing, for example BTW commemorative halves. So, that said, what do you see that leads you to believe that the flaws on the dime as pre-strike issues as opposed to being post-strike hits?

Thanks in advance.

Mark

brg5658:

Wondercoin is not the same person as the "Just having Fun" collector. Wondercoin has acted as an agent for Just Having Fun, helping him sell (and I think also buy) some of the coins from his world- class collections.

Mark

That link was a very interesting read AND a very funny story!!

Thanks.

Mark