Since the beginning of time, warnings have been given and mankind has not listened.

Let’s start with the Hebrew translation of a well known Bible verse. “ It is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said: ‘You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die.”

Did Adam and Eve listen to the warning? No, they eat from the fruit tree in the middle of the garden.

Julisu Ceasar established the “Julian calendar” in 45 B.C. But did he listen when the soothsayer warned him...”Beware the Ides of March.” No, again the warning was ignored.

For the last century, coin collectors have heard the phrase...”Knowledge is power” or “Buy the book before you buy the coin”. Another powerful bit of information is...”Buy the coin not the slab”. Still in the year 2002, the collectors do not listen. They still do not learn from over 2000 years of history.

Just recently, we were asked to make an offer on a very large collection. Most of the coins were purchased from telemarketers between 1992 and 1996. Hundreds of PCGS and NGC certified MS 63 Morgan dollars. Also included in the collection was a large number of NGC certified Russian Gold 5 Rubles.

The collector paid $69.95 each for common date PCGS and NGC graded MS 63 Morgan dollars. He also paid $1,395 each for NGC MS 67 Russian Gold 5 Ruble coins.

Did having the coins certified help sell the over priced coins? I believe it aided in the collector over paying for the coins. Did certification help make the coins any more valuable? Maybe a dollar or two more than a raw coin, but not to the extent the collector was charged for the coins.

Would the collector ever see a return on his investment for the NGC MS 67 Russian 5 Rubles. Not in the next one hundred years. Or maybe if gold jumps to $14,000 an ounce.

Now lets take a look at some recent eBay auctions.

On December 22, an auction closed for a lot listed as “1909 & 1922 Set “RARE” PCGS [45/25] S vdb & No D”. The winning bidder paid $861.00 for the two coins. The PCGS slab label for the 1909 S VDB graded the coin as EF-45. The PCGS slab label for the 1922 Lincoln stated “No D” VF 25.

If the collector had taken the time to buy “The Authoritative Reference On Lincoln Cents” by John Wexler and Kevin Flynn for an investment of about $45, he would have known that the 1922 Lincoln was “Die Pair 1”. He would have also known that for the last ten years, the coin was not accepted by the ANA or dealers as the official “No D”. Only die pair 2 is accepted as the official “No D”.

Value of the Very Fine 25 1922 coins is about $12. If you believe that it is a partial “D”, the value would have been about $50. I am from the school that believes if any portion of the “D” is showing, it is a 1922 D.

Total value of the two coins is approximately $500. Did the label on the PCGS certified 1922 No D help sell the coins for a ridiculous price? Or did the lack of knowledge aid in the coins selling for $861.

On December 23, another lot closed without a winning bidder. It was listed as “Rare 1922 No D “Plain” Lincoln cent MS63-Br. “ Starting bid was $2,500. The slab label was listed a “Die Pair #3”. Again, not the official “No D”. Again, the coin was certified by SEGS as “No D, Die Pair #3”. On this lot, was it the SEGS certification as “No D” or the lack of knowledge by the seller that aided the high starting bid? What did the seller pay for the coin?

On December 27, another lot closed with a winning bid of $350. The lot was listed as, “Lincoln cent 1922 No D PCGS VF-30”. The certification did not list the fact that the coin was “Die Pair #3”. Value of the coin should have been about $12.

If you accept the argument that it was a weak “D”, the value would only have been about $60. Did the PCGS add to the confusion, yes, I personally believe it did influence the higher selling price.

Now let’s jump ahead to the time the coins are sold. The collector or his family take the coins into a dealer to sell. The dealer makes a fair offer for the coins. Now one of two reactions can occur.

First, the family members think the dealer is trying to steal the coins at a ridiculous low price. Second, the family or collector believes the dealer has made a fair offer for the coins and the collector over paid.

In a majority of the cases, the family or collector feels the dealer is trying to take advantage of them and buy the coins at a ridiculously low price. Little do they know that the collector over paid for the coins.

Could these over payments have been prevented ...Yes. The collectors could have spent the $45 and received priceless information on Lincoln cents in the “Authoritative Reference On Lincoln Cents”. Or they could have built up trust in a dealer.

Find a dealer you trust and stay with him. Even if the dealer charged 10% more than you wanted to pay, you will be money ahead. Money well spent is money invested in your collection. There is a difference between being cheap and being careful with your money.

A good place to start looking for a dealer is here in this Digest. The dealers advertising in the Digest believe in helping the hobby. They believe in putting something back into ILNA. “Support the ILNA Sponsors.” Use their years of experience to you advantage. Build a strong team, you and the dealer working together.

Remember to be wise, not cheap.

Have a coin question? Let us know at a coin show or contact us. Frank M. Zapushek, PO Box 1993, Bloomington, IL 61702-1993 email: mrz@bakercoins.net