Changes with Ebay - How to adapt and stay viable

Buying and selling Collectible Coins on E-Bay

We started our business on EBay with our EBay store, which we still run. We have since opened our own direct website at davescoins.com and a bidStart store, which is a site like EBay, only specializing directly in collectibles. They began with stamps, but have quickly expanded in the US collectible coins market as well.

It would be nearly impossible to argue against the fact that eBay has continuously made it more difficult for both buyers and sellers of collectible coins, to find satisfaction in using eBay as a medium for engaging in the numismatic activity we all enjoy so much. So, certainly the balance between Joy and Pain referenced in the article has been tipping towards the Pain side as time goes by, and is probably at an all-time high in the Pain department at this moment, both for buyers and sellers alike.

However, I think the wrong approach is to throw in the towel, wave the white flag, or otherwise quit on a service that has ultimately been a massive positive force in numismatics as a whole. I would instead suggest that everyone who has found this service worthwhile in the past, take some time to let eBay know what is needed and wanted by the numismatic dealers and collectors, while working together to make the best of it.

I could probably go on forever discussing all of the many changes and ramifications and suggest countless potential solutions for each individual frustration. However, the bulk of it boils down to one specific important point in my opinion.

Communication; Sellers need to put in the extra effort to more effectively communicate to the buyers what exactly they are selling, how the transaction will unfold and describe the coins more meticulously and take better photographs.

This is extremely important in my opinion, as one of the most frustrating problems for sellers, (particularly sellers like us that try to be meticulous in our customer care), is that eBay has cut us off from being able to communicate to buyers unless they specifically communicate to us first. This is the major problem, because that was the most effective way to resolve problems for buyers before potential issues became a serious problem.

This in turn places as emphasis, as stated above, on the seller needing to do everything they can in their listings, photos and descriptions, to answer any potential problems for buyers beforehand. In this respect sellers need to take more responsibility and put in more effort on their part.

Buyers need to communicate more readily themselves, PRIOR to making the purchase. Moreover, they need to be more selective in determining not just the products they want, but WHO they want to sell the product to them. Establish relationships with sellers that do go the extra mile to make your experience better. Find out who those sellers are from your other contacts and communicate to those contacts when you find a trustworthy seller.

In essence; sellers need to go the extra mile to help the buyers. Buyers need to understand and recognize the sellers that do that. There is currently no alternative to the traffic and exposure that eBay offers sellers. Conversely, there is currently no alternative to the selection and freedom of choice that eBay offers buyers.

Additionally, how many new coin collectors have been created, or otherwise encouraged through eBay? Hundreds of thousands would be my guess. It would seem a shame and ultimately self-defeating, for all of us as the wider numismatic community, to give in to this frustration, rather than apply a little extra intelligence and honest effort to rise above it.

1979 Type 1 and 2 - Get Educated!

How to Distinguish 1979 Type 1 and 2 Proof Coins   There are two varieties of the “S” mintmark used in 1979 for all proof coin denominations.  The type 1 mintmark has a dome shape with the center of the ridge higher, like a mountain peak [1].  It is very unclear, with the details significantly blended together and the center loops of the "S" being very faint [2]. This variety is therefore commonly referred to as "filled mintmark", although this is not always a way to distinguish it. The type 2 mintmark (often called "clear mintmark”) was used in the later part of 1979, all of 1980 and the first part of 1981 and is similar to the type 1 mintmark which was used in 1981. This mintmark has an obvious ridgeline which is of a uniform height [3] and the center loops of the “S” are usually more clear and distinct [4]. Buy your Coins at Dave's Now!                   Type 1        1979 S Type 1 Nickel         1. High center peak.         2. Faint loops.                   Type 2          1979 S Type 2 Nickel          3. Uniform ridge line.          4. Clearer loops. Note also that on the type two there is a chance that the mint mark could be filled (see picture below) as the dies wear out.         Type 2 from worn dies. Continue this article, with more examples and pictures here. Buy your Coins at Dave's Now!

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Our Beliefs and Principles The word "integrity" stems from the Latin adjective integer (whole, complete). In this context, integrity is the inner sense of "wholeness" deriving from qualities such as honesty and consistency of character. As such, one may judge that others "have integrity" to the extent that they act according to the beliefs and principles they claim to hold. Our belief is that coins represent a tangible solidity, purity and honesty. Virtues that are found, less often, in every day life. These  are qualities  that are accentuated and enhanced by the aesthetic beauty of the coins themselves. Just as the entire principal of money itself is built on the shared agreement and confidence of individuals, so to is the collectible value of coins. It is the common bond of understanding and appreciation for these qualities that brings all of us together and it is this common bond that we, at Dave's Collectible Coins, work to serve and enhance. Our principles are formed by our guiding beliefs as outlined above. That collectors of coins themselves, share these same traits with the coins they collect. It is our mission as a dealer to reflect these values in every transaction. Integrity is the central philosophy of Dave's Collectable Coins. Our grades are conservative, consistent and trustworthy. This is what separates us from other dealers and has led to our unsurpassed feedback for a dealer of our volume. For us, it is a matter of expectation. We set the bar for what is expected, with each coin we grade and  every coin we describe in a listing. It is then our duty to not merely meet, but to exceed, that expectation with every piece of living history that we place at your doorstep. Look at some of our latest listings on the website and buy today. You can be secure in the knowledge that Dave's Collectible Coins is the place you shop to find coins of integrity. Some of our items are not available in the website and are listed at our bidStart and eBay stores.

Buying and selling Collectible Coins on E-Bay

We started our business on EBay with our EBay store, which we still run. We have since opened our own direct website at davescoins.com and a bidStart store, which is a site like EBay, only specializing directly in collectibles. They began with stamps, but have quickly expanded in the US collectible coins market as well.

It would be nearly impossible to argue against the fact that eBay has continuously made it more difficult for both buyers and sellers of collectible coins, to find satisfaction in using eBay as a medium for engaging in the numismatic activity we all enjoy so much. So, certainly the balance between Joy and Pain referenced in the article has been tipping towards the Pain side as time goes by, and is probably at an all-time high in the Pain department at this moment, both for buyers and sellers alike.

However, I think the wrong approach is to throw in the towel, wave the white flag, or otherwise quit on a service that has ultimately been a massive positive force in numismatics as a whole. I would instead suggest that everyone who has found this service worthwhile in the past, take some time to let eBay know what is needed and wanted by the numismatic dealers and collectors, while working together to make the best of it.

I could probably go on forever discussing all of the many changes and ramifications and suggest countless potential solutions for each individual frustration. However, the bulk of it boils down to one specific important point in my opinion.

Communication; Sellers need to put in the extra effort to more effectively communicate to the buyers what exactly they are selling, how the transaction will unfold and describe the coins more meticulously and take better photographs.

This is extremely important in my opinion, as one of the most frustrating problems for sellers, (particularly sellers like us that try to be meticulous in our customer care), is that eBay has cut us off from being able to communicate to buyers unless they specifically communicate to us first. This is the major problem, because that was the most effective way to resolve problems for buyers before potential issues became a serious problem.

This in turn places as emphasis, as stated above, on the seller needing to do everything they can in their listings, photos and descriptions, to answer any potential problems for buyers beforehand. In this respect sellers need to take more responsibility and put in more effort on their part.

Buyers need to communicate more readily themselves, PRIOR to making the purchase. Moreover, they need to be more selective in determining not just the products they want, but WHO they want to sell the product to them. Establish relationships with sellers that do go the extra mile to make your experience better. Find out who those sellers are from your other contacts and communicate to those contacts when you find a trustworthy seller.

In essence; sellers need to go the extra mile to help the buyers. Buyers need to understand and recognize the sellers that do that. There is currently no alternative to the traffic and exposure that eBay offers sellers. Conversely, there is currently no alternative to the selection and freedom of choice that eBay offers buyers.

Additionally, how many new coin collectors have been created, or otherwise encouraged through eBay? Hundreds of thousands would be my guess. It would seem a shame and ultimately self-defeating, for all of us as the wider numismatic community, to give in to this frustration, rather than apply a little extra intelligence and honest effort to rise above it.

US Coins - Coin Wisdom

Cents of the 1940's

Back in World War II— especially in 1943 — the metal demand for the war efforts in Europe changed the way pennies were made.  The U.S. mint was home trying to find a way to decrease their use of copper so the copper in turn could be used to produce shell casings, bullets, bombs and guns for the troops.

The mint experimented with alternate materials for the cent such as ceramics, glass, other metals and plastics.  They finally settled on a low-carbon steel cent plated with zinc.  There were many problems to come for this new steel cent.

When first introduced the new cent was shunned.  The brand new 1943 cents with their silver color were often mistaken for dimes.  Due to the magnetic property of the steel, magnets in vending machines used to pick up steel slugs would also reject the legitimate steel cents.  (Imagine today a vending machine that uses a penny! Times have changed.)  To make matters worse the two metals are not compatible in moist atmospheres.  The steel cores would rust while the zinc plating oxidized.  Even the sweat off of your hands would cause the coins to corrode.

In 1943 when the mints were making the switch from copper to steel, some copper planchets remained in tote bins and other coining equipment and remained undiscovered.  So a few copper cents accidentally got produced by all three mints.  But thanks to the mint’s switch to steel cents there was plenty of copper for the war effort.

Athough the steel cent was not great to deal with, in the end the copper freed up for the war effort was enough to meet the needs of 2 cruisers, 2 destroyers, 1,243 flying fortresses, 120 field guns and 120 howitzers.  This is enough copper to make 1.25 million shells for our big field guns.

Shortly after the war the mints started to work their way back to the normal composition of the copper cent.  In 1944 the mint began to recycle spent shell casings from the war and use them for cent production.  Pure copper ingots were combined with the 70% copper shell casings to bring the alloy up to the pre 1943 95% copper, 5% zinc combination.  However the same error that happened in 1943 now happened in 1944 and a few steel cents were made when they were all supposed to be copper.

There are two explanations given why there are steel cents in 1944.  The first one is that when the mint was switching back over to the copper alloy, a few of the steel planchets prepared for 1943 dated cents remained in the system and were struck as 1944 cents.  The other explanation is that the Philadelphia mint used the leftover steel planchets to produce 25 million two-franc coins for recently liberated Belgium.  Given the poor quality control that characterized the wartime Philadelphia mint, it is likely that some of these planchets found their way into a  tote filled with cent planchets.

In 1945 the mint began to withdraw the steel cents from circulation. The mint withdrew over a hundred million steel cents.  This withdrawal and the corrosive metal of the coin makes a pristine, brilliant uncirculated example hard to find.

But everything was going back to normal in 1946.  This year was the transition from the cents being made from the shell case alloy and other cents using the prewar compositions of 95% copper, 4% zinc, and 1% tin.  It is very hard to tell the difference between the two alloys.

                    1943 Copper Cent


The 1943 copper cent is a very rare coin.  If you happen to have a 1943 Copper Cent there are some ways you can easily check to see if it may be a counterfeit. One way is to look at the date.  If you look at the “3”, you will notice that it slopes down toward the “S”.  If the “3” looks like half of a “8” it is most likely an altered 1948 cent.  Sometimes 1943 steel cents were copper plated to fool an unsuspecting buyer, but these can be detected by weight (see below).

                     1944 Steel Cent


The 1944 steel cent is also a rare coin and is often counterfeited.  Some 1944 copper cents have been zinc plated.  To tell the difference a steel cent weighs in at 2.7 grams while the copper cent weighs 3.11.  Also there is the magnet test.  If the coin is attracted to the magnet you have a steel cent and if not, then it is copper. It can be verified that it is an authentic coin buy having it certified by one of the better grading service such as PCGS or NGC.