There are numerous Certified Coin Scams that are popular on e-bay. A common coin seller's statement "BUY THE COIN NOT THE SLAB" is usually made by sellers who are selling coins slabbed by second and third class grading services.  The seller will say grade for yourself. Many times the pictures are not all that good or the seller gives good pictures that clearly show the coin is overgraded. Even experienced coin collectors can misgrade (usually overgrade) a coin by one or two grades compared to the grade that would be assigned by one of the top four grading services (PCGS, NGC, ICG, & ANACS) (see my guide Coin Grading Services are Not all Equal).

The following are only two of the most popular certified coin scams with some variations. ALL COINS SLABBED BY GEC AND NAC ARE SCAMS. GEC AND NAC OVERGRADE BY AT LEAST SIX TO EIGHT GRADES AND GRADE CLEANED COINS AS MS66 OR MS67.

1.) Since many inexperienced collectors can not tell the difference between an AU (About Uncirculated) coin versus a BU (Brilliant Uncirculated) coin, some e-bay dealers will buy XF or AU coins and have them graded by one of the second or third tier grading services as MS66 or MS67.  They will set a Buy Now price based on the comparable grade for a PCGS graded coin that is graded one or two grades lower than the third tier grading service's grade.  With great fanfare they will brag about the great discount being offered.

Recently, I saw a 1884 S Morgan Dollar graded by one of these third tier grading services as Gem BU MS64. The pictures showed that the coin was likely a nice AU55. A recent Grey Sheet (wholesale prices for ungraded coins) shows a wholesale price on the 1884 S  of $215.00 for an AU coin and $4,600.00 for an MS60 1884S and $77,500.00 wholesale for a MS64 1884 S. Over $4,000 difference with ONE GRADE and $77,000 difference for four grades. The seller of this 1884 S Morgan was offering a Buy Now price of $1,659.00 (what a bargain) for a coin with a WHOLESALE VALUE OF $77,500.00.

Why would an experieced coin seller offer a $77,500.00 coin for $1,659.00 unless he knows the condition is signifcantly less than the grading company showed.  And there were small clues that the seller was aware that this the coin was overgraded. The seller of this 1884 S Morgan Dollar (graded as Gem BU MS64) did not even show the coin as Uncirculated where condition is shown in the listing nor did the seller show the coin as Certified other than pictures with the listing.  Another clue is when a seller does not name the grading services in their listing but only shows the slab in their pictures. This is a sure sign the seller is not very proud of the grading service.  $1,659.00 Buy Now for a $215.00 wholesale price coin is no bargain.

This arbitrage of coin grades is one of the most popular coin scams on e-bay. While there are only four Reliable Coin Grading Services (PCGS, NGC, ICG, and ANACS), there are dozens of fly by night grading services whose grading is virtually worthless.  Invariably this is done with coin Grades and Mint Marks that have huge price variations between small changes in grade (most are key date rare coins).

Recently I received a message from an e-bayer who had bought several so called MS66 and MS67 morgan dollars graded by the World Grading Service (a new fly by night grading service that has popped up recently). He had to return most of them because they were cleaned and circulated. That is how a typical third tier grading service grades coins. There are a lot of beautiful coins out there that show signs of cleaning (see my guide "Cleaned Coins on e-bay").

2.) Certified Bulk Lots of Coin Scams come in a variety of flavors. Some sellers will advertise bulk certified coin lots that are advertised as trending to $10,000, $15, 000, and higher and sell these lots with no reserve. The trend prices they advertise are based on PCGS slabbed coin prices. Many are shown as MS70, but rarely will they send coins graded by PCGS, NGC, or ANACS.

However, more and more of these bulk lots are showing all PCGS, NGC, or ANACS coins in the lot with the dates and grades the choice of the seller. Frequently they will show a Rare date or High grade in their photos but you will only receive common dates in MS63 or below grades.

WHENEVER A SELLER HAS THE CHOICE OF THE DATES AND GRADES, THE BUYER HAS LOST CONTROL AND HAS VERY LITTLE CHANCE OF RECEIVING REAL VALUE FOR THEIR MONEY. If the coins were really worth as much as claimed, the coins would be sold separately.

As an experiment, I bid on a number of Bulk Certified Lots from one of the largest sellers of such lots. After receiving what appeared to be a good deal on one lot of coins, I proceeded to resell the coins individually on e-bay.  As an example, the lot I purchased showed a trend value of $18,000.00 and had a sheet sent with the shipment that showed how the $18,000.00 was arrived at among the Five ANI certified coins I received.

The most valuable coin based this sheet was a 1978-S Eisenhower Deep Cameo Proof dollar graded by ANI as PR70 DCAM which the seller said was worth $7,500.00 (the trend if graded PR70 by PCGS). This coin resold on e-bay for $11.85 (plus S&H), a Sacagawea Cameo Proof Dollar  ANI Graded as MS70 and valued by the seller at $3,300.00 resold on e-bay for $22.29.

Almost invariably, you are going to receive  Modern Proof Coins graded at MS70 and showing a trend of $3,000 to 5,000 per coin for these modern coins. They can do this because the majority of the coins are graded by PCI, HCGS, ANI, etc. or one of the other secondary coin grading services. Almost without exception, the coins graded by these services will grade by PCGS, NGC, or ANACS at least two or three grades below the PCGS grade (See my Guide "All Coin Grading Services are Not Equal") and many time six or eight grades lower.

Modern Cameo Proofs are as plentiful as fleas on a hound dog. Since none have ever entered circulation, virtually all will grade MS68 or above. But Modern Cameo Proofs are very beautiful and are a favorite of certified coin scams. So the rarity of an MS70 modern coin is questionable and most collectors, including myself, can rarely tell the difference between a PCGS modern proof graded MS69 versus a proof graded MS70. HIGH VALUE MS70 MODERN COINS ARE A SHOPPING CHANNEL'S  INVENTION DESIGNED TO FLEECE THE INEXPERIENCED COLLECTOR THAT HAS NOT DONE THEIR RESEARCH. SHOPPING CHANNEL COINS WILL BE WORTH WHAT YOU PAID FOR THEM IN 100 OR 200 YEARS.

These Certified Coin Scams continue to reinvent themselves.  More and more are showing PCGS or NGC graded coins in the pictures, usually showing a rare and valuable date. But if you read carefully, the seller has the pick of dates and usually not all the coins are certified by PCGS or NGC.  However, recently I have seen several lots of PCGS (MS63) certified peace dollars usually for 1922P to 1926P (the most common dates no s or d mint marks) for a starting bid of $798.00 with a buy now price in the thousands of dollars. Since the Blue Sheet (Dealer's Wholesale Price for Certified Coins) for these coins is approx. $23.00 per coin for the 1922 thru 1925 and approx $56.00 for the 1926. The seller willl have a sucker on the hook if the seller only gets an openning bid which is five times the wholesale value. Always look at the completed listings for the same coins (graded by the same grading services) to judge what the true market value is.

A recent scam I saw on e-bay was a lot of 22 morgan dollars that were all shown as CERTIFIED MS65. The seller listed each date with an MS65 grade beside it. The list included a 1879 and 1879 O Morgan in MS65. The first clue to any buyer that this was a scam was that the seller gave pictures of only the common date which were all graded by PCGS (one of the top four) NOT THE RARE DATES. Interestingly enough the seller did not give pictures of the rarer dates in the lot only the common dates. When repeated bidders asked if the lot was all PCGS graded coins the seller repeatedly dodged the question. The seller's listing had a no return policy. I hope for the buyer's benefit that he received all PCGS coins, but I would be willing to bet that only the few (four) coins picutured were PCGS graded and the vast majority are third tier grading services WORTH SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN PCGS GRADED COINS. DO NOT BUY LOTS OF CERTIFIED COINS UNLESS YOU KNOW FOR SURE THE GRADING SERVICE FOR EVERY COIN IN THE LOT AND CAN REVIEW PICTURES OF THE MOST VALUABLE COINS IN THE LOT. VARIATIONS OF THE OLD BAIT AND SWITCH TACTICS ARE VERY POPULAR  ON E-BAY.  YOU ARE LED TO BELIEVE YOU ARE RECEIVING PCGS OR NGC GRADED COINS BUT WILL INVARIABLY RECEIVE LOW CLASS GRADING SERVICE COINS. BEWARE OF THE WORDING OF LISTINGS.

Like everything else in this life, if it seems to good to be true it probably is. Please see my other guides on "buying and selling coins on e-bay", "coin grading services are not all equal", "ungraded coins on ebay", and "cleaned coins on ebay". If this guide was helpfull please click yes below. Thanks peacedollarguy