My first guide written on this subject was such a hit, that I decided to write another one and get deeper on how these scam artists work.

You see, in ESSENCE, selling UNSEARCHED bags of coins is against EBay policies if you read deep enough. Basically these crooked sellers are supposedly selling US currrency without the knowledge that all the coins in the bags are real and not counterfeit. By federal law, if a buyer was to find even 1 single fake coin amidst all the supposed unsearched coins, the seller would be looking at a MANDATORY $10,000.00 dollar fine, and up to 3 years in prison. And EBay states

"eBay does not permit the sale of coins or paper money that are fraudulent or improperly described. Sellers who knowingly fail to disclose information about the authenticity of coins or paper money, alterations to coins or paper money, or other information that might have a material impact on the coin or paper money value may be reported to the American Numismatic Association (ANA)"

Now in reading that, how can a seller be following EBay policies if they dont even know what they are selling.. So if you get a fake coin in a lot, one call to the feds or your local authority will definately even the table.

Another important aspect to remember when dealing with these supposed unsearched lots is the story lines behind them. They are usually the same in content but not text. They always bought some HUGE lot of coin either in barrels, baskets, or beer kegs, and they seemed to be hidden where "NO ON COULD FIND IT", and the people they bought it from are for some reason ALWAYS over 70 :) How many 70 year old people keep a 700 pound beer keg in there garage filled with coins and think it isnt noticeable! GET REAL.. And at 70 years old, you have to think they probably moved a few times in there life, so how did they move those coins without anyone knowing..

AND here is a HUGE KICKER people dont think about. All these coins are prior to 1964 of course, because that is supposedly when the old guy or lady stopped putting coins in the kegs.. I guess they just got bored in 1964 after filling 4 beer kegs full of coins to the top and just gave up on it., but they still wanted to hide it right! Also, how many people were rich enough thru the Great Depression of the 30's to accumulate 700 - 1200 pounds of coins and not spend them.... Ask you grandparents about that, and they will just LAUGH at you and tell you how unbelieveable that really is. I guess there is always the powerball chance that some rich guy in the 30's devoted all his time into putting coins into a beer keg "that wasnt even invited yet" until 1964, then just gave up on it because it wasnt cool anymore, held on to all these coins for 45 years, then decided one day to sell them to a guys selling on EBay because he needs a new hip..... It could happen... :)

Let me tell you the TRUTH now, because I wanted part 2 of this guide to be more to the point then reflecting on tactics sellers use to trap you into the scams and false illusions of grangure. 35 years I have dealt solely in coins and precious metal, and I have been a member of the largest and most prestige clubs around for a long time. These bulk lots are nothing more than coin dealers junk coins that accumulate at brick and mortar stores, and sold at coin shows and through connections in sheer bulk once a year to people all over the country. Let me say that in my 35 years I have seen a few large estate auction that would blow your mind in bulk, but I have NEVER SEEN a estate sell, or a private seller come in with 4 beer kegs full of coins for sell and say they havent been search, and all coins are prior to 1964... It is ridiculous to think that is even possible. If someone was a fanatic about keeping change like that, it would be filled with coins to date, bottomline.

Here is how the coins are purchase initially. Dealers by in bulk and sort and search the coins.. The coins that are kepted are sleeved, and the rest go into canvas bags with each denomination sorted seperately. dimes, nickel, etc.... brick and mortar stores let these bags build and keep them on hand for about 6-12 months just incase a potential buyer comes in looking for a specific date, and let them search. After 6-12months and the sheer bulk is building up, the put together these huge lots, and sell them at spot weight, that is why the dealers sort them into respective denominations! SO the perosn who buys them in this huge bulk will usually have 4 or 5 contacts and do this once a year, and will usually have the ability to get 2000 lbs of coins if they have the buying power dirt cheap.

Now your UNSEARCHED LOT SALER, knowing that all the coins are prior to 1964 because they are sorted, dumpes all these coins into some ellaborate barrel or drum and makes up their next sales pitch and takes these ridiculous pictures of huge drums full of coins or beer kegs with the tops cut off of them. Now these sellers KNOW, there is NO reason for them to search these coins, because the PROFESSIONALS they bought them from have fine tooth combed them all. SO know, they haven't OFFICIALLY searched the coins, so in their mind, it is legitimate to list as unsearched! But you will ALWAYS notice, that the coins they paid more for, there is ALWAYS less of in the lots..Morgan dollars, Bust dollars, and anything with high silver content. You get alot of pennies, nickels and dimes, fair amount of quarters and a few dollars, and that is how it goes. But then these sellers always have another pitch to grab your attention, and they offer random gold coins, proof sets, silver certificates etc...... and tell you that random buyers will get these random coins in their lots...

Another funny twist to the ADDED BONUS part is that these guys will always list these GREAT coins you might get, but then restrict your buying lots to 15 at a time once a week.. And right after they sell the last lot, then some guys pops up saying he found gold in the feedback... Odd how that happens.. because if it was truly random, and the first person that bought the lot got the GOLD coin and put it in feedback, how many of those lots do you think they will sell after that. Once again I say get real!

On one hand these guys are probably honest in saying the lots are unsearched "BY THEM", so I guess you cant really say anything about that, but know that the story behind how they got them is usually so unbelieveble and drawn out, that people give up trying to read it all and just gamble. Like I said in my first guide, this type of scam is just like gambling, these sellers are going to bait you in ocassionally with a good coin here or there to keep you coming back, but in the end, the house ALWAYS profits, because that is buisness. Read feedbacks, negatives and NUETRALS, and get a feel for the person you are dealing with, because if you dont, the money you are sending is probably buying the seller his next keg of beer to empty before you fills it up for the next fairy tale! Good luck guys, and I hope this help even one person in dealing with these types of sellers!

Till then.................................