Are the ” offset ” error Washington & Adams gold dollar coins real errors or are they ” man-made fakes ” ?
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Information about gold and other precious metals
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Previous post: How Much Are My Gold Coins Worth?
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I will say this about advertisers in Coin World and Numismatic News… do not buy coins from the multi-page advertisers unless they are US Mint products in the original packaging (proof sets, etc.). And I agree you should not buy coins on ebay as a novice collector. I have read far too many sad stories about collectors who started out buying coins on ebay only to find out many $$$ later that they overpaid horribly. But if you paid $50 for 4 Morgan silver dollars, and they are authentic (not reproductions), you did all right.
All mail-order dealers who advertise in those two papers will offer a return policy if you’re not satisfied, but there are many advertisers who will sell overpriced junk and hope the buyer is so uninformed that he doesn’t know enough to return it for a refund.
It’s difficult to recommend specific dealers, not knowing what type of coins you’re interested in.
You’ll be OK buying coins from the US Mint, and they sure have plenty of different things to sell. But I would urge you not to do so in the hopes of making a profit. It’s great if it works out that way, but in my experience people who get into coins hoping to make money do not succeed.
You might consider joining the American Numismatic Association and take advantage of their huge library, where you can borrow books through the mail for the cost of postage only. They also offer (at a cost) courses you can take to help you increase your knowledge. There may even be a coin club in your area that you could join (and the ANA would have listings), which would most likely put you in touch with people who could help you get going with collecting while avoiding the pitfalls.
One more recommendation, which you can do easily, would be to start reading the message board at the PCGS site , and also use the search feature to go through older messages. There is much knowledge to be had there, and they are friendly to new collectors with questions.
I believe the so-called offset error are a very minor thing and are just the way the coins show up sometimes. There has to be some play in the minting process. When a person can’t find the real errors they tend to break out the microscope and go for the Minor ones that will be forgotten in a few years. Just like the 1955 poor mans double die, it is almost extinct now. In the 1960’s they were selling like hot cakes. It is best to keep away from eBay unless one really knows his coins. The old saying buy the book before the coins is very true. One also needs a photo type grading guide. It seems you cant get out but you should look into a subscription of Coin World or Numismatic News or both. They are weekly coin papers. They are full of ads mostly from honest folk. Coin World will even help you if you get taken advantage of by a dealer advertising in their paper. You can try,,,,, and. This is just a few from coin Worlds web site locator section of their coin paper. I have dealt with some of them but I am just giving you a list, I do not recommend anyone. I usually buy local so i can see the coin. Also not all professionally graded coins are grade using the same standards and I have found some mistakes made by the top 2. Hope this helps.