atkinsons selling cleaned coins

[HawkHybrid]

I received an 1881s half sovereign from atkinsons.

it was sold as an 1881 any mintmark half sovereign with pictures.

(the cleaning is not half as obvious on their pics, just a few

scratches)

 

is it common/correct for atkinsons to sell dated cleaned coins without

stating it clearly as cleaned?

 

HH

[Clens92]

I've really gone off Atkinsons lately.  Been buying off them for a couple of years, albeit it irregularly.

I ordered a $20 Double Eagle - it was advertised as "The coin pictured is the exact coin you will receive."  It wasn't - what they meant was, 'oh, we meant the exact year'.

I've ordered two pre-owned silver proofs from them.  One was fine, the other had grease marks, fingerprints and milkspotting.

 

 

The coin you received is definitely not the coin that they used for the pictures.  This is my biggest gripe with Atkinsons - they use stock photos and pass them off as photos of the actual coin. 

 

Moan like hell and you should be able to get a refund - you paid a premium for a specific date, so it's not as if you've paid for bullion from HGM.

[sovereignsteve]

If they are selling individual coins for a collector's premium, they should have correct photos, accurately state condition or have a "bullion, take what you get" disclaimer.

[HawkHybrid]

mine was advertised similar to the following:

https://atkinsonsbullion.com/pre-owned/dated-sovereigns/victoria-young-head-shield-1838-1887/pre-owned-1872-uk-victorian-shield-half-gold-sov

 

I received the exact coin that was pictured when I bought,

but the picture only showed a few scratches. mine has

clear surface scratching across ~3/4 of the obverse. no

obvious cleaning on the reverse.

 

HH

[sovereignsteve]

That one looks cleaned.

If the photo of the coin is the exact one you received, you are probably on dodgy ground, you should be able to return but may have to pay postage.

If the photo is correct but of insufficient quality to judge quality, beware. I would suggest phoning for a better evaluation.

[HighlandTiger]

Not wishing to state the bleeding obvious but when you are buying from any bullion company be it HGM or Atkinsons or such like you should always expect the odd scratch or cleaned coin. (lots of bullion dealers clean their coins). If you want a collectable coin don't buy from bullion dealers on the cheap. Go to a coin dealer and pay a massive premium for them instead.

I still don't understand this continual moaning about the condition of coins from bullion dealers. You have been warned time and time again that you won't get perfection and yet you still buy from them and then moan

The mind boggles. .......

[Kman]

21 minutes ago, HawkHybrid said:

mine was advertised similar to the following:

https://atkinsonsbullion.com/pre-owned/dated-sovereigns/victoria-young-head-shield-1838-1887/pre-owned-1872-uk-victorian-shield-half-gold-sov

Not the best example to give because that looks cleaned

[Clens92]

7 minutes ago, HighlandTiger said:

 

Not wishing to state the bleeding obvious but when you are buying from any bullion company be it HGM or Atkinsons or such like you should always expect the odd scratch or cleaned coin. (lots of bullion dealers clean their coins). If you want a collectable coin don't buy from bullion dealers on the cheap. Go to a coin dealer and pay a massive premium for them instead.

 

I still don't understand this continual moaning about the condition of coins from bullion dealers. You have been warned time and time again that you won't get perfection and yet you still buy from them and then moan

 

The mind boggles. .......

Atkinsons charge specific premiums for specific years... The even call themselves 'coin specialists'.  And their premiums are massive on certain coins.

Completely agree with you on HGM +3% products, but once you start adding premiums that are excessive to spot, you lose the ability to say 'it's just bullion'. 

[Roy]

Totally agree with HT. 

But let's not fight over it eh? Those halcyon days of shields and proofs @ 3/4% spot have sadly gone.

You don't have to buy from there. Me, I buy from Arshi. 'Sold as bullion @ spot' Can't argue with that. 

[sovereignsteve]

Once you start selling individually named coins at collectable premiums, you lose the ability to say it's bullion. If you are describing the coin or providing actual photos, you are subjecting yourself to the advertising and distance selling regulations.

I would agree though, that buying from these numismatic "amateurs" such as Atties is frought with problems and it has to be caveat emptor.

[Roy]

@sovereignsteve I'm curious, would this have ever happened with Chards?

[HawkHybrid]

I'm pretty confident it's the same coin, there can't be that many

1881s halves with similar wear across the coin (rated r2). the

example was for wording, it's says no where on the page that

it's sold as bullion.

bad example, it's more like this one but with a few more scratches

https://atkinsonsbullion.com/pre-owned/dated-sovereigns/dated-half-sovereigns/pre-owned-1885-uk-victorian-shield-half-gold-sover

 

if atkinsons singles out a coin to sell separately with it's own price,

description and picture, would it lead people to think that there is

a difference between the singled out coin and other mixed year

coins? I'm not buying lucky dip here. as I pointed out, there's a lot

more scratches than the photo would suggest.(a little disappointed

that the photo is all buyers are likely to have to judge the coin yet

in this case I feel the photo is not a great representation)

 

I'll probably still keep the coin.

 

HH

[sovereignsteve]

Just re-read your OP, I didn't notice the description before: " 1881 any mintmark half sovereign" so you're already in the lucky dip region.

It may well be a stock photo but as you say, they're not exactly common, could only be Sydney or Melbourne though, both pretty rare.

They don't specify a grade or condition nor state the photo is of the actual coin, so they haven't really lied to you.

This is really the problem with these bullion dealers posing as amateur numismatic retailers. As I have said, it's a minefield. You can pick up some absolute bargains but will also have to contend with the chaff.

I don't know what you paid but you may well have had a good buy regardless of the condition.

[morezone]

If I were them and selling specific years/coins/types at additional premiums to "lucky dip", then I would have nice clear pics of the actual coin. 4 would be a minimum with a full on and an angled for each side. It only takes a few mins with a permanent photography area setup.

Sometime their pics are clear and other times they're tiny. It must be deliberate since it's not always consistent.

I don't think there's any excuse really. Snap snap catalogue upload. 10 mins tops which is covered by the extra premium they're charging.

[sovereignsteve]

25 minutes ago, Roy said:

@sovereignsteve I'm curious, would this have ever happened with Chards?

Unless they have their new website up and running, they don't sell collectable sovereigns like this. You would ask for a price on a certain coin and they would tell you the grade. They do grade conservatively so you wouldn't be disappointed but they would charge you full retail price.

[Murph]

I phoned them about this issue last week as i bought an indian head and received a different date from the picture that was in much worse condition.

As i was about to buy another coin from them I wanted to check if the pictured coin was the one I'd receive.  They did say if they are selling it as a specific year it was more than likely the coin pictured but that they could supply pictures if required.  I took the gamble on the first young head shiled back as I thought it might sell while I was waiting for pictures.  Luckily it was either the coin pictured or one in at least as good condition.

 

[Murph]

6 hours ago, sovereignsteve said:

 

This is really the problem with these bullion dealers posing as amateur numismatic retailers. As I have said, it's a minefield. You can pick up some absolute bargains but will also have to contend with the chaff.

I don't know what you paid but you may well have had a good buy regardless of the condition.

 

I think they had most of the halves at £149, maybe one or at most two at a little more.  Most were in fairly poor condition which put me off as I won't bother buying if they have been obviously cleaned or have significant scratches.