For years expert hobbyists and coin dealers were used to giving the non-collector or amateur the bad news about their face- or low-value coins. They would check the Greysheet or Red Book for values and show the person or customer the true worth of their lots.
Rarely would people argue when given the bad news.
But now, in the digital era, content creators and sellers on eBay, TikTok, Etsy and more have hyped common face value coins to such extent that non-collectors scoff at or even argue when told the real value of their so-called errors or faux varieties.
Facebook top contributors say the same things each day: No value. Face value. Buy a Red Book. Or worse, give a snarky reply because, simply, they are exhausted answering the same questions about value.
And here is the kicker: The value of the hobby is the hobby, not the value. Non-collectors on social media are all about the value.
TikTok Click Bait
Videos like this are immensely misleading, showcasing a mule dime/cent as if we can find one in pocket change. You’d have better odds with lighting striking you twice.
eBay Inflated Listings
All of these thousand-dollar “best offer” coins either have face value, damage, or cuds.
Etsy Exaggerations
Here are three sample scam listings. One has a filled mint mark, another an uncirculated modern S mint mark cent, and another a few grams of weight above 3.11 for the denomination.
Folks who think they have struck it rich should check the “sold” and “Buy It Now” listings for such coins. Let’s just do that for the eBay listings above:
Non-collectors elevating worth over hobby should do the same process as I did above to learn the true value (or face value) of their misleading strike-it-rich coins.
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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.
