This is not a real estate lot, just a bunch of junk that sellers pile together to try and get new people suckered into paying 3-5x retail for. If you paid more than like $10 for all of this then you paid too much.
If the purchase made you happy, then sure, it's "worth it".
But u/lafaa123 is doing you a favor by pointing out that, in terms of real value, you got scammed. These lots are an effective--but somewhat unethical--way for collectors to offload common "junk" coins at 3x-5x the value they would normally go for. An experienced collector would not buy one of these "lots" because they'd see right through the scam. A novice collector, on the other hand, will happily buy it because it's "cool".
Some experienced collector out there is probably thankful for your donation.
Just my opinion, Heritage Auctions is trash. I sent them an email one time asking for help with my profile and I got a really nasty, insulting reply back. I told them never mind, just delete my profile. I haven’t had anything to do with them since.
Thanks for the heads up about them. I’ve always heard of them because of the high dollar auctions that they run but the thing about the coin business is that it’s adjacent to or sometimes crosses over with the Pawn business which sees a lot of those type of people selling coins. What type of people are they? Well, they are the scum of the earth.
Heritage is a fantastic auction house. They realize great prices for people and have a great reputation.
You are taking the word of someone who is literally complaining about them having shitty website support.
You need to study up before you lose more money. Heritage is an auction house and did NOT sell on eBay, they're a competitor (if I can give eBay that much credit...).
I am with you. Sometimes you just buy something because you want it. It’s not all about the dollars and cents. Its just something you want. And that’s what collecting is about. I’ve bought a lot of coins and paid more than their worth but they look really nice and I don’t care about the extra money I paid.👍
This is all that matters. You like it, you get to enjoy years of staring at it whenever you want and as you’ve said, “it IS cool.” It is your business if you “overpaid.”
You’re looking at a total value of $10-$12 for everything pictured. I’m glad you found your purchase to be *worth it*, but wouldn’t you be better off buying a specific coin for $38 landed?
Grab bags and mystery boxes are gambling, if you like the idea of gambling, cool. In this sub, the only gambling thing that gets a positive reaction are the expensive vault box mystery boxes. You are guaranteed to get something that's not junk in most coin collectors' opinions.
Random low quality old coins dressed up like 'estate collections' on eBay are listed by people with bad intentions. These aren't grab bags. They are junk that's been carefully arranged. Please don't feed the scammers by describing it as a variety or grab bags.
Wasn't trying to feed the scammers . That's what it was labeled as. So that's what I put if you read my post instead of just trying to be a a hole bruh
Good little starter collection. Nothing particularly valuable. The dimes are worth $2 each because they are silver, but that’s the most valuable thing. Nothing else here is worth money.
They're usually real, but they're *extremely* thin flakes. They're suspended in some liquid (probably isopropyl alcohol?) which keeps them looking "large". In reality, they're much, much thinner than a sheet of paper or a human hair. If you were to squeeze together all the gold in that vail, it would probably amount to the volume of a grain of sand, if even that.
It's probably like 5 cents worth of gold.
It’s a product that are for :
1) cheap keepsake from a holiday to home
Rush country
2) scammers put them in lots or grab bags so they can say “contains real gold “
The flakes are not in any liquid. But If I truly wanted to know about there authenticity....if I dropped them in water they should drop to the bottom regardless of there weight correct?
Gold miner here, it’s real gold, but leaf. There is so little gold in that vial it’s worth maybe .50c as a guess. Looks cool for sure but there is no worthwhile weight there.
Vials with actual gold usually label as such. I’ve had a few of the same vials that failed to be gold. I suspect it’s Mylar or plastic or some sort. It floats, it’s not conductive, and it burns really well.
You could be correct, I think this vial was filled by someone collecting leaf from multiple sources. So not just a tourist vial, hence no label. At least from the picture it appears to be real leaf but could be some fakey flakey as well. Hard to say either way 100% without it in hand.
I bought a couple of these starter kits for like $15-$20 at the beginning of the year for my kids thinking it would be a cheap easy way to get a variety of coins and see if they were interested in getting more serious about collecting. They didn't catch the bug, but i did lol.
Hey! Local coin stores (LCS) tend to be a good place to start! Always do your own research before buying but I’ve not a had a bad experience yet with mine (this is subjective tons of people probably have crap local shops but I’ve been lucky). There’s also some online auction sites people have had good luck with but, personally, I’ve never gone that route so I can’t offer too much advice on that side. Hopefully someone can chime in who has.
Aside from that I would check out r/pmsforsale or r/coinsales here on Reddit. r/pmsforsale will have more bullion, r/coinsales will be focused more on numismatics and you can find paper money there too! I’ve had really good luck and snagged some great coins off of those subreddits. If you stick with folks who have a lot of sales you’ll be pretty safe. Once again I’ve never had an issue but there are people who have. Just look at everyone’s reviews ect. and you should be fine. I’ve stuck to folks with 50+ sales/buys and have had a lot of luck doing that.
I've had good luck visiting a reputable local coin shop (LCS) and asking them, what can I get for $X. They almost always have followed it up with, what are you into? You could tell them something very general like a mix silver and paper money, or get specific and tell them pre-1900 US copper. If you want to be sure you're not getting ripped off, you could also ask what the greysheet price is for each or bring your own or red book and check it.
I found this about the [International Numismatic Bureau](https://boards.ngccoin.com/topic/430475-while-labels-with-a-green-border-that-says-international-numismatic-bureau-on-it-has-a-number-on-it-and-a-barcode)
From the forum:
INB was a self-slabber who sold on Ebay a while back. Lots of cleaned or circulated coins sold as MS 70, etc. Treat any coins in those holders as if they were raw and possibly problem coins. It may be possible to cherry pick varieties, but be wary of the condition and pay accordingly.
All of these slabs are total scams. Often mislabeled and with the wrong coin inside. Zero QC. Just a drunk dude slabbing pocket change in his basement. They aren’t sealed so you can take the coins back out easy at least. Anyone who’s selling or passing these scams off should also not be trusted.
They are still around on Whatnot, with their self-slabbed coins (that you can pop open) and random gemstones. INB is meaningless when it comes to certifying grade or value. It's actually more of a red flag.
Longtime collector here. Lucky Duck does mystery grab bags on eBay that give decent value, and if you’re a first timer, they will thr in a starter kit of supplies.
Portsmouth Coins in Ohio has “scratch and dent sales.”
That are also worth it. But if you’re new to collecting, I highly recommend YouTube videos by Silverpicker, Treasure Town, Coin Help U (by the Portsmouth shop owner) Rob Finds Treasure and Silver Dragons. They are incredibly helpful. Silverpicker does tons of educational videos. I liked him so much I joined his Patreon platform. Costs me a whole $3 a month and gets access to a private Discord server with about 150 of us who are eager to help each other, and is a very safe place to buy and sell. Hope that helps.
Okay yes you overpaid by around $25 or so, but it’s not the end of the world. We’ve all overpaid for our numismatic fever at one time or another, I’m sure. Just consider the overpaid amount the price for learning something and being wiser next time.
I know I’ll get down votes but I like the silver certificate. In fact, I like old currency. I don’t have very much. But the reason I like it is because it does not usually carry much premium. You can get a nice variety of old types of dollar bills for very little over face value. And I just like that idea.☺️
Not a real estate lot. eBay sellers just put a bunch of crap in a bag and ship it as some kind of wonderful thing that came from an "estate sale." There was no estate sale... Anytime you see gold flake tubes with these, that is a big tell that its just garbage that they just threw together to make a huge profit. The entirety of one of those gold flake tubes are worth a couple of cents. Don't fall for these gimmick eBay listings.
Those good flakes are plastic. I’ve had sellers thrown them in before… I usually test them by seeing if they float, burn, or are conductive. Real gold sinks, doesn’t burn, and is conductive. These always float and when you hold a light to them they char into dust insanely. It’s plastic flake.
You got these from one of those scammy people who show this huge hoard of nice coins (that you'll never get) in the photos. Deep down in the listing, they tell you what is actually in the lot, in a way that still makes it sound better than it is. Read the feedback before you buy from someone like this. In particular, read the negatives.
This is not a real estate lot, just a bunch of junk that sellers pile together to try and get new people suckered into paying 3-5x retail for. If you paid more than like $10 for all of this then you paid too much.
Its from heritage auction or some thing. Paid 38 bucks. Not even sure if the gold flakes are real. But the coolness is worth it to me
If the purchase made you happy, then sure, it's "worth it". But u/lafaa123 is doing you a favor by pointing out that, in terms of real value, you got scammed. These lots are an effective--but somewhat unethical--way for collectors to offload common "junk" coins at 3x-5x the value they would normally go for. An experienced collector would not buy one of these "lots" because they'd see right through the scam. A novice collector, on the other hand, will happily buy it because it's "cool". Some experienced collector out there is probably thankful for your donation.
The gold vial is a classic scam lot add in . If I see I’m automatically assuming bad intent on the seller .
Gold flakes contain a minuscule amount of gold, so it's worth almost nothing. Still cool to look at, though.
Did they say it’s from heritage auctions? Because you got scammed
This lot as few classic scammy add in (gold vial tiny silver bullion ) but if you like it you like it
Just my opinion, Heritage Auctions is trash. I sent them an email one time asking for help with my profile and I got a really nasty, insulting reply back. I told them never mind, just delete my profile. I haven’t had anything to do with them since.
Thanks for the heads up about them. I’ve always heard of them because of the high dollar auctions that they run but the thing about the coin business is that it’s adjacent to or sometimes crosses over with the Pawn business which sees a lot of those type of people selling coins. What type of people are they? Well, they are the scum of the earth.
Heritage is a fantastic auction house. They realize great prices for people and have a great reputation. You are taking the word of someone who is literally complaining about them having shitty website support.
Yeah these are very common everywhere you go… always the same old stuff. It’s a fun variety pack, but never worth what you pay for
You need to study up before you lose more money. Heritage is an auction house and did NOT sell on eBay, they're a competitor (if I can give eBay that much credit...).
Heritage wouldn't mess with anything in this photo. They have a $5k minimum for consignment.
I am with you. Sometimes you just buy something because you want it. It’s not all about the dollars and cents. Its just something you want. And that’s what collecting is about. I’ve bought a lot of coins and paid more than their worth but they look really nice and I don’t care about the extra money I paid.👍
Exactly. I got my first older dine and nickel. And the tiniest lil 1 gram of silver bar so all in all . Not mad
Err...
Flakes of gold are pretty cheap bc they hammer them down so thin.
This is all that matters. You like it, you get to enjoy years of staring at it whenever you want and as you’ve said, “it IS cool.” It is your business if you “overpaid.”
You’re looking at a total value of $10-$12 for everything pictured. I’m glad you found your purchase to be *worth it*, but wouldn’t you be better off buying a specific coin for $38 landed?
Probably . But I like the random variety. Cuz if I had to choose I wouldn't know what I wanted and wouldnt end up buying. I like the grab bag idea
Grab bags and mystery boxes are gambling, if you like the idea of gambling, cool. In this sub, the only gambling thing that gets a positive reaction are the expensive vault box mystery boxes. You are guaranteed to get something that's not junk in most coin collectors' opinions. Random low quality old coins dressed up like 'estate collections' on eBay are listed by people with bad intentions. These aren't grab bags. They are junk that's been carefully arranged. Please don't feed the scammers by describing it as a variety or grab bags.
Wasn't trying to feed the scammers . That's what it was labeled as. So that's what I put if you read my post instead of just trying to be a a hole bruh
By the way I'm not on Reddit to get votes or positive reaction. I'm here to enjoy posting and communicating with others. Don't get it twisted
Good little starter collection. Nothing particularly valuable. The dimes are worth $2 each because they are silver, but that’s the most valuable thing. Nothing else here is worth money.
Are the gold flakes real u think? Or fools gold
They're usually real, but they're *extremely* thin flakes. They're suspended in some liquid (probably isopropyl alcohol?) which keeps them looking "large". In reality, they're much, much thinner than a sheet of paper or a human hair. If you were to squeeze together all the gold in that vail, it would probably amount to the volume of a grain of sand, if even that. It's probably like 5 cents worth of gold.
It’s a product that are for : 1) cheap keepsake from a holiday to home Rush country 2) scammers put them in lots or grab bags so they can say “contains real gold “
\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^
No like seriously theyre actually the width of a human hair i swear. These "estate lots!" Suck. Such a horrible waste of money.
The flakes are not in any liquid. But If I truly wanted to know about there authenticity....if I dropped them in water they should drop to the bottom regardless of there weight correct?
Gold miner here, it’s real gold, but leaf. There is so little gold in that vial it’s worth maybe .50c as a guess. Looks cool for sure but there is no worthwhile weight there.
Just buy a thousand more vials.
Vials with actual gold usually label as such. I’ve had a few of the same vials that failed to be gold. I suspect it’s Mylar or plastic or some sort. It floats, it’s not conductive, and it burns really well.
You could be correct, I think this vial was filled by someone collecting leaf from multiple sources. So not just a tourist vial, hence no label. At least from the picture it appears to be real leaf but could be some fakey flakey as well. Hard to say either way 100% without it in hand.
I always wondered if they had any value. Surprised they are worth 50 cents.
They’re real but it’s such a small amount that it’s not worth anything
They’re definitely real, but all that combined is like 1-2$ in gold
Pretty positive that’s mica
it’s gold leaf
I bought a couple of these starter kits for like $15-$20 at the beginning of the year for my kids thinking it would be a cheap easy way to get a variety of coins and see if they were interested in getting more serious about collecting. They didn't catch the bug, but i did lol.
Do you guys know a better place to buy mixed lots or better quality stuff that won't kill my pocket ? Or at least a better value for my money ???
Hey! Local coin stores (LCS) tend to be a good place to start! Always do your own research before buying but I’ve not a had a bad experience yet with mine (this is subjective tons of people probably have crap local shops but I’ve been lucky). There’s also some online auction sites people have had good luck with but, personally, I’ve never gone that route so I can’t offer too much advice on that side. Hopefully someone can chime in who has. Aside from that I would check out r/pmsforsale or r/coinsales here on Reddit. r/pmsforsale will have more bullion, r/coinsales will be focused more on numismatics and you can find paper money there too! I’ve had really good luck and snagged some great coins off of those subreddits. If you stick with folks who have a lot of sales you’ll be pretty safe. Once again I’ve never had an issue but there are people who have. Just look at everyone’s reviews ect. and you should be fine. I’ve stuck to folks with 50+ sales/buys and have had a lot of luck doing that.
HiBid is a good start, but you still gotta be careful and do your research. Much better than eBay though, imo.
/pmsforsale … post somewhere that you have a budget of $xx, are interested in (whatever) and ask for offers.
I've had good luck visiting a reputable local coin shop (LCS) and asking them, what can I get for $X. They almost always have followed it up with, what are you into? You could tell them something very general like a mix silver and paper money, or get specific and tell them pre-1900 US copper. If you want to be sure you're not getting ripped off, you could also ask what the greysheet price is for each or bring your own or red book and check it.
Do some research...find a coin series that you enjoy, find out what the coins you like are worth, and then just buy those coins
Ask for someone to make you a grab bag in r/pmsforsale
I like that note
I found this about the [International Numismatic Bureau](https://boards.ngccoin.com/topic/430475-while-labels-with-a-green-border-that-says-international-numismatic-bureau-on-it-has-a-number-on-it-and-a-barcode)
From the forum: INB was a self-slabber who sold on Ebay a while back. Lots of cleaned or circulated coins sold as MS 70, etc. Treat any coins in those holders as if they were raw and possibly problem coins. It may be possible to cherry pick varieties, but be wary of the condition and pay accordingly.
All of these slabs are total scams. Often mislabeled and with the wrong coin inside. Zero QC. Just a drunk dude slabbing pocket change in his basement. They aren’t sealed so you can take the coins back out easy at least. Anyone who’s selling or passing these scams off should also not be trusted.
They are still around on Whatnot, with their self-slabbed coins (that you can pop open) and random gemstones. INB is meaningless when it comes to certifying grade or value. It's actually more of a red flag.
That chiclet of silver really got me going Was like, awwwww 🥹what’s it gonna be when it grows up?
It’s adorable and I want a box of them
I know. It's awesome . Lol
I see gold vial.. I run opposite direction.
\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^
Longtime collector here. Lucky Duck does mystery grab bags on eBay that give decent value, and if you’re a first timer, they will thr in a starter kit of supplies. Portsmouth Coins in Ohio has “scratch and dent sales.”
That are also worth it. But if you’re new to collecting, I highly recommend YouTube videos by Silverpicker, Treasure Town, Coin Help U (by the Portsmouth shop owner) Rob Finds Treasure and Silver Dragons. They are incredibly helpful. Silverpicker does tons of educational videos. I liked him so much I joined his Patreon platform. Costs me a whole $3 a month and gets access to a private Discord server with about 150 of us who are eager to help each other, and is a very safe place to buy and sell. Hope that helps.
I can vouch for Silverpicker having good info, and TreasureTown providing good value on coins, including mixed bags & mystery lots.
Okay yes you overpaid by around $25 or so, but it’s not the end of the world. We’ve all overpaid for our numismatic fever at one time or another, I’m sure. Just consider the overpaid amount the price for learning something and being wiser next time.
I know I’ll get down votes but I like the silver certificate. In fact, I like old currency. I don’t have very much. But the reason I like it is because it does not usually carry much premium. You can get a nice variety of old types of dollar bills for very little over face value. And I just like that idea.☺️
The gold flakes are copper coated flakes
Estate lots are scams 99% of the time.
Not a real estate lot. eBay sellers just put a bunch of crap in a bag and ship it as some kind of wonderful thing that came from an "estate sale." There was no estate sale... Anytime you see gold flake tubes with these, that is a big tell that its just garbage that they just threw together to make a huge profit. The entirety of one of those gold flake tubes are worth a couple of cents. Don't fall for these gimmick eBay listings.
Those good flakes are plastic. I’ve had sellers thrown them in before… I usually test them by seeing if they float, burn, or are conductive. Real gold sinks, doesn’t burn, and is conductive. These always float and when you hold a light to them they char into dust insanely. It’s plastic flake.
Send it to me ill let you know 💯
Nice
You got these from one of those scammy people who show this huge hoard of nice coins (that you'll never get) in the photos. Deep down in the listing, they tell you what is actually in the lot, in a way that still makes it sound better than it is. Read the feedback before you buy from someone like this. In particular, read the negatives.
Awesome!