Comments about Neutral Numismatic Dealers

I have also had a few less than perfect experiences (in terms of grading) with Fox Valley Coin Exchange.

FOOTHILL coins. I bought some coins from them and when I received the package, there was nothing in it but a catalog. I called and they told me I MUST BE MISTAKEN. They never made mistakes. Needless to say I fought with them for 6 months. 10 years later I still don't have my money or coins!

After placing an order for 10 pounds of foreign coins (and paying a premium over my normal price elsewhere) I received what appeared to be floor sweepings and more culls than I have ever seen in one lot before. Their ad said they would also put in 10 BU crowns to add value to this 'deal'. They were true to their word on that. There were 10 crowns thrown in (without 2x2s or other protection of any kind). Needless to say the highest grade I received was XF. The BU in the ad must have stood for Beat Up. I wrote a complaint letter to both Coin World and Foothill Coins. Coin World responded immediately. Foothill Coins has never responded. Needless to say I will never again purchase ANYTHING from Foothill Coins.

I've also had negative experiences with Foothill Coins (got stuck with a damaged coin which wasn't worth returning)

The quality from the Coin Depot [Info about company deleted] is sporadic. Some orders are great and others are very poor. It seems they are having problems with their quality control. I have yet to have an unresolved problem, but returning items that are advertised as one thing and received as another (either grade or item itself) gets very tiring.

I also have seen a lot of rip-offs in the mail order business. I finally, after at least 100 mail orders, found a few very good business. In the back of Coins and Coin Prices, there is an advertisment called, Good Deals from Bob Kelly. He has a great price list and the coins are always better than he advertises. If he does not have it, he'll send you your money back instead of giving you crap, accompaning a discount for your next order. Best of all, after reviewing 1000's of dealers, he has the best prices!

His coins are okay sometimes, like a nice 1868 Shield Nickel MS details, net AU because of corrosion with nice die cracks and an XF-40 1888 3 cent nickel, but other times his coins are iffy, and that is all IMHO. I've had had mixed results from him.

I ordered some early Lincoln cents about 15 years ago that were supposed to be uncirculated but they were cleaned XFs.

I had mixed results with Bob Kelly.
Here's the ones I can remember off the top of my head. I kept all of these, as at the time I didn't know better.
1828 half cent choice XF $45
actually sharpness of VF30 and polished, with the buffing compound still on the coin (this fooled me, as it hid the brassy color)
this is a $10 coin, maybe less
1835 half cent choice XF $45
looks like a genuine commercial grade XF45 to me. Kinda dark, one small gouge in the obverse field. Grades EF40 using Breen's photo guide (that's a good thing)
This seems like a fair buy.
1851 half cent choice XF (forgot the price)
honest color, but closer to VF30 than XF45
paid too much
1851 large cent XF (forgot the price)
odd dark red color, probably artificial. Closer to VF30.
paid much too much
1943-D cent gem UNC proof like $10
a real bargain! 1943-D don't come proof like & the obverse is spot free. Might slab above MS65. A white patch on the reverse is the only distraction.
A bargain!
1835 bust dime VF30 (forgot the price)
Nice original VF30
A fair price, as I recollect.
Looks like about 50-50 on the coin quality. I came up losers on the coin value, although that's partly my fault for not knowing which coins should have been returned.

A few years ago, I bought 4 supposedly uncirculated Seated Liberty coins from Bob Kelly Rare Coins. Within 6 months or so they had turned black. I contacted him and he denied any actions on his part to cause this and refused to take the coins back. I sent the coins to ANA with a complaint. They verified that the coins had been dipped but couldn't prove who did it. So nothing happened. I also complained to Coin World where his ad was placed. Again, they couldn't prove who did it so no action.
I have never dipped coins. It seems strange that the only 4 silver coins I ever bought from Kelly all had the same problem. To me it was pretty significant circumstantial evidence.
I have never again bought coins from Bob Kelly because of this and I never will in the future. He was doing business at the time from Houston, TX. I think he is now is Southern California as I still see ads using his style of logo.
BTW, this is the only time I ever filed a complaint with ANA over a dealer. I have been an ANA member for 25 years.

Bob Kelly's Rare Coins - I haven't ordered from him in about 6 months but the coins I have received from him in the past have all been well graded and honestly represented. I intend to order some Indian Head pennies from him in the near future and don't anticipate any problems.

Littleton Coin Company is ethical for the most part, but markets to unknowledgable people with the corresponding price markups. As a person 'in the know' I would not deal with them.

Littleton, yes, on the COINS list people have been saying they stink, and once I saw a mail ad advertising. They advertised: SAVE 70%!! 2-COIN SET OF LIBERTY WALKING HALF DOLLAR AND MERCURY DIME ALL IN A SPECIAL FOLDER!! ONLY 2.95!! ACT NOW, WAS $10.95, ALL TO INTRODUCE YOU TO OUR APPROVAL SERVICE!!! (So On)