Richard Edwards Auction company Would not stand behind sale of mis-graded coin purchased at his online auction Greenville Ohio

I have bought many items from R Edwards Auction Company without incident and rcvd what I expected and more.

Anyone that buys a 3rd party graded coin needs to know that there are different standards and degrees of grading

between the numerous grading companies.  Some have poor reputations amongst dealers as to the grades they are known

to give a coin or note for that matter.  Some grade with added emphasis on physical appearance and others can be strictly technical. 

There are some that are a mix of both and unfortunately a few houses are in their own world and without naming any, can be so

overgraded that you only throw up for it.  Like one that only gives grades of MS-67!   If Richard Edwards sold one of those graded coins

should he be responsible for it's reported grade ?  How can he?  One could always try to offer to an auction house to pay them the commission  

that was due for the sale or a fair amount and cancel the purchase if a mistake or issue arises.  Not all houses would do this but a reputable ones

often would save the discredit in lieu of the settlement. 

In this case of a coin's conditon marked by hand, you are on your own and cannot follow such as the guide in this day and age. 

If you can't see the coin with your own eye, then you are rolling the dice. 

If it's from a well trusted company and still secrley slabbed or packaged then you can sleep a little better.   If/when a coin is graded

eg an MS66, you had better know the grading company and trust them.  Even the top companies make errors and some state they

guarantee their designations for errors.  Errors happen.  The buyer has to be the final decision maker and be ready to decipher the

best from the rest.  Any grade marked on a 2x2 or any slabbed coin is just one opinion.  Know the coin, country and what the mintage

strikes were like for that year(s) and be wary of a too good to be true situation.  Beware of counterfeits as well.  A smaller auction site

could be fooled by a consignor and supplied with a spot fake here and there.     

Another scenario that I noticed arises with foreign coins/sets.  Designations of proof sets when the accompanying photo clearly shows

the packaging and contents as different quality.  You need to research the set and know what's what.

If a coin is stated as silver or gold and only an .800 content for example, you can't go cry later that you were were misled by a silver

or gold designation.  You have to know what you are buying.    

Most of the auction houses I find and have dealt with online are legit.

You need to know the real value of what you are bidding on and not realize

after the fact that you became caught up in the bidding action and overpaid for your buy.