Whoa whoa whoa, one question at a time. "Give-a-buck" is just the name of my numismatic site, nothing more. This site is not soliciting donations of any kind, so please don't confuse it with other sites bearing similar names. If you're looking for a good story about how I chose the name for this site, there really isn't one. I wanted something unique to separate myself from other dealers and collectors who have chosen unimaginative names for their sites. Anyhow, I'm not averse to using expletives, and "give-a-buck" sounds like one, so the name works on several levels for helping people remember whether they have been here or not.
I have twenty five years of experience in the numismatic hobby, having started collecting when I was still in grade school. My proudest numismatic affiliation is with the Canadian Paper Money Society. I am member number 1439, and I will gladly try to answer your questions regarding paper money and even forward your contact to other longtime society members who can offer their wisdom and experience. Click on the link above to visit the CPMS website if you want to know more.
I AM SITUATED IN OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA. I do not have a storefront where customers can drop by and preview items before deciding to buy, nor do I make deliveries either. Sorry, but my personal schedule does not allow me the time to sit around and wait for appointments. But I do enjoy receiving correspondence, and I endeavor to reply to inquiries of any sort (except spam... don't send me messages to sell me viagra or a low-interest rate loan).
This site contains lists of my current holdings divided into several main categories and sub-categories. Publishing price lists and mailing them to people who request them is a longstanding tradition in the hobby. I decided to put my price list on the Internet instead. Many popular search engines will help you find this site. So thanks for visiting! I have coins and paper money to suit all but the most elite collecting budgets (unless you want to buy everything I have, including this site, and send me into early retirement).
What makes this site "special" is the scanned and photographed images that accompany the listings. Please be aware, however, that images are just graphical representations of the actual items. While the images were made from the actual items for sale, I cannot guarantee that every item looks EXACTLY like its image. Every person's computer has unique visual display settings. If an image you see looks overexposed, try turning down your monitor's brightness, for example. I do not manipulate images to give faulty representations of item appearance. Inaccuracies in image representation are mostly due to technological limitations. For instance, the effects of light and shadow created by my scanner make horizontal lines appear more clearly on coin surfaces than vertical lines. Please use my item descriptions for making decisions about purchasing; don't put 100% faith in the images alone. Refunds are provided for any item that is not properly described, and I will humbly provide refunds for items that "don't look as good as the picture". Please view my comments on grading below.
If you find something you like, please contact me via either my order form or my e-mail form. Sending a request does NOT obligate you to buy an item, and you will not be charged for placing a request. While I try to keep my listings updated, some items may not be available. If you see something you can't live without but you feel I am asking too much, make me an offer. Also, if you have something to sell, ask me. If you have something I want, I can offer more than a dealer who has no specific need or desire for your items.
To use the order form, fill out all the REQUIRED fields (marked with "*") and hit the Send button; it's as simple as that. The form works even if you don't have access to e-mail because the information goes through my website's host server. A link to my e-mail address should likewise appear on each page in the listings.
For coins, I use the same system as Charlton and ICCS (International Coin Certification service). For paper money, I tend to deviate a bit from the conservative standards endorsed by the CPMS (Canadian Paper Money Society), but I am far from joining the gaggle of grunting orangutans on Internet auction sites like ebay where grading is optional and, when provided, is looser than the ethics of a used car dealer. So, without peeking at my Charlton catalogue, I am going to summarize my paper money grading system below.
- Gem Unc: A perfect and original note. For a Journey-series note, there will be no ripples or cup marks. On older series notes, the white borders should be very close to even. Very few notes have perfect centering, and the ones that do are probably trimmed. So a crookedly-cut note with slanted borders would be Ch Unc at best, and a note where the borders are straight but one or more borders are bigger/smaller than the others by 25% would also be Ch Unc at best. It should be noted that a Gem Unc note by my standards or those endorsed by the CPMS is far superior to a note deemed Unc-65 or Gem Unc by the standards of third-party grading companies that use a Sheldon-style grading scale that goes all the way up to Unc-70.
- Ch Unc (or "CU"): A near-perfect and original note with one flaw. For a Journey-series note, there could be a cup mark or a ripple or a dimple (small crease). For older series notes, there should be just one counting crease. No folds of any kind are allowed. A note with a crease and uneven but straight margins would qualify for Ch Unc, as would a note with no creases but slanted margins, but a note with slanted margins and a crease would be Unc-60 at best. No folds. The corners should be sharp.
- Unc-60 (or "Unc"): A note with several flaws. There could be up to three individual counting creases, or two sets of "double counting creases" (one pair on each side of the note). Centering is irrelevant. A note with 3 counting creases and bad centering is still technically uncirculated, and it is up to the individual buyer to decide if such a note should trade at a discounted price. Dirty corners are also allowed. A note that appears Unc-60 or better but appears to be pressed (i.e., flat, lacking embossing) would be discounted.
- AU: A note that has more flaws than an Unc-60 note, or a circulated note with one soft horizontal or vertical fold, or several smaller creases, or one hard corner fold. A note that looks Unc-60 or higher but is deemed to be pressed would be on par with a fully original AU note.
- EF: A crisp note with up to three hard folds or one hard fold combined with several smaller creases or folds. No design rubbed off anywhere. Colour and brightness should be intact. This definition deviates from the CPMS standards of grading where EF, AU and Unc-60 are really close together. It is my feeling that the definitions for higher circulated grades have not been relaxed to compensate for the new tiered system for uncirculated notes.
- VF: A note with many folds and creases that still retains a lot of its crispness and "freshness". There should be minimal soiling as well as minimal loss of brightness and intensity. A note with only one to three major folds but exhibiting some design loss along those folds could also be considered VF, but a note with more folds and design loss would be F-VF at best. A drab-looking flat note that appears VF is probably a pressed Fine or lower, and as such, would command less than an original VF.
- Fine (or "F"): A well-worn note with many creases, folds, and only some crispness remaining. Could be fairly soiled, but should only exhibit a moderate loss of intensity if it appears fairly clean. Design loss along major folds is to be expected, but there should not be a loss of design away from major folds. Edge tears pinholes, and other impairments should still be noted separately.
- VG: A highly circulated but intact note with almost no crispness. Can be either highly soiled or somewhat faded. Wear holes along folds or at fold intersections are to be expected, as are minor edge nicks, but bigger defects should be noted. Small pieces missing along the edges should also be noted separately.
- Good (or "G"): A highly circulated note that is limp and visually unappealing due to numerous defects as well as heavy soiling and/or design loss. Could have small pieces missing along the edges or "raggedy" edges, plus pinholes or wear holes. Major tears internally or extending from an edge should be noted separately. A note with large pieces missing (note fragments) are generally not collectable.
- Fair or Poor: If you see a note in these grades on this website, I don't know how it got there. Seriously.
Yes, but only through PayPal. DO NOT SEND ME YOUR CREDIT CARD DETAILS FOR ANY REASON. PayPal is the online payment processor used by eBay, the world's largest online auction/shopping site. There are a number of other online payment processors that will bill your credit card, but I have never been approached by anyone who wanted me to try one. I have had a number of people tell me about PayPal horror stories, and I am quite aware of PayPal's ethical limitations, but I still choose to use it because it is highly practical and the fees are relatively low. As far as I am aware, Google Checkout is STILL not available for sellers in Canada.
I don't. I used to charge extra, but I don't any longer. I doubt anyone will have a problem with that, but if you don't like PayPal, try sending me an e-mail money transfer (EMT) instead. I am well aware that personal payments via PayPal are free, and if you want to send a personal payment from funds already in your PayPal account, that would be most welcome.
Yes. My main selling account is under the screen name "marschenegger". However, my use of eBay as a selling platform is sporadic at best. If you see something in give-a-buck.com's listings and you don't feel comfortable buying directly from me, check eBay to see if I have it listed there. If not, you're out of luck unless you want to join another online auction site called ebid.net. Almost everything I have for sale on this site is also on ebid.net. Registration is free, and you can use PayPal to pay for your purchases, just like eBay. The only difference between the two sites is that ebid does NOT allow you to have multiple accounts. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. If you plan to join ebid, make sure the information you provide is 100% accurate because, unlike eBay, they check your information. If you provide an e-mail address that does not allow notifications to be sent to you, or if your contact information cannot be verified, you will be locked out. And don't think that you can just re-join ebid with another account when your first one is locked. Ebid is a privately-owned auction site without the frills of eBay, so it's cheaper to sell there. In fact, you could say ebid.net is a lot like the old eBay. And the current version of eBay is a lot like the now-defunct Yahoo Auctions in the sense that you have to list 50 items to sell one.
Getting back to eBay, I don't take requests from people who see something on my site and want me to list it on eBay. The main reason is simply one of trust. I've had people tell me they will buy my item if I list it on eBay with the inevitable result that I never hear from those people again. That's a waste of time and resources for me. The second reason is that eBay is not free. The seller fees are currently 9% of the hammer price. So I have to start my listings at 10% above my asking price to recover that portion of the sale price that goes into eBay's coffers ( 0.09 x 1.1 = 1.0 ). For most people, that's not a problem because they actually like paying more for everything. For an explanation of what I mean, read my ALL ABOUT ME page on eBay. I am keenly aware that the entire hobby of Canadian numismatics is small enough to fit entirely within eBay. That does not mean everyone should buy and sell exclusively on eBay. The fact of the matter is that eBay is much more expensive to use than it used to be, and while sellers pay the costs of selling on eBay directly, the buyers end up paying these costs indirectly. Again, though, many people like paying more, and that's entirely consistent with many of these people never straying beyond eBay's borders to buy anything. I am only too happy to sell items for higher prices to these people, but at the same time, I maintain total control of my listings. Chances are, if you are here and you are reading these words, you want to pay LESS, and to achieve this result, you have to be willing to make some concessions. Like, for instance, communicating with an actual human being. Many people say the old eBay of 10 years ago was better, and they are right. Back then, you had to TALK to the person from whom you were buying something to complete the transaction. That's when fees were no higher than 3.5%. Now that eBay has built the technological barrier keeping buyers and sellers apart, someone has to pay for the luxury, and if you're willing to pay more to avoid social awkwardness, that's entirely consistent with the existence of an eBay troll. I totally "get it" and I am not against anyone who wants to buy and sell exclusively on eBay. But if you're an eBay troll and you want to try to lure me under your bridge, you're likely out of luck.
No. I charge flat rates for various delivery options and in the process, I sometimes makes a few cents profit, and sometimes I lose a few cent. So in the end, I charge only for material costs and true postage rates, not for "handling". I don't charge people to answer their numismatic-related questions, so why would I suddenly put a price on my time spent packing their orders? I'm not a dealer by practice, and I have no overhead costs associated with this website, so there are no hidden charges to pass along to customers. Like I said above in my diatribe about eBay, overhead costs are paid by the buyers, not the sellers.
I provide refunds minus postage for returned items. Postage is a non-recoverable expense; it's the cost of doing business. I will refund postage only if the package is lost, damaged, or if I made a mistake in the item description. That's another reason I don't want to overcharge for postage in the first place! I want happy customers, not angry ones who feel like they were ripped off. And buyers inherently know that sellers who charge high rates for postage are more likely to misdescribe items so that they reap a profit even on returned items. Having said that, though, differences in opinion concerning grading cannot be used to obtain refunds of postage. Grading is subjective, so your chances of convincing me that my grading is unfair are about the same as the cnahces that I will convince you that your grading is unfair. I offer a "No Questions Asked" return policy, meaning that I will not ask you why you decided to return something to me. Only if you insist on telling me the reason will I respond, and you'd better be prepared for a frank reaction in that case. Returns should be received in a reasonable amount of time (like a couple of weeks), not six months later when you've grown tired of the item you bought of when you've decided to get off your yacht and return home to check the mail.
It means one of two things. It could be that I have not updated the page in a while. The more likely reason, especially if you are a repeat visitor, is that your browser is displaying an older version of the current page. Your Internet browser downloads pages right onto your computer and stores them in a folder. You have the ability to change your Internet settings to always reload the newest version of pages viewed or not. If you are concerned about data limits provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or you are on a slow connection, you would be better off keeping the automatic update setting off. Otherwise, you should set your browser to reload automatically. With Microsoft Internet Explorer, go to Tools >Internet Options, and on the General Tab under Temporary Internet Files, click the Settings button. Under "check for newer versions of stored pages", click on Automatically. Then you will always see the latest version of all pages on this site.
Go right ahead. As one dickhead found out, reporting a website to the BBB accomplishes nothing because I am not a member of the BBB. In fact, it accomplished less than nothing because someone at the BBB contacted me about a complaint and we shared a good laugh at the complainant's expense. So if you are going to contact the BBB, make sure you have a good reason and check to make sure the business you are reporting is a member of the BBB. Complaining to my Internet hosting service, Black Sun, will achieve about the same result.
If you have a complaint about anything to do with me, be a man and contact me directly. Sign your name to your compalint or do it anonymously, I really don't care either way. Spamming my contact forms will achieve the desired result, but if you really tick me off and I have your IP address, there's a good chance your access to this site will be blocked. I reserve the right to be as big a moron as anyone who acts like a moron and tries to make trouble for me.
No. I used to but I don't any longer. The fact of the matter is everyone in this hobby wants their palms greased to promote anyone else. EBay does not allow links to outside websites in their listings. Various numismatic websites (like CPMF) and organizations (like CPMS) do not allow members to promote selling venues without paying for advertising space. That's fine. I understand that everyone who operates a website or organization has overhead costs that they want to recover in order to stay revenue neutral. However, I don't ask anyone to cover my web hosting expenses. For what I pay Black Sun every year, just the picture hosting and e-mail access make it worthwhile. I must be off my nut because so many other people, even full-time eBay sellers, can't be bothered to invest in a picture hosting service and prefer to use free hosting services. Anyhow, if you want advice on who is a reputable seller, don't ask me. There's so much shady business going on behind the scenes in Canadian numismatics, there's no way to say whose fingers are up whose behinds, and I'm not going to say anything about anyone. You just have to hang around the hobby long enough to learn for yourself.
Nope!
THANK YOU FOR READING THIS AND ENJOY YOUR SURFING. IT'S YOUR HOBBY, SO GIVE-A-BUCK ABOUT COLLECTING!
- Mark M
