1861-1865 (Miles of History) Ebay seller Miles Huskey Scam

On the right is a picture I took of  the actual coin sold to me by Ebay seller Miles Huskey of Miles of History. The coin on the left is a picture of another similar coin, but without the wear shown in the Miles Huskey coin.  By comparing the two, You can easily see that the MilesHuskey coin on the right has considerable wear on the hair above the forehead below the crown, on the curls, and also has wear on the top of the head behind the crown.  A true MS-63 coin would look like the coin on the left and not have the wear shown by the Huskey coin on the right.

An actual MS coin"Miles of History" Scam coin
Click on the image to see a very detailed close up large image

05/24/07:  I was high bidder ($1,525) of an 1876-S Double Eagle gold coin offered for sale by Miles Huskey.  In the seller's actual description of this coin, Miles Huskey states, "The latest retail value listed for this, depending upon your source, is between $12,000 and $14,000."  This is a lie, because the coin was not an MS-63 grade as Miles Huskey implied, and therefore not worth $12-14k.  I took the coin to 5 different coin dealer shops in town.  They all said that I was the victim of a scam and the coin was over-graded.  They each looked at the coin and gave it a grade of from XF(40) to AU(58).  They each offered me the same price that they would pay for gold bullion, saying that there was NO numismatic value to the coin.  They offered me from $550-$570 for the coin.  No dealer would give me anything in writing, because they did not want to become involved in possibly  taking time to testify.  As I later found out, the PayPal buyer protection guarantee is also a scham, because even though I presented them with all these facts they did not give me a refund because I could not provide the written testimony of the coin dealers here.  FYI, MS-63 is an uncirculated coin showing no wear, but may have "some distracting contact marks or blemishes in prime focal areas."

05/30/07:  Miles of History victim
FedEx dropped off coin outside my front door 2 days earlier than expected. Luckily it was still there when I came home next day. Because your pictures of this coin were not very clear, I trusted your representation and description of MS-63. When I opened the package today, my worst fears were realized!

The best grade I can assign to this coin is XF. It is very shiny yes, but it is definitely not in UNC condition. There is wear on the hair above the coronet and also on the curls. Although I might grade the reverse AU, there is also wear on the eagle's head and neck. This coin only retails for $775 in XF condition - about half what I paid you for it. I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you were fooled by the NTC grading slab and didn't really examine coin closely. I could not be sure by the unclear pictures you posted. I could only bid based upon your and NTC representation. I may never trust NTC again, but a full refund may convince me to buy from you again.

05/31/07:  Miles of History victim
I have left you two messages in two days regarding this item. I have not contacted ebay dispute, nor have I left feedback - all in my attempt to first allow you to prove yourself an honorable businessman and ebayer, and not a person who ignores a customer once you have their money. As I mentioned in my earlier attempts to communicate with you, the coin is not as you described.

05/31/07: 1861-1865 (Miles of History) Ebay seller - Miles Huskey
There are several issues with regard to your comments: (1) the merchandise was most certainly described accurately as graded by NTC (a nationally known firm), (2) I have sold multiple coins graded by them with no one (other than you) taking exception, (3) I stated in the listing to ask any questions before bidding (this would include larger photos had you desired them) and (4) my eBay ad clearly stated that a return policy exists with a credit which could be used towards future merchandise. I can only conclude that you simply developed buyer's remorse after spending that sum of money. Although I currently have no other gold coins for sale, our website has several antique pieces you could choose from. Should you wish to have a merchandise credit issued, I can provide our website address for your review. This credit, of course, would be contingent upon the coin being returned in the same condition we shipped it. I await your response.

05/31/07:  Miles of History victim
You did not describe the coin except to represent it MS-63 by NTC. Therefore I had to grade by your picture which was not very clear, meaning I had to trust you and NTC. You did not offer any more pics. If you had clearer pics wouldn't you have displayed them? My only remorse is that I did not receive a coin in the grade advertised. I was content to pay the amount I paid for the coin (my max auto bid was considerably higher) IF and only if the coin was MS-63 as advertised. I bid on a coin. I did not bid on one of your antique items.

Maybe merchandise credit would be acceptable IF you had another ACCURATELY graded coin I could choose from. If you really believed the coin is MS63, you would possibly not have let it go so cheaply. I started worrying as soon as I won the auction so cheaply. Just refund the money, no hard feelings. The coin has wear; we both know the coin was overgraded and will not bring anywhere near the $12,000 to $14,000 (retail for MS63) you mentioned in your description

06/01/07: 1861-1865 (Miles of History) Ebay seller - Miles Huskey
We could continue to send emails back and forth when I have stated the published solution of providing a future merchandise credit (with no expiration date). Our dialogue is not serving to resolve this issue in my mind. If you do a historical search on eBay, you will find that coins with this same NTC grade have consistently sold in this ballpark dollar wise. It is a terrific coin and worthy of investment. I see no point in a further dialogue.

06/01/07: Miles of History victim
I gave you the chance to prove your integrity by giving a refund (since you don't have any coins to replace the one you fraudulently sold me). You have offered no similar coin for replacement, nor any coin for that matter.You misrepresented the coin. You had possession of the coin, posted a small fuzzy picture so bidders would have to trust your description. You knew the true condition of the coin was NOT uncirculated. If the coin was really MS-63 and worth $12-14k you would have not sold it for $1500. You would also be happy for me now to return (for a mere $1500) a coin which you could later sell for $12-14k.

Your deception and refusal to refund for a coin which you misrepresented have proven that you deliberately set out to scam ebay bidders. Since you have now refused to cooperate, my next avenue of justice is ebay and/or my credit card company. Be assured I will tell everyone I meet, and post on all scam watch websites, let world know you're a crook to avoid.

For more pictures of the actual coin Mr. Huskey sold, visit http://www.blacklistandscams.com/coin_dealers/Ebay-seller_Miles_Huskey_Scam.html

For a brief summary of the Miles Huskey scam, visit:  http://www.blacklistandscams.com/compare.html

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Sent to Paypal dispute resolution

From Seller: Miles Huskey on 6/8/2007 16:53 PDT
NTC (the company that graded the coin) is nationally known. Please note that my eBay ad clearly stated a credit for future merchandise could be given (no expiration date) and the buyer flatly refused. Ironically, it is the free image hosting system provided by eBay that shrank the picture. He could, of course, have asked for more photos and chose not to. Finally, a FedEx Tracking Number was provided to the buyer and Federal Express delivered earlier than expected. What does that have to do with anything?

From Seller: Miles Huskey on 6/8/2007 16:34 PDT
My position has already been clearly stated. Please read my emails in the existing text. I have 100% feedback and over 700 positives and he, on the other hand THREATENS to publicly embarrass us in his websites. How unprofessional!!!

From Buyer: Miles of History victim on 6/8/2007 19:05 PDT
Ebay ad stated credit for future merchandise was available, but it did not state the truth which was the seller has no other similar coins (or any coins at all for that matter). Seller represented the coin MS-63,a very choice uncirculated coin worth $12-14k.  Yet he let me have it for only $1540, so he obviously knew he was not selling a $14,000 uncirculated coin. If it was worth so much and in condition he represented, he would be glad for me to give it back to him for the amount I paid for it. Seller never offered larger or clearer pictures until AFTER I asked for a refund. If he had better pictures why didn't he post them originally? Answer: because he knew the coin had wear which would show in a clear picture.

FedEx left coin outside on my doorstep where anyone could have stolen it while I was out of town (because I knew from tracking no. the coin would not arrive until my return). Not good delivery service.

After seller Miles Huskey stopped communication with me, I took the coin to a local coin dealer. When I asked if he bought gold coins, he said not from NTC. He told me they were not a reputable grading company. I did some research and found that most numismatists shared that view. He told me the coin had no numismatic value and offered me his bullion price of $570 for the coin. He pointed out the wear on the coin (which I saw as soon as I opened the package and saw the coin and knew I had been scammed).

I am convinced seller not only misrepresented the coin but did so intentionally. He is in business. Would he really knowingly sell such a valuable coin ($12-14,000) on ebay for only $1540 that if it was actually worth what he implied, he could sell it for $12-14k in his own store? No. No businessman would sell that much below cost. He knew the coin was was not uncirculated as he represented. The coin he sent to me was worn and only in XF which retails for $775. It was not the $14k MS-63 uncirculated coin that he talked about in his ebay ad.

From Buyer: Miles of History victim on 6/8/2007 19:24 PDT
As for the feedback, the system isn't perfect when a buyer knows he will get negative feedback if he reports negative feedback. I have no intention to embarass the seller, otherwise I would not be giving him this chance to prove his integrity. If I fail to receive justice here, my next step is to report him to my credit card company. If I can't receive justice, I at least want to warn others and possibly prevent him from robbing his future potential customers. There are no threats here. This is merely a promise, and unlike seller I will honor mine.  If on the other hand seller issues me a full refund, I will post positive feedback that item was not what I expected and seller promptly issued refund.

From Seller: Miles Huskey on 6/8/2007 21:13 PDT
I have repeatedly made my position clear on this matter and do not feel "rehashing" it serves any further purpose.

From Buyer: Miles of History victim on 6/8/2007 22:05 PDT
Seller remains stubborn and unwilling to cooperate. He has repeatedly said that communication is useless. I believe that it was his intention from the beginning to pull this scam. I am just sorry that I had to be his unfortunate victim. I have given him every opportunity to show integrity and goodwill, but he has cheated me out of money by his scam.

From PayPal: PayPal on 6/8/2007 22:05 PDT
Buyer escalated this dispute to a Claim.
 
 

Miles of History
P.O. Box 599
Sweetwater, TN
Office: (423)337-2540
Cell: (423)836-0690
milesofhistory@charter.net
 
 

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