525-450Bc Stater-Should We Buy On Ebay

At various dedicated ancient coin auction houses, you can find one like the first example at a better price and with a greater level of comfort regarding authenticity.

I'd post a better example purchased at auction for less money but CCF censored the coin last time. The details were too... good. I'm surprised your coins pictures survived. Oh... I guess that's why they disappeared from the OP.

Anyway, go to Numisbids.com and search for "Thasos stater" to see what's hitting the blocks in the next month.

Sorry but because of the graphic nature of these coins they are not allowed.

Don't worry, nobody is offended, the moderators have very strict rules!

Not a problem.

Thanks to all contributors. I think I have my answer. If the seller has a 100% return policy and a proven track record over many sales then buy with confidence.

Otherwise "Let the buyer beware."

Thanks, again

Well it appears that I have to explain why the pictures where removed. First let me say that when it comes to ancient coins they had no hang ups about displaying the naked body in this case it depicted two wrestlers at their game. As a collector of these coins I see the art in them and not that they are two naked figures. What you have to understand is that on the forum we have a lot of young collectors and I'm sure that if you have a young child these images would not be appreciated in the same way that we do. With that in mind the forum Dad does not want to expose these images to our younger collectors. I hope that this clears up why the pictures where removed.

"Thanks to all contributors. I think I have my answer. If the seller has a 100% return policy and a proven track record over many sales then buy with confidence."

Topcat7, just a note about sellers on ebay. A feedback of 100% does not mean a seller is trustworthy, in fact it means little. I have seen career fake sellers on ebay with 100% feedback. How can that happen?

Let's say a fake seller sells a fake and once the buyer gets it in hand he realizes it's a fake. The buyer wants to return it. The fake seller, wisely for himself, gladly accepts the coin back and refunds the money. All is OK and the buyer will rarely leave negative because he has his money back. And the fake seller has retained his 100% feedback.

And on the other hand, if the buyer gets the fake in hand and doesn't realize it's a fake he leaves positive feedback.

The fake sellers on ebay have realized that if they will just accept 100% returns hassle-free they will not get negative feedback.

So 100% feedback tells you nothing. Honest sellers will have it and fake sellers can have it.

This is an extreme example but I remember someone, a new collector, posting on another forum who had put together a collection of a couple dozen Spanish Pillar dollars. All from ebay. When he finally showed them to someone knowledgeable it turned out they were all Chinese fakes. Every one. He lost a nice chunk of money.

If you want to start collecting coins:

1. Go slowly. Most collectors big buying regrets happen when they first start out.

2. Buy from trusted dealers. Buy from dealers who are both honest and knowledgeable. An honest seller can unknowingly sell fakes. That's why I said knowledgeable sellers.

3. And this is the most important point. Learn about the coins you collect. And this takes time. There's no way around it. Buy the coin reference books in the area you want to collect. Spend time on coin forums. And more than one forum. You can learn different things from different forums. There might be threads that address things on one forum that's not on another. Talk to coin dealers, whether by phone, at coin shows, or by email. You can learn a lot very quickly by asking dealers questions.

Educating yourself is the best way to protect yourself from regret buys.