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 Replies: 7 / Views: 1,136 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1045 Posts |
Hello friends, I am constantly hearing the advice, "buy from reputable dealers". Great advice if you are planning on buying high quality rare sestertius, or expensive Roman Republics, or gold solidus, etc etc. BUT, if you're looking to buy common (or even rare) late Roman bronze coins, IMHO, ebay is the best place to shop. Below is a coin I purchased for $11 on ebay. Nothing special, just a decent example of a coin that I don't have in my Constantine collection. I don't mean to offend any vcoin dealers, but below my coin are 3 examples of the same exact coin from vcoin dealers with the corresponding price. Constantinople - RIC VII 22 - R3 rarity rating
Obv: CONSTANTI_NVS MAX AVG, Rosette-diademed head right
Rev: GLORIA_EXERCITVS, Soldier standing left, looking right, reversed spear in right hand, left hand on shield set on ground, CONS in exergue Vcoins comparison examples:$65 $137 $171 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2480 Posts |
An interesting lesson, thanks for posting!
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
Good buy. No way can I afford "dealer" prices at the moment. I have probably bid to much for some of my coins, as a newbie it is difficult to know the value, but on the whole I am very happy with my purchases.
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Pillar of the Community
Netherlands
1204 Posts |
You are right about that! Vcoins is perfect when you are looking for one specific coin youreally want to buy
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3446 Posts |
When I started collecting ancients in the late 1970's I learned quickly that what was written on the 'ticket'
and what I would in the end actually pay for a coin were two very different things entirely.
Much like the MSRP on a new car it was simply a starting point. Coin dealers are no different than 'Rug' merchants in an Eastern Bazaar ....... Or a slippery salesman at the local Car Dealership !
Apparently some people will actually pay the asking price for a coin (or an automobile). Not many .... but some people simply have too much money and it causes them a great deal of discomfort until they can lighten the load.
Price is naturally dictated by supply and demand. Ancients have always been the odd ball coins for collectors and too many collectors are obsessed with "but what is it worth" ? And prefer coins that are similar to those they know about and for which there is a large market for.
Whenever I show an ancient coin to someone to whom they are unfamiliar the first question is always "What is it worth" ?
My answer is always the same
"Whatever some fool will pay for it"!
To determine what something is worth requires that you put the item up for sale and start taking bids for a reasonable amount of time. If after a week the highest offer from a group of 'fools' is $11 ........
Well that must be the answer !
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
For me ebay has always been an excellent source for coins. I would search their first before I would move onto a dealer. Knock on wood, I have never had a bad purchase there. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36905 Posts |
Looks like you have made some good buys. I closed my ebay account several years ago so VCoins is one of my best sources now. Being a newbie to ancients also descourages me from buying from dealers that do not specialize in this field. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4981 Posts |
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Replies: 7 / Views: 1,136 |
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Posted 08/10/2013 04:50 am
