Too Much Yellow!

Well......... I bought from this person a couple of years ago when I first started collecting ancients.I did a post on Roman dies linked to Licinius AE3 campgates.

Here's the coin...


Look just under his chin and at the top of the obverse..Its like bubbles in the patina ?...Any thoughts?

I'll be a complete guinea pig here and will drop the coin in acetone for a day and...In hand I can see that this coin has nice detail so lets see what happens?!.

Saludos Paul

Just a thought ... Here's the other coin I used for comparison bought from a completely different supplier....

Thoughts on this one please..





...To me it looks more authentic....but now...

Saludos Paul

Paul, in the other post I tried to link to earlier, I contrast the "work" of two dealers...here at CCF we'll only refer to them as "Z" (the yellow) and "A" (the orange). Your second coin certainly seems like the work of "A." Assuming you did not purchase from him directly, I suspect the coin was in his inventory at an earlier date - at which point it became orange. Here's just a small sampling of some of A and Z's recent inventory...this is the pic from the thread I tried to link to: https://www.cointalk.com/attachment...-jpg.585118/

Someone at the other site also posted a before pic of a coin that was sold at auction, then an "after" shot once it became part of "A's" inventory:

Yeah, I thought so. Their coins are pretty easy to spot, unfortunately.




I've thought about this a lot over the past year or two...more specifically, I've thought about the times we often refer newbies (new ancient collectors, that is) to VCoins.

I think we absolutely do the right thing by making the referral. We refer them there so that the new collector has assurance that his or her coins, purchased from a VCoins store, will be authentic. And, although the occasional fake may slip past a dealer there from time to time, it's obvious that - as far as the coins go - all the dealers there are genuinely attempting to assure their authenticity. (I admit I sometimes have doubts about some of the antiquities I see there, though...particularly at one store...but that may just be my paranoia talking).

However I think we should acknowledge that there are several dealers who do not take the VCoins Code of Ethics as seriously as others do. "A" and "Z" clearly don't. I could add an "I" dealer too - although his work (most notably on his Kushans and Indo-Greeks) is not quite as egregious as A and Z. As I stated in the other thread, "the application of a fake patina is (1) a deceptive practice, (2) runs contrary to the VCoins Code of Ethics, and (3) is fundamentally disrespectful to the coins themselves - not to mention their creators - AND to potential buyers."

We should continue to refer folks to VCoins, of course. But it wouldn't be a bad idea to occasionally suggest that caveat emptor still applies there too.

Incidentally I should mention this: In response to the other post I've been referring to all day, I had a private message from another VCoins dealer this afternoon. He wanted to provide me with some of the background on "A" - specifically with links to articles pertaining to past litigation and illegal importing of antiquities that A had been involved with. I mention this only to point out the contrast between A and the dealer who contacted me. I am certain the dealer who sent me the message did so out of disgust with A. So while there may be a few bad eggs there, VCoins obviously has lots of good folks who genuinely care about the coins they steward.

I completely agree Bob..I still shop confidently on
V coins and have no problem with the site at all,
So for beginners like myself it's still the best place
to start,as I'm not questioning the authenticity of my
coins just what has undeniably been done to them.

I'll pop the coins out of their flips soon and give them a soak and see what happens if anyone is interested I'll post
Some photos of the results

Saludos Paul

Well, let's try it again here and see how it goes. Ron said I should do so. Just a warning in advance: be prepared for my sarcasm at its worst - or best - depending on how you like or don't like sarcasm. Some very interesting replies to that thread (31 replies since night before last, 27 "likes") - so, despite the silliness in my original post and some of the replies, clearly the topic strikes a chord.

My favorite reply thus far comes from Aethelred, just today. He quotes the VCoins support, who he had been in touch with: "Thanks for the note. I've received a couple of help desk tickets about this posting and I will address it with the two dealers."

This is fantastic news, the best outcome I could have hoped for! Whether it prompts a change in behavior in "A" and "Z," we'll see. But I'm glad to see at least several folks at that forum took up arms. Power to the people! Feel free to write in to VCoins support to echo the need for action!

The link: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/fr...llow.290945/

Very nice work on this Bob!

Thanks very much for the update, Paul. I hope Z follows through, but I admit I have my doubts. It'll be easy for him to continue with the fraudulent patinas and just claim they are as found. He's given us reason to be cynical. But time will tell. In any event, I'm glad the management at VCoins is clarifying that they are aware of the situation and are watching him. They are in an indefensible position since there can be no doubt what's going on with those two dealers...I'm glad management is taking action - thanks to folks like you who registered complaints.

Zach is a good guy who cares about the coins. I know he wants all dealers at the site to be on the up-and-up. And I appreciate the work he has done with the "Community" portion of VCoins and, in particular, the scanning and uploading of every issue of The Celator. I used to really enjoy his column, "The Internet Connection," in each issue. And I've used his own site, beastcoins.com, a lot over the years for research.

Thanks again for the update. Let's stay vigilant and keep watching Z and A's newly listed coins in the coming weeks to see if anything is amiss.