My First Ancient Coin: What Should I Get?

Gold would be sweet! Don't think the budget will allow, unfortunately.

Is a light brown patina on a "Lifetime" Alexander III good, bad, neither, personal preference? Is it a sign of a fake? If it's a legit patina, is it due to a rust problem?

Without seeing a specific coin, I realize it's probably difficult to answer these questions. But any insight would be appreciated and helpful!

I just lost my first live online auction (bidding on an Athens Owl on Heritage), which is fine. The auction option is fun, but I don't have the patience to wait for these coins to make it to live bidding. So I'm wondering if buying retail is the way to go. But as much as I don't like waiting, I hate even more to pay more than I should.

Are coins sold at retail significantly more expensive than coins sold at auction? Is there a general percentage that can be applied (retail coins are typically x% more expensive than their auction counterpart) to judge fair retail price?

For example: If I find an Athena Owl on vcoins for $800. How much would that exact same coin in exact same condition sell for approximately at an auction on the same day? $600 (with buyer premium)?

And maybe there are too many variables to make a generalization. I'm still trying to find my "coin" feet when it comes to making that first purchase.

Silver doesn't "rust", but it can acquire a layer of back or brownish horn silver (silver chloride) if buried in the wrong conditions, but horn silver is both difficult to remove and "ugly", and would never be described as patina or toning. Patina or toning on a silver coin is, generally, a sign that the coin is not newly-dug-up.

All ancient coins in existence and on the market today have been buried in the ground for 2000 years or so, and dug up again some time in the last 200 years or so. Silver coins that have been underground for over a thousand years tend to build up a layer of gunk so they look like this, and this needs to be removed. The chemical agents used in such cleaning usually strip away whatever original circulation-patina might have been present on a silver coin, leaving freshly-dug recently-cleaned ancients looking bright white. So an ancient silver coin that has the same coloration as a 100 year old modern silver coin, has either (a) been around above-ground for about a hundred years, or (b) has been artificially re-toned.

Unlike the case with modern coins, there isn't much demand from ancients collectors for "nicely toned coins", so not as much premium is assigned to them. On the plus side, it means that most such toning is probably genuine, since there's little financial incentive to try to doctor a coin's toning.

@flo, it is going to come down to trust. You need to be able to trust the seller to have not only sold you a real coin but also one that has been correctly attributed. You can rely on slabs and their labels for this information, but they are also fallible and counterfeit-able--perhaps to a lesser degree. If you can take the time to learn about this hobby, you will begin to develop an understanding of what to look for and what to avoid. Fakes and mis-attributions are part of the hobby and can present opportunities as well as pitfalls.

On another note, if you are still looking for an owl from a trustworthy seller, Frank Robinson has one up on his current auction. DM me if you would like details about how to contact him.

done

No that doesn't hurt the coin. You shouldn't pay more for "desert patina", but having these sorts of earthen concretions is fine. On the other hand, blue chalky deposits on a copper alloy coin may be bronze disease and should be avoided until you have a little more experience (and maybe even then).