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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,897 |
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New Member
United States
2 Posts |
Hi everyone: I am just starting on ancient coins. I have had an interest in Roman Coins from the new testament biblical era for a while. I won an auction on a silver denarius nero coin, but wonder if it is fake, considering that the ebay auction was private.   |
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1554 Posts |
Yes, you did. If you haven't paid, don't. Never buy an ancient coin from a seller in Bulgaria. Bulgaria is the epicenter of ancient coin counterfeiting. Further, it is illegal in Bulgaria to sell (genuine) ancient coins. If you want to have some fun, ask the seller if the coin comes with an export certificate from the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture.
Don't give up on collecting ancient coins. There is a learning curve but you will find the hobby very rewarding in the long run.
Edited by Kushanshah
05/18/2021 09:02 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3433 Posts |
Coins with any sort of Biblical connection have always been a favorite for the sellers of fake antiquities
Perhaps the "safest" route for the novice collector would be to find a small group lot of 1st century Judean bronzes from a reliable dealer
Vcoins is probably your safest option
Not the most impressive looking things for the era and there is still no guarantee that they will all be genuine but most of them certainly will !
Fakes do sometimes get "salted" in by someone during exchanges
Don't expect to find a Pontius Pilate but you can certainly get ones issued under Herod and Herod Agrippa
And if you are real lucky you just might find that Pontius Pilate
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Moderator
United States
187446 Posts |
 to the Community! |
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
to the community Sorry that your first ancient coin turned out to be a fake, don't get discouraged. In this forum you fill find a lot of information on how to ID fakes along with how to ID genuine coins. I recommend that you read the sections Books, downloads and website along with the section on fake coins. Avoid buying coins from eastern Europe. Here is a website that sells ancient coins that you can trust. https://www.vcoins.com/ |
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New Member
 United States
2 Posts |
How can you all tell that the coin is fake? What are the issues that you see that give it away as fake?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1554 Posts |
Here are a few of the red flags.
1.) The coin is a fairly good fake but shows evidence of being cast.
2.) A genuine coin would have sold for $300-$400, not $56.
3.) Most of the coins offered by this seller are obvious fakes.
4.) Offering genuine ancient coins for sale in Bulgaria is a very serious crime.
Edited by Kushanshah
05/19/2021 01:32 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1120 Posts |
Just a word of reassurance, my first coin was a Hadrian bought from Bulgaria. I returned it with a full refund as I bought it on ebay. Although a little discouraged, I joined a few forums (this is my favorite) and I really did my homework in spotting fakes. To be honest, when first starting out, I would only buy from reputable dealers or sellers and/or certified coins. To this day, I will try to only deal with US sellers. However, I've been opening up to International sellers as well. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
616 Posts |
I started collecting ancients 7 years ago. Here is the rule I was taught: Know the coin or know the seller. Since you don't know either at this point, you need to go with a trusted seller. Start at Vcoins.com or if you stay on ebay, avoid sellers listed at this link https://www.forumancientcoins.com/b...opic=18502.0 |
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CCF Advertiser
United States
1303 Posts |
You got me curious so I looked this up in past ebay sales and found it was just the 17th of May you bought it. If you did not pay you could just cancel the auction win. If you did pay and he did not ship you can get the refund quicker and if he shipped you have to go though all the wait then the return. But if he wants to keep this account ebay has control of his money and will pay you back even if he does not want to. Unless he drops off ebay but he has had the ID since 2015 it says. Quite a mess of the text in the listing. Has just about as many red flags as a listing can have. https://www.ebay.com/itm/184832864260 |
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New Member
United States
2 Posts |
Thanks for the responses, everyone. I contacted the ebay seller and provided to him a link of my posting here..and the responses. He insisted that the coin is real, and that he had inheritedmany of these ancient coins through several generations of his family. I told him that based on what I am reading here, the coin itself, and his listings in general, appear to raise many red flags. I told him that it would ease my mind if he posted a response to this topic. If he is as honest as he claims, why not? The seller refused, so I will request a refund...unfortunately it has already shipped. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,897 |
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Posted 05/18/2021 08:47 am
