Ebay Conundrum

You also might want to take a look at this
http://forgerynetwork.com/default.aspx
and this http://www.forumancientcoins.com/bo...opic=18502.0

I look for sellers that deal with only ancient coins and have a high positive back. Over the years I have bought lots of coins and so far (knock wood) I have not had a bad deal.

When buying ancient coins on on ebay or anywhere for that matter there is always a risk that a fake may slip through.
IMO you have two protections.

1 your own knowledge...if your buying a commonly faked type the risk is going to greater. Know your type and research who all is selling those types and for how much. What the fakes look like and what real coins look like how much they cost.

2. The sellers return policy.
This is important, any seller who knowingly sells a fake is not likely to want it back and return your money. But even if they're running a scam where they would take it back to make themselves look good at least your not stuck with the fake coin.

You can always copy the photo of a coin you would like to buy off the web page, post it with questions, not mentioning where it is or who owns it, and get opinions before you buy. You could also ask the seller for a better photo through email if the web photo isn't good enough to make a judgement. If they won't send a better photo find another seller.

Even after you buy, you could post a photo, get opinions and if the consensus is fake and the seller has a return policy, you could always return it. One place has a guarantee for eternity.

But also remember even when asking for opinions from experts on coin forums where they have to make a judgement from a photograph it's not 100% and nobody would claim it is. And as you've seen there are differing opinions.

Bottom line.....do all the research you can, try to find and get to know good dealers, trust your instincts.

As for for now I'm lucky in this respect.....the only ancient coin type I'm buying nobody else cares much for and it isn't faked very often because they're not worth much.
I'm waiting for one now to show up that I got from a seller with a "no-return" policy, I won it on ebay for $1.25.(It might be an error type to match one that I sent to Not in RIC).
Can't blame the seller for not wanting it back. He had a return policy on his nicer coins though.

Regards

Ah yes! Temptation is always with me too. I've bought coins I didn't really need, duplicates of coins I already had, coins I thought looked cool but turned out to be junk...and so on. Sometimes I just don't think.

Right now I'm collecting Constantinopolis Victory on Prow coins... one from each mint and officina in VF-EF. I'm a little over half way there. But lately finding the remaining mints has slowed down considerably, just as someone here on the forum said would be likely to happen.

Anyway I enjoy the hunt. I've only seen a few fakes posted on the web and they are pretty nasty looking coins. I wouldn't even consider them if they were real.
But never say never I could have a fake and not even know it. I hope not though. If I do I'll keep it as such and find another that's real.

If you know where any of the hard to find mints and officinae are let me know.

Regards

Its a shame ebay has become like it is and people doubt authenticity - I still use it more than any other medium to find coins but its not as good as it used to be.

We could talk forever about ebay so all I'll say is I preferred it when it was a community of amateurs selling unwanted and unneeded items. Today, to me it feels that the amateurs have been forced out and all that remains are semi-professionals and full timers.

Like Doucet I collect pretty low value stuff and have had no problem with fakes though like everybody I've been burned a couple of times. Were all only learning, nobody will ever be an expert - except maybe SAP

Your collection must be impressive JW, you seem to have a lot of early high value stuff, unfortunately this is what the fakers like to produce, this is why you have had so many problems. I mainly collect 3rd and 4th century stuff so the number of fakes are massively reduced as the coins are pretty cheap.

As far as keeping yourself safe on ebay every seller needs to be looked at on their own merits - your right that some fakers have good feedback and high volumes.

Like everyone else I look at the feedback and feedback score of a seller but I'm usually more interested in looking at the other coins the person is selling, it can help you decide if the seller is pushing fakes. Read the item description carefully, often fakers dont know what they are selling and the descriptions are strange to read.

I'm not xenophobic but stear clear of Eastern Europe (anything East of Germany and Austria) and Africa. I feel sorry for genuine sellers in these counties but I've had nothing but trouble both buying from and posting to these countries.

ebay is still a good place to pick up a bargain but you need to know what you are buying and either have the knowledge or do the research.

I offer two suggestions. The first is to stick with well-known, highly reputable dealers. By that I don't mean ebay feedback, I mean real bricks-and-mortar dealers with rock-solid reputations in the hobby who also sell on ebay. In those cases, though you're not necessarily going to get better prices than you would at their store. But, if you're looking for high-value stuff, it's the safest bet.

Or, try buying a couple small things first, see how it goes. Maybe return something if it's not exactly what was expected, which lets you see how returns are handled. If everything is on the up-and-up, try some medium-value items. If everything is still legit, then you can have confidence that they'll be legit with the big ticket coins as well.