Good Experience: Kayser-i Rum Numismatics

It seems we are inclined to post when we’ve had a bad consumer experience. Let me briefly share a positive one.

Saturday before last, I decided to treat myself to a little late-night snack. So I ordered a Constantine LRB reverse type featuring a single solider and the GLORIA EXERCITUS legend–a scarcer issue of Constantine. The price was right (ca. 30 euros) and it had a nice patina. I think it was about $40 shipped from Frankfurt, Germany.

So 9 days later the coin shows up, along with a brief hand-written note from the dealer, Burak Cebeci of Kayser-i Rum Numismatics, thanking me for the purchase.

I don’t know what this dealer’s rep is, or whether members have had good or bad experiences with him. But I thought this was a nice gesture for a first-time buyer making a very modest purchase.

 

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It's always nice to have a positive experience with a dealer like this. And now that you shared it with us, I at least will take a look at his wares. Thanks for posting.

 

yes, nice coin with good customer relations give him an A++

 

I really like stories like this one. I always like to get a short handwritten note with my purchase-it adds a nice personal touch. I will also take a look at his store.

 

Yeah, nice touch. I often find it nice whenever they send a note, sometimes they even write it in spanish! Kind and simple acts like these makes me return to their e-stores over and over (besides their good stuff, of course).

 

I bought from this seller a few weeks ago and can back Gavin's positive review of him. He also offered to keep an eye out for anything I was looking for which was nice as well.

 

I have a story as well. I made another purchase from Victor Clark/Victor's Imperial Coins, who started me off with my 1st Ancient coins. He wrote a nice note and included a Constantine coin to keep my Licinius coins company. He even included the holders and ID cards.

Over and above the generosity, it is such acts that set a person or business apart from the average. Just the time and thought put into appreciating the business you have sent them, shows the high class they have.

 

well, looky there @Victor_Clark, good turns for good deeds

 

I too am a recipient of a "bonus" coin on an order from Victor. But maybe I should keep that under my hat, because now everybody is going to start expecting one!

Yes, Victor is another dealer I've had good experiences with. People remember good customer service and the dealers who really care about cultivating a broader interest in ancients.

 

Thank you for the post. I'm currently slacking off on buying things I don't absolutely have to have from overseas (I have too many coins and have had too many troubling experiences from Europe lately) or I would have bought a couple. Price is one consideration but more important is being treated like a customer rather than a patsy. It is good to hear there are new sources with old business etiquette.

 

Yeah, even just a"thank you" on the invoice is nice. Heres a freebie I got from bargain bin ancients recently

 

BITE YOUR TONGUE!!!

 

It really is nice when dealers are both accessible and nice. It's weird, the way some act you would think that they didn't want any money.

 

A few plugs as well: Curtis Clay at HJB, Josh Moran of Civitas Galleries, Kenn Hollister of Moneta Numismatics, Mark Reid of The Time Machine. Hussam Zurqieh of Zurqieh. Annnnnd now I need to look at stuff to buy.

 

Well, I want to keep this thread positive and non-actionable. . But since some novice collectors might come to this thread for recommendations, it probably should be noted that one of the dealers listed above pretty obviously applies spray-tan "desert" patinas to many of his coins and was at the center of a famous "lost" coin dispute about ten years ago. (The dealer was not Clay, Moran, Hollister, or Reid.)

With that having been said, I have bought coins from this dealer and have had good experiences with him, and I will likely buy from him in the future. I hope none of us is defined by our worst moment, and I hope that the experience I referenced years ago has prompted better business practices. But as far as the patinas go, caveat emptor.

I also hope I'm not out of line here. I really want to "seek the good, and praise it." But I felt something needed to be said for those unaware of concerns.

EDIT: I did buy a Domitian "Judea Capta" provincial bronze from this dealer in part because of the eye-popping desert patina before I realized it was almost certainly sprayed on. I was still happy to have the coin at the price, but I guess I need to qualify my "good" experience to note that, essentially, I was deceived by the unnaturally altered appearance of the coin, and such an "enhancement," for most collectors, probably crosses the line.

 

Well I heard of the concerns too. I have never tried to scrape my coins to see if it is sand added or paint (God, I really hope not). I've bought some silver coins from him with no concerns.

I dunno. Maybe I am naive. When a friend warned me about his suspicions I did soak a coin in water and then alcohol to see if anything came off of the coin. Mind you I know that I am only buying $10 AE's in many cases. But I don't like to be deceived either. After soaking the coins overnight in each I saw no change or smudging when I took the test coin out of the liquids. So maybe I'm doing it wrong or maybe it is okay now. I dunno. But I've bought about forty coins there and figured I owed it to myself to test the most recent. All within the last four years of ancient collecting. I admit to being relieved when there was no change. But I wasn't anxious to go testing every coin either.

Now I feel weird.

 

No weirdness necessary. Ultimately, each of us is responsible for our own experience. And like I said, I will probably purchase from this store again. But I do so with a greater awareness and personal assumption of risk.

 

Don't think I've ever heard of this but it sounds interesting. What was the coin and what happened?

 

The original FORVM post has been removed but you can read about what happened here.

 

Well what a train wreck that was, at the beginning at least. Nice to see the right result come about. As for Zurqieh well I guess it gives me pause.

Also, it is funny how when I went to look up Richard's post the website didn't exist anymore. Funny how people can think we don't need books anymore.