Ebay: Appollodotos II Tetradrachms - Fake?

Going to have to rename a part of my collection as "crazy Indo-near east" or maybe I should use a contemporary term used in the U.S. military..."Southeast Asia"

 

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Damn! Yes now I look back at the query there are clear differences. Eitherway, I think I'm hooked!

Thanks for sharing the actual Bactrian coins.

Also is the Zoilos you posted one of the ones that may or may not be the hypothesized Zoilos III?

 

Not to interrupt the historical discussion, but if you want to avoid fakes, check out vcoins.com. All dealers must guarantee their coins authentic for life. Many of us have gotten easy refunds when things proved otherwise even years later. If you stick around you will find there are coin talk members here who also sell coins now and then.

 

Thanks for the tip, yeah VCoins looks great. I have a 20% off PayPal voucher though so I'm going to take the (apparently dangerous) plunge into the world of EBay coins to kick things off. Probably better off sticking with a reputable seller who guarantees like forum though, are their coins reasonably priced?

There's so much to learn and choose from ... I'm getting a bit lost!

 

No, the one i showed is a Bop-2 type which is a rare variant. You are probably referring to the article by Jens Jakobsson.
According to his hypothesis this is Zoilos II:


And this would be Zoilos III:


Jakobsson's reasoning seems mainly based on the fact that the monogram on the "Zoilos III" (The "tv with antennae") also occurs in later rulers. This would suggest that the young portrait is later than the old portrait, so the young portrait must be of the son of Zoilos II, hence Zoilos III.

I am not convinced by his expose. Among other things because of the coin below. This shows a portrait which looks like a younger version of the old portrait, with already an indication of the sunken cheaks. But this one already has the "TV" monogram.

 

oh wow, interesting variants @THCoins , hadn't seen most of those before. i'd probably think some of thoese were fakes, "the style is wrong" compared to the common ones i see all the time! thanks for posting!

 

Vcoins takes paypal.

The best and worst prices are obtained through auctions.

Vcoins are usually pretty much retail, but some dealers are willing to bargain.

I like knowing what I am getting and knowing what I am paying.

Checkout sixbid for auction bidding platform.

Buy a couple coins so you have some, then take your time and learn more.

People post a wide variety of ancients on here over time.

That will help you see what is out there.

 

Fair point. So much of history is conjecture, fascinating and simultaneously infuriating! I hadn't read Jakobsson's article, but there was a big chunk on Zoilos II's wikibio that discussed the Zoilos III theory. It also mentioned another reason for the hypotheses; that in the gaunt cheeks version, his hair appears to be balding, though this could just as easily be some outlandish haircut the King had decided to rock at the time.

Sorry, it's an Ebay/Paypal voucher: buy through ebay/pay through paypal. I usually avoid auctions as I find them really tough, even with sniping software, there is nothing worse than being outbid for something rare that you love at the last millisecond! I will definitely compare the prices of whatever I get on ebay to prices at VCoins to make sure I'm not paying too much though.

I'm leaning towards ancient Greek coins atm, they just seem that little bit more interesting than the Roman ones. Having said that, haven't seen anywhere near enough Romans to pass a final judgment and some of the provincials look pretty interesting.

Are medieval coins comparably rarer than ancient ones? I not Fvrum's ebay store only has a very limited stock in the medieval Europe category and mostly from Sicily / Naples.