In need of a Second opinion

I’ve been looking to finish my own Twelve Caesars collection but I’m skeptical of buying any off of eBay. Since I’ve only been at this for little over a year I don’t have extensive insight into what is a telltale sign of a forgery except when it’s blatantly obvious. Anyways I would appreciate any opinions on these coins here and whether you can tell if they are fakes or not, Thanks!

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/153169316765

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/153169317226

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/153169317521

 

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Those are all fake, sorry.

 

Honesty I’m not really surprised, although I am a bit disappointed. Thanks for letting me know.

 

You'll note that all three are from Cyprus. Until you have more experience, there are two points of origin to stay away from: Cyprus and Bulgaria. The fact that these Otho denarii are not commanding more than $30-50 even as the auction nears the finish line is an indication that only the most naive and uninformed are bidding.

 

thessalonikiseller is a well known seller of fake coins. He just recently changed his eBay ID, something many fakesellers do. His old I.D.'s include dimitristesalon, aleksandarcollectibles2018, aledush201717.





You should check fakeseller lists before buying off eBay. Here is a link to my list which I try to keep fairly current.

http://www.lateromanbronzecoinforum.com/index.php/topic,1218.0.html

 

Thankfully I’ve only bought one coin from Cyprus it was a cheap Jovian paid with a gift card but that’s still loss I guess. I’ve read on here before to stay away from Bulgarian coins but not Cyprus, now I know lol. And thank you for the link, I’ll definitely be looking into that from now on.

 

Also stay away from any coins being sold from Greece.

 

The seller ancientground is from Cyprus and on that list. Their stuff looks ok to me plus they take returns and 99% positive feedback score. Have a look
https://www.ebay.com/usr/ancientground

 

What sites do you all recommend using as an alternative, I’ve used Vcoins before and it seemed pretty legitimate but as I said before I’m not great at spotting fakes.

 

Bought a few from them with no issues.

 

Even if their stuff is ok, it's best not to risk buying ancients from places like Greece and Cyprus that have strong laws restricting numismatics coin exportation. Your package could get seized at customs and repatriated, and you could be subject to fines.

 

I'm just going to be frank with you: you don't know enough about ancient coins to buy them on eBay from sellers you don't know. That's not meant to be an insult, just constructive criticism. Even if members here thought the coins were genuine, none of us have had them in hand and none of us are going to help you(except for saying "aw shucks") if you find out they're fake in a year when you show them to someone in-hand and that eBay seller will probably be long gone by then(heck, most legit eBay sellers don't stick around long either). It behooves you, especially when buying a coin of an emperor like Otho, to be willing to spend enough to buy one from someone who will guarantee its authenticity for life and who has a reputation for selling good coins. And if I'm going to be completely honest, with the number of people looking for Othos or Galbas at eBay, you're not likely to get that great of a deal anyways, even some of the fakes fetch "real auction" prices on eBay.

Yes, avoiding Cyprus or Bulgaria or Greece can help but there are fakes coming from the UK, USA, Spain and other countries as well. Checking fake seller lists helps too, but most fake sellers sell a few fakes before they get on those lists, so they're not foolproof and there are plenty of us here who see fakes and altered coins on eBay but aren't willing to spend the time reporting them so you're basically hoping that someone who both knows enough to spot fakes and cares enough to report them sees the seller and gets them added to a list and that someone spots any name changes.

 

Yeah I get that. I've bought from them without issue in the past. I have received coins from them and other European countries where they wrapped the coin in aluminum foil and make it look square. I guess to thwart the x-rays.

 

That pretty much sums up the entire reason I started this thread. I’ll take your constructive criticism over a hole in my pocket any day of the week. I appreciate you just saying it and not beating around the bush.

 

Always be cautious with sellers from Greece and Cyprus. It is even illegal to sell/buy authentic ancient coins in Greece, I think that says enough.

 

and you are exactly who these fake sellers love

feedback means very little...eBay often makes it difficult to even leave negative feedback or removes it at the sellers request. Plus, the people that don't know they are buying fakes tend to leave positive feedback.

This guy does indeed sell many authentic coins, but he has also sold fakes. His old ID is coinauction12, under which he also sold quite a few fakes.

 

I think his bronze coins are definitely authentic but his silver coins... I am doubtful about them and even though he got sometimes some interesting silver coins, I won't ever take the risk.

 

OP, just a helpful point to look for. Look at those three coins. Notice how there is wear on the higher points, yet there are STILL air bubbles? It is one thing to have somewhat porous surfaces in protected areas, but why would the areas where the coin would have had metal smoothed over have any bubbles there? It should all be smooth. Then notice how the surfaces all look alike whether worn or not, again something you would not expect.

This is just a start to evaluate coins critically. One of the best tips I know of is simply looking at MANY, MANY good coins. Then your eye will become used to what an ancient coin SHOULD look like, and forgeries will stand out quicker. Avoid Ebay for a few months, and spend LOTS of time looking at good auction websites like CNG. After this, I bet a lot of junk on Ebay will start looking "weird" or "funny" to you immediately.

I am cheap, but buy little on Ebay. Either it is dreck, overpriced, or not worth the effort to sift through the crud to get to a few good coins. I do have one area I buy from there, but just 4 dealers and because I cannot find the coins anywhere else.

Short of that simply ask here. Lots of good people to get you going in the right direction. I will bet you a denarius that in a few year you will regret many Ebay purchases, but cherish coins from CNG or similar that you acquire. Something to think about.

 

I have a feeling it’ll boil down to the seller but is vcoins a reliable site to buy from?

 

If anyone buys from eBay they should first check the FORVM fakesellers list

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=18502.0

or this one:

http://augustuscoins.com/ed/fakesellers.html

It is not the case that every coin sold by fakesellers is fake. But, the ones you want because they look especially nice and are going cheaply are the ones that are fake. (Also, they seem cheap since knowledgeable buyers are not bidding on them,) There are many good sellers in the world. You don't need to buy from sellers on a fakesellers list.

Here is a very long list of places to buy ancient coins:

http://augustuscoins.com/ed/dealers.html