My first try at eBay

the most common fakes on ebay - are silver greeks , but most are ez to spot , then roman denarius & sestertius , sestertius is the hardest part in this group especially the ones from first centuries , even NGC Guys having hard time authenticate them

 

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I agree, the vast majority of coins I have are from my LCS and other local coin stores. Yet, I’ve only ever seen one Byzantine coin and that was for 200. I see following these guidelines as the best way to get medieval or ancient coins for someone like me on a budget.

 

I also just looked at review history and the seller has multiple from coin stores I’ve been to(I bought from an hours drive away)which I presume is a good sign.

 

i usually have no issue buying off ebay cause i like crazy deals ( for example i was able to find scarce Octavian sestertius in good grade for 35$ !!)but recently i had bad luck withing past month i had received 4 fakes sestertius wich 2 of them came from reputable sellers , 1 from seller with more than 10K feedback and other one came from Germany

 

so i say majority of the fake coins do come from overseas

 

There was a thread created within the last year or so that had lots of tips and tricks for the new ancient collector, including a list of online dealers that were good such as forum ancient coins, vcoins, and augustus coins. I thought I had it bookmarked, but I must have forgotten and I just tried searching for it and came up empty. If anyone can help out and link to it so that A) @Nathan F can get some help and B) I can rest assured that I'm not THAT crazy it would be wonderful.... lol

 

I am always confused by the term "OVERSEAS". Many folks on CT are from "OVERSEAS" from my perspective. Personally, I have been to many countries throughout my career.

What would be considered "overseas"? Antarctica? Paraguay? Zambia? Bhutan?

I would rather speak of bad Sellers, and identify them as such (like a fake Sellers list.) However, if there is a bad Seller in the US, then does that make the US an "overseas" country not to buy from?

I would rather speak in more specifics rather than condemning every country except someone's own country.

 

Probably this one

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancient-coins-beginners’-faq-thread.324858/

 

YES!!! Thank You @TIF

 

I buy from eBay all the time. But the adage abides: "Know the coin, or know the dealer." If you're a rank amateur gambling on eBay, keep the stakes low until you have more expertise.

 

Would make more sense to specify a region. I think it's pretty well understood that places like China and Eastern Europe in general tend to be black holes.

I have bought paper money from Albania, Greece, and Serbia with no issues however.

 

And the same. And I have purchased many wonderful items in China too.

I still believe it is down to Sellers and their intent.

 

Ironically, the only East Asian scam seller I’ve every encountered was Singapore, of all places.

goes to show that generalizations don’t always make sense . But it never hurts to be careful nonetheless

 

Ebay.com is US Based auction located in California, so I think you get my point

 

Agreed. Sadly, I have personally watched Americans lie, cheat, and steal from Chinese businessmen that I had great business relationships with. So, who was the bad guy? I was frustrated and ashamed of those Americans, and I was totally empathetic to the Chinese business that they harmed.

I find it comes down to people. Trust is a bond between two or more persons. That is why I feel it is a Seller and their intent that matters.

Focus on knowing the Seller and/or the Coin.

 

No, I do not. And, I do not agree.

 

This could be considered as base guideline advice for new collectors(like myself).

eBay really isn't the place to be looking for coins priced above two figures -- W/ the caveat that one is likely safe if purchasing a slabbed coin from an established reputable grading service, ie. NGC - albeit at a premium for the entombing/grading process.

eBay is great resource for what some might consider to be 'budget' or derisively 'garbage' coins. Coins with issues that keep them from being elevated above aVF to VF status. Coins that may have too many grade issues for coin auction houses to want to deal with other than bundling them into large group lots.

The ol' saying goes "One man's trash, is another's treasure"