So I came across a seller on ebay called ccluc. He is selling a nice looking drachm of antiochus vi but in the same time many of his coins seem to be in the next level of suspicious, I mean completely fake looking. So my question would be, first what do you generally think about this and how could a seller sell a rare coin and seem alright and the more common ones that you can find in low prices be fake. Am I missing something? Would you buy the drachm that seems to be original from a seller that many of his coins are fake? Photos of the drachm and one of many coins that seem really fake:
I found the seller's page on ebay and had a look at it. Most of what he has on offer is modern coins, the ancients look like low grade authentic "bycatch" interspersed with a number of fakes. For example, if you look at his Roman page, you'll see many coins that look legit but also some forgeries. For example, if the Nerva and the two Geta denarii are real, I'll eat my hat! And I'm not an expert. I can't tell you whether this is a scam on purpose or just a modern coin dealer occasionally selling ancients that he lacks proper knowledge of. In any case, I wouldn't buy such an expensive coin from him. The risk seems too great.
I agree completely. As we are talking about sellers, what is your opinion on moneytime86 and Bolsa Numismatica, in my opinion they seem legit but as I wanted to buy some coins from them I would appreciate a second opinion (I rarely buy coins from ebay). Thanks!
I agree, I was surely going to avoid him. Just from curiosity, what do you think of the drachm though? It seems legit to me (though really expensive for what it is imo)
The coin you pictured is Antiochus VI not Seleucus VI. I don't see any issues with authenticity, just condition.
Yes, as I said I would never fund a crook. To imagine I already confronted him on ebay telling him that what he is doing is not right ( I am sure that's not going to change anything). I was asking because I was questioning my self on if I am right that this particular one was original or not, I was just curious!
I agree with others. When you buy you have an advantage since you can see other offerings. I NEVER buy a coin from a seller selling a bunch of coins I can tell is fake unless I am sure of my abilities to spot forgeries for that issue. My only exception would be group lots of stuff I have bought, knowing some were fakes but knowing the others were real, "loose lots" kind of stuff on Ebay. However, way too many people are trying to convince you their pile of forgeries are "loose lots" so much I don't bother anymore.
Yikes, those fakes are pretty bad. I'm sure there are some mixed in that are more convincing, and the fact that there are both fakes and genuine examples listed makes it harder to tell.
If the seller is selling even one fake, then I would always be wondering in the back of my mind if the "authentic" coin I would buy from this seller is really just salted in or is somehow also fake. To save myself the mental anguish, I would avoid all coins from a seller whom I know sells fakes. To be sure it's a fake, there are sites like the Forum Fake Ancient Coin Reports to consult. I've posted previously on some fakes I encountered. They seem to only become more convincing and harder to detect over time. It really makes hunting on EBay much more of a minefield these days.
