I got a kick out of these two listings for a book that I find special since I did the photos for it. They were $50 new in 2002. I was given one copy (no cash) for doing the photos. Today: $732 http://www.amazon.ca/Roman-Bronze-Coins-Paganism-Christianity/dp/1932109412 or $65 http://www.ancientimports.com/cgi-bin/category.pl?id=621 I'm not sure I'd pay $65 now but 732$C - really?
Isn't there some sort of software built into amazon that automatically increases the prices, sometimes to astronomical levels?
Yes. Used book dealers can choose to be cheapest or most expensive. I have bought several books for one cent and $3.99 postage. There is no suggestion that any copy of this or several other coin books on their list has sold at such prices but they are there for the pleasure of those who think more expensive means better.
I found this article. http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/04/25/amazon.price.algorithm/index.html?hpt=C2 (copy and paste link) Apparently it's a pricing algorithm. I don't know if that's the case with the above book though. Edit: Peter's post I think confirms it is indeed because of the pricing algorithm!
It works both ways: Anthony for $1.60 http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...e=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1452137034&sr=8-105 Berk for $2 http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0794822622/ref=sr_1_126_twi_har_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1452137329&sr=8-126&keywords=roman coins I hope we all realize that the $2,667.84 one is shiny and worth a premium.
amazon system is a mess. listing books on there is actually very difficult if you use some kind of cloud data storage to export your listings (which majority serious online business do today, only way to sell on multiple platforms simultaneously). It uses a SKU system to look up and compare items, not keyword search or string association (ebay does the later). We get stupid errors all day telling us an airbrush was a fishing lore, a fountain pen was a dremel... So there's no tell what the system compared your item to for pricing. Someone else used the same UPC to list something else entirely different, Amazon now thinks you two are selling the same product and your rolex should cost the same as his toothbrush.
Well, it is Canadian Dollars. Maybe that explains the price difference. Isnt a Canadian Dollar something like $0.05 USD by now?
I almost bought a copy for $65. I still want one...maybe I better pull the trigger before they're priced out of my purchasing power...
Amazon doesn't have a "make an offer" button, but I've contacted sellers with offers that they've accepted. I'd like a copy of that book myself, but I want Doug to autograph for me. That way it WILL be worth a few thousand.
As a long time shopper for books, I agree. The prices for our esoteric little books are literally all over the board, especially out of print ones. I bought a month ago the Alexander standard reference for $275. I have seen people ask $1000 for it, and these are real dealers not algorithms.
During the seventy-year period covered by Roman Bronze Coins, Christian symbols on coins increased as that religion gradually replaced the traditional Roman gods as the official state religion. Q: which coin is the first start making Christian symbol?
From CoinTalk member @Valentinian's website: http://esty.ancients.info/Christian/ChristianSymbols.html
Follow @Valentinian's link as provided by TIF. Here is a coin of Constantine the Great which includes the hand of god. Is the hand of God a Christian symbol? Constantine The Great MANVS DEI The Hand of God AE 3, Reduced Folis 337-340 A.D. 1.72 grams, 15 mm Obv: DV CONSTANTINVS PT AVGG, Veiled bust of Constantine I to right Rev: Emperor in quadriga right, hand of god reaches him from above, star above, SMANS in exergue. Grade: gVF coin with dark brown patina Well centered, well struck, and includes all legends. Other: Antioch mint, RIC 37.Constantine “The Great” Posthumous issue. "MANVS DEI" the Hand of God. Superb condition & rarely this nice. Constantine I is depicted in a burial shroud. The Christian is called DV (Divus = the divine one) and shown being welcomed to heaven by God. This coin was minted after Constantine’s death. The obverse depicts the Emperor in a burial shroud and on the reverse the Emperor driving an ascending (Heaven Bound) quadriga to the Judeo-Christian God's waiting hand. The coin also represents the first Judeo-Christian imagery on a coin. Full legend examples are not easily found since the mints of the day were striking very rapidly due to the need for cash to fuel inflation.
I have to work hard (struggle is a better word) to get one (1) decent photo of one (1) bronze coin. You make the difficult task look so easy. It is always a pleasure to view your pictures. You should have been allowed to keep the coins (like cash) for photographing them.
