"Full RED GEM BU MS 65" Theodosius I AE4

If you needed another reason to hate on ancient coin slabbing:

https://www.ebay.com/itm//133055413585

To call this coin mint state is just somewhat misleading. With days to go some poor schlep who doesn't know that this is a ten, maybe twenty dollar coin will pay hundreds thinking they have a 2,000 year old coin with mint luster. Maybe I should get into the business of patina stripping EF coins and putting them in plastic.

The use of the Sheldon scale on ancient coins is borderline fraud imo.

 

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Looks like it was overcleaned. Wow, that's crazy for what it'a going for as I type this.

 

I agree, that's not an MS-65, more like an MS-66 RD DCAM.

 

20 bids can't be wrong.....

 

Even to my relatively new eye that coin doesn't look right... could be I'm just used to seeing and expecting patina on coins this old though.

 

It's an EF coin don't get me wrong. Almost certainly had its patina stripped with electrolysis which takes literally only a few seconds. Good way to game the system, I guess, to the detriment of the unsuspecting community.

LRBCs like this are a dime a dozen so enterprising individuals just need to rinse, lather and repeat for the big bucks. NGC will be happy to help.

 

I'll take 'em with the patina, a 2000 year old bronze coin without just isn't right.

 

Actually only 4 "different" bidders and they are showing suspect habits often seen on gemstone area by owners who boost bid their items. IMO, Jim

 

I see the MS designation, but not the -65. Perhaps MS-5

 

What wonderful satire

 

Sometimes I get this nagging feeling that I could send my entire Roman collection in to NGC, list the slabs on ebay, and pay off my house

 

Maybe this coin of Theodosius the Great has red patina without electrolysis. How may you accuse people so surely ? Please.

 

The close-up images have been unartfully "adjusted" in a photo editing program, causing the overcleaned appearance. It looks like the images have been harshly brightened and saturated to a ridiculous degree. For posterity, since the eBay images will disappear eventually, here they are:

Obverse close-up. You can tell the color has been grossly oversaturated because the shadows on the plastic are also colorized, among other tell-tale signs.


Reverse close-up. Same comments. Look at the yellow/rainbow coloring at the edge of the plastic insert.


Picture of the coin in the slab, without harsh lighting and probably without much photoshopping.


The reverse close-up, apparently without harsh photoshopping:


Screen shots of parts of the listing:





Just another overhyped eBay listing with bad images... and a few mistakes . Not "MS65", not Majorian, as the Item Specifics says. "Ultra Rare in this grade"? Probably not. Ultra Rare in a Slab, yes . Ahh, slabbing. A fine way to lure the unwitting into overpaying for a common coin.

To be charitable though, maybe the coin is less common in higher grades? I don't know. MS? Hmm, perhaps... but it just goes to show that Mint State isn't everything! Surfaces 3/5? I guess encrustations don't downgrade the coin as much as light scratches and other damage.

 

"About this item ... MS 65 ... Majorian ... sestertius ..."

 

Well, this one might be slabbed and MS 65 and all, but it doesn't have R2-D2 and Princess Leia on the reverse like mine!

 

The careful eagle-eye of Tiff comes through again. The coin in question could have been hyped the very same way if it had been left "raw" rather than slabbed. MS does not imply MS65 to an ancient coin. The E bay seller is misrepresenting the coin with his photos that have been over-edited & by his written description. NGC no longer identifies coins that have incrustations or deposits, instead the "Surface" quality will be dropped from a possible 5/5 designation if in fact the coin is in "mint state".

Eagle - eye Tiff

 

I think it's very useful in general to be able to look at and attempt to "interpret" a coin photo, like TIF pointed out.

Shopping on eBay is like going to a flea market or antique mall. Buyers need to be careful and know what they're doing. I can imagine the buyer's disappointment when they go to sell this coin and get offered $7. Maybe the ancient market will "evolve" and registry sets will be the way of the future and collectors compete for the highest rated set? Would @Cherd be happy to compete for this coin in NGC plastic to finish his emperor set?

 

All I can is geez, shame on the seller who may dupe someone into making this "investment".

 

Something 1650 years old is totally going to have original mint red on it.

More evidence that thinking is overrated nowadays, especially when the graders do all the thinking for them.