I've been away from the hobby for the past ten years or so. My main interests were Spanish Colonial 8-Reales and Spanish 18-19th Century crowns. I've just recently renewed my interest, and is still on education mode for the past two months. Browsing eBay, I found some nice pieces / photos of interest, but after learning that a few of my collected pieces were counterfeit, eBay would be the last thing to touch on those colonials. I was even told that as much as half at one time of the Pillars were fake. I do know that Ponterio, Sedwick, Craig, etc are the top notch dealers for these area, but are there any other low key reputable dealers who sell AUTHENTIC Spanish colonials? It's very hard dodging the bullets. My plan is to complete my type collection at a rather slow pace, as my budget is rather limited. Understanding this limitations, I have to be contented with F-VF-XF specimens rather that the high end ones. I need your guidance and advice. I don't want my hard earned money fed to the dogs.
Others will suggest low key trustworthy sellers. But if you are considering the risky venture of buying on eBay, then I suggest that you join the Latin Coin Discussion Board. They are a small forum that exposes the sellers of fake Spanish Colonial coins on eBay. It's not as active as CoinTalk and the daily post counts can be low. But you will learn a lot if you follow the forum. And you can search the forum for any seller's names you are considering buying from to see if they have been shown to have sold fakes in the past. Or ask the knowledgeable people there about any eBay auction coins or sellers you are considering. They are a closed forum so you need an invite before you can join. That is so the fake seller's don't come in and cause trouble. But if you want an invite PM me and I will get you in. Yes, Spanish Colonial fakes are very plentiful on eBay. And I wouldn't be surprised if "as much as half at one time of the Pillars were fake." So I would suggest staying away from eBay until you feel you are experienced with Spanish Colonials. But even if you're not going to buy on eBay, reading through the Latin Coin Discussion Board threads can still be a good education. Being forewarned is forearmed. Good luck and fun with your collecting!
You'll find quite a few good ones amongst this group - Coin Dealers One thing though - don't look for bargains in this field. When it comes to Spanish colonial bargains equal problems. Dan Sedwick is the best, the absolute best ! Just tell him what you want and if he doesn't have it he'll work to find it for you. Patience is required. And you will not find coins more fairly priced than you do with him.
Gotta go with Doug on Dan. I have purchased 2 few hundred dollar items from him and he was excellent to deal with.
