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Message:: [QUOTE="Bart9349, post: 906474, member: 5682"]As mentioned above, there are good sites you can ask about the coins. We are lucky enough to have some good people here on this site. That said (and here comes the heresy):bigeyes::  I would NEVER buy any coin above a few hundred dollars that wasn't certified by a respected expert. I'm not that good. Some people claim to be. Fewer people actually are. There are, however,  some great reputable sites for Ancients such as forumancientcoins or Harlan J Berks hjb-ancientcoins. Here is the ultimate heresy: If you still have questions about your more expensive coins, have NGC-Ancients' David Vagi and Co. look at them. Sure it costs money. There is no guarantee. And the coins will be forever entombed in plastic. For certain coins, however, I like authentication. Vagi is very thoughtful and meticulous. He has been working with antiquities professionally for two decades. He frequently lectures at the ANA summer seminars. And he wrote a great book on Imperial Roman coins and Imperial Roman history. I would rather spend $530 on a certified coin than "save" $30 and lose $500 on a crapshoot for a raw coin on E-bay. Then, again, I'm not a coin expert. I'm not that smart. guy[/QUOTE]