Am I an idiot, or nuts, or is this a language issue?

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Thank you.

 

I'm not an Acient collector ,I do like dropping in evey now and then ....Ive been told I have a good eye on coins....being a variety collector my eye tends to scan a coin differently then others...but I assure you I could tell you straight up they are two different coins or images....not the same.
As far as making mid night purchases we all have done it...mine less than a year ago ....
I did an ebay search for an 1838 o half dime. I didn't sleep well after my hip replacement, more discomfort than pain... but meds also mess up your sleep .
Anyway Im awake middle of the night , had to go to the WC and notice a notice from ebay...
A 1838 o h-10 .....but they also put in the mix 1838 o dimes....thinking it was A really nice 38 o I purchased it....only to realize that it wasn't a half dime ...its a dime.
However sometimes you get lucky as it wasn't a hard coin to flip low mintage key coin in a honest mid grade ....it sold quickly...still hunting the 38 o. No longer at 3 am on pain meds
Hope things work out as well for you. Paddy

 

I've added a poll, because I'm curious about how others would feel in my position. I voted for #2, of course! (Please assume in voting that you could afford to buy the coin, so that's not an issue.)

Another reason I picked this coin type, by the way, is that it has a different reverse from my other two solidi, which respectively depict Constantinopolis holding Victory on a globe, and the Emperor stepping on a barbarian captive. This would have been a third type of reverse.

 

I also voted for #2 and Donna you have every right to request a refund. The description was misleading, whether deliberately or not. And since they have not shipped it - it would be easy for them to reverse the charges.

 

Most retail dealers accept returns for some amount of time for any reason. IMHO even if the dealer doesn't explicitly accept returns, if I don't like a coin I buy from a retail source I will try to return it(paying for shipping of course if I need to). That's generally one of the benefits of buying from a retail dealer as opposed to buying at auction.

 

Is this the seller's "Terms Of Sale" page?
https://www.ma-shops.com/cheilan/agb.php?lang=en
I reached this page, by scrolling to the bottom of the following page, and clicking on the "Terms Of Sale" link.
https://www.ma-shops.com/cheilan/item.php?id=15251
In the "Terms Of Sale" page, it says the following, in the English paragraph :
"Coins of value 1500€ and more, and before the year 1500 are under an exportation licence, and you will of course receive them a little bit later."
and
"Garanty All our coins are garantied authentics. Send back You have 8 days after receiving to send the item(s) back if you disagree with them, we will give the money back."
The last sentence above, seems to say, that you can return a coin, within 8 days after receiving the coin. I'm not sure, what "if you disagree with them" means, but maybe it means, that you can return the coin, if you don't like the coin. I don't know.
Of course, it would be better, if the seller would just give your money back, and not ship the coin to you. It would save the seller time and money, and it would save you time and money.

 

Donna, This is clearly a case of false advertising . The last two photos are obviously the same coin, but the difference in photos is unsettling . The last photo is out of focus & darker, giving the illusion of a higher relief .

 

I am sure it will work out and you will get a refund.

 

.

 

Donna, i'm french and i agree that the description could be misleading. He should have written "une monnaie similaire" or something like that. "Le" is a definite article.
Anyway I think he will have some trouble with your long email
in his own website [123numismatique(dot)com] the terms of sale stipulate that a return is possible within 14 days of purchase so if you simply write that you have made a mistake, it should be ok.

 

Hopefully he will do so. Thanks.

 

Believe me they do need it, please see the terms of the seller. You somehow choose to ignore the leads I am trying to give you

You will lose the CC fees in the end but you will get your money back. Don't worry. Not every dealer is a stealer anyway

It seems they are getting desperate because US dealers buy from French auctions and so the French dealers moved to buying from other EU auctions. I think just 30% or less of each auction goes to collectors directly.

 

He can translate it into French if it's a problem for him! Sauce for the goose.

 

That's what I was trying to say as well....

 

That's why I deleted my post! I've never spent that much on a coin from France before.

I still believe he was trying to be deceptive.

 

I'm not sure what you mean. To me, the darker photo is the first one, namely the photo of the coin I bought. And yes, if that's the one you meant perhaps it is a bit out of focus. I don't trust this dealer. As I've said repeatedly, perhaps it was an innocent language issue, but the native French speakers here seem to agree that his terminology was ambiguous at best, and that there are various ways he could have expressed what he supposedly intended to say more clearly, to avoid any possible misinterpretation. So who knows what else might be wrong with the coin?

 

In my opinion, the confusion is on both sides, the dealer is being somewhat ambiguous and Donna understood it is the same coin.

I think the solidus is a perfectly good coin, it doesn't show up often - I think it is R3 - and given current prices, it is not high.

 

@DonnaML ....The coin is "Really nice!"...And I do know you have a good eye....So that's what primarily drew you to the coin?...But obviously the provenance is just as important to you so I do hope this gets settled...Just thinking outside of the box a bit...Maybe you can find a decent provenance on the op coin too?....

 

Not sure if this helps since there are so many other spot-on responses but:

• Obviously the coins aren't the same
• There's definitely a combination of language barrier and vague language. "même exemplaire" is vague, though if I were reading it, I would find it vague enough that I'd research further - though perhaps I wouldn't do that if very tired.
• As already stated, look for "cet examplaire." I just checked, and that seems to be the norm on CGB.

FWIW, in German I often see "z. vgl." which means "zum Vergleich" and is equivalent to "for comparison" That's clearly what the seller was doing here. For all we know, the seller put the listing up while tired too.