Just wanted to thank everyone for their great advice and quick responses on my first post. If you didn't read it, essentially I bought a Ionian Drachm from a sketchy eBay seller. The coin is questionable and until I can see it in person, I'm going to assume that it's a fake. As it was meant to be a gift to my girlfriend, I'm in need of a backup. Any help shopping around would be much appreciated. Whether that is recommending better sites/ more reputable eBay seller, suggesting coins, or sending me links to ones thatfit my description. It all helps a newbie like me. I'm hoping to get something similar to the one I purchased - a Greek silver that has nice detail. My price point is about $60 USD. It doesn't have to be a Ephesus Drachm like the one I purchased but it might be nice to see some. Hopefully the first one turns out to be real and I get to keep it for myself... But either way Christmas is approaching fast and I ought to get on this. You've all been very welcoming and I really appreciate all the help. Thanks and happy holidays!
Vcoins is a huge site with aload of dealers/shops which pretty much everyone uses. mashops is another but mainly aimed at european dealers/sellers and theres bidding sites like biddr.ch which list quite a few upcoming auctions and lets you bid on stuff through that
http://augustuscoins.com/ https://mrbcoins.com/ http://bargainbinancients.com/ I do not know many good eBay sellers. If you hear of any that are recommended please let me know.
Thank you, I'll look into those. I've been on vcoin once before but I think I was disappointed with the fact that some coins did not show the exact one that you're getting.
The majority of listings on Vcoins show the exact coin you'll be getting. I can't recall seeing many listings for ancients that aren't like that over the few years I've been watching Vcoins.
You might want to try getting a tetrobol of Histaia. They are nice looking coins (nymph, ship's prow), fairly common and can be had in nice condition in your price range. Try Googling that coin and see what comes up and try to stay with a person who deals only in ancient coins. Good luck and tell us how you did.
Ya I get that... believe me. But it certainly can be frustrating for new collectors. Here are the few that I know of .. some hang out here: 51matt cody111111 frascatius josrobertso0 victor_clark
It’s not uncommon to ask for an opinion here before buying a coin (though if it’s being auctioned it’s probably unwise as it may attract unwanted attention). There are (at least) two databases for fake coins: one at the FORVM and one at forgerynetwork. Most here have had their fair share of fakes (“learning money”). In my case, often when the deal is too good to be true. However, there are certainly deals that seem too good to be true, but are real nonetheless. Living on the edge: also part of the fun