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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Orielensis, post: 7299641, member: 96898&quot;]I wouldn&#039;t be so certain that they accept consignments from collectors.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you look at what they have on offer, you can see a pattern. About all Greek bronze and fractional silver, Roman provincial, Byzantine, and medieval coins they sell were minted in a limited number of regions that nowadays are part of Turkey. Since these coins were produced for local circulation, it seems reasonable to assume that they have been found relatively close to their places of origin. None of the coins have any discernable collection provenance. Many of them appear to have recently undergone similar methods of cleaning and/or artificial repatination (orange &quot;sand patina&quot;). All of this also applies to the coins that Zevs and NSB have sold in the past.</p><p><br /></p><p>This makes me suspect that these auction houses are front companies for an operation that exclusively or almost exclusively trades in coins recently excavated in and exported from Turkey. Turkish law restricts the export of antiquities, which raises doubts about the legality of these firms&#039; business.</p><p><br /></p><p>I want to highlight that all of this is guesswork, and I cannot prove any of it. Yet, what I see in their online catalogues rings enough alarm bells for me to not even consider buying from them.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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