Ebay....hidden gem.

How do those that shop on ebay deal with the stress when they spot a nice rare coin in a group lot which seems to have slipped through the net, with the seller completely unaware of its rarity?
Hopefully in a week or so I can post more details...with the coin on its way in the post?

This is the stuff that goes through my head (is going through my head) leading up to auction end.... a brief insight into the desire to own the coin that is all consuming....
I just have a sick feeling in my stomach, like before a job interview or before a first date.
I'm soooooo not good with excited stress, I hate losing, even though I am gracious in defeat . I reitterate, its not worth a fortune by any means and I am sure someone else has spotted it...right? ......... right?
People are trolling through the listings all the time looking for the occasional rarity hidden away ..... arent they?
The photo is blurred, but I'm sure its what I think it is.... recheck...enlarge...check again...rotate.....enlarge again.
One week to go..... I'm not touching the bid button til then, just in case someone else has bid high and my bid bumps it right up before it ends .... then the seller may panic and pull the listing. I am inclined to bid more if I get into a bidding war now, its happened before..... I'll get dragged in and It will be the desire to beat the other bidder that becomes more important..... so if I wait til 5 seconds to go, then I can only put in my max.....no problem...
but what happens if the power goes down or the internet freezes and my wife finds me dribbling over the keyboard shaking uncontrollably....
and I'm supposed to sleep now?????
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!

(apologies, this is what ancient coins are doing to my head!!)

 

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This is me for sure. Hoping to find an Odoacer, Anthemius, and several other crazy-rare and expensive rulers in this way. I did manage to score the following, an as of Domitian countermarked as 42 nummi (XLII to the left of the bust) by the Ostrogoths. No mention of the countermark in the listing whatsoever so I'm pretty sure the seller was in the dark about the coin's significance.

 

@YOC

Of course, there is also the possibility that the seller knows exactly what he/she is doing, and the group of coins in the photo are that of a "stock photo".

Chris

 

i know just what you mean. Last auction that I was really excited about my fitbit showed my heart rate as 100 when I was just sitting quietly in my chair. I waited until the last 20 seconds and sent in my bid (and won this time)!

I sometimes send in a low bid early just to be sure not to forget later...

John

 

Have you read TIF's webpage?
http://www.tifcollection.com/#!adventures-in-bidland/c1ekz

 

Great! And a happy ending.

 

I get this way with paper money on a note that fills a hole in my collection. Especially if the price is low.

 

Coins sold in lots are gone through with a fine tooth comb. If you hit the jackpot and find that one coin, you ought to buy a lottery ticket.

 

Here is a good find from ebay bought willy nilly from bad photos.

Varhran II (274-293 AD)
AR Drachm 28 mm x 4.18 grams
Uncertain mint
Obverse: Crowned winged bust of Varhran II, Queen Shapurdukhtak wearing Griffin head crown, vis-a vis bust of Varathragna wearing Horse head Crown. Pahlavi Script -Varhran King of Kings of Iran and Aniran
Reverse: Two Crowned attendants flanking Zoroastrian Fire alter. Diadem symbol in upper left field.
Ref: Gobl SN IXv/2 (plate IV 64v.)(?)

 

I have seen group lot photos of ancient coins, maybe somewhat out of focus suggesting an amateur seller, with a number of typical common low-grade coins and one major rarity, maybe partially hidden in the group. A few mid-level collectors might notice the rarity and bid the lot up at the end. On the other hand, they might not notice the "no returns" policy and the fact the rarity was a fake. It is a con-man way to extract money from hopeful buyers.

 

sounds about right...




i'll work myself into a splitting headache with looming neurotastrophe. that's when i just go to vcoins and buy myself something on my wishlist i've pre-reasearched and comparison shopped. one of those wishlist sedative coins arrived in the mail yesterday...i'll post soon.

 

I've told this story before so I apologize to those who have heard it.

eBay used to have a sale type (Dutch Auction) where the seller would post a number of like items and buyers would bid their high price and how many they would buy at that price. Every winner paid only the lowest price offered for the last item in the lot.

I saw a post for 35 Roman denarii. I bid $50 on 34 of them which was considerably more than they were worth. Another person bid $10 (I do not know if he wanted more than one but I only left one) so both of us paid $10 per coin (He $10, I $340 for the 34). I was risking the seller would send him the coin I wanted but it was not obvious which one it was. eBay rules required items to be all the same so this was really not a 'legal' sale but as far as they were concerned a denarius was a denarius so it was OK. I got a note for the seller saying the winner of the one would really like the Elagabalus in the group and he wanted my permission to send it to him rather than picking his blindly as he really should. I was thrilled. That meant the one out of 35 chance I had of losing my coin was gone. I could have bid on all 35 coins but that would have made me pay $50 per coin so I was risking losing that coin to save a lot of money. Of course if one other bidder had offered $51 for one coin, I would have had to pay $50 for the 34 since my bid would have been the one that set the price. If that buyer of one got my coin I could have been out $1700 and not got my coin. I was a nervous wreck and elated when the other guy wanted the Elagabalus.

I ended up accessioning 7 coins out of the 34 into my collection and gave and traded the other 27 coins which were not worth keeping in my opinion. I made no profit on the junkers. Two were later traded off leaving 5 I still have. Below are the 5. Are these worth the $300 or so I have in them? I still think so. Most of you won't. Not long after that, eBay killed the Dutch Auction format so I never again had to sweat out a deal like that. YOC, I wish you well.

 

I know that some sellers know what they have and do this on purpose....

I'm also aware that most group lots have been sifted through.

There is some background here which I'll disclose another time. ..
The seller does not know what it is
And the lot has definitely not been sifted through....

 

That green will come off VK.... I'd use a scalpel under magnification. This coin will have come from a hoard as that green crust is from it sitting next to other coins.

 

Needs a soak in my magic soup THEN the scalpel.

 

What is in your magic soup, Pishpash?

 

It doesn't need chemicals in my opinion.

 

It's a secret
If you have any green mineral deposits you want to get rid of, PM me for the recipe.

 

I (recently) found a 'diamond' - see thread

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/septimus-severus-no-antoninus-pius.274581/