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<p>[QUOTE="Nemo, post: 3533989, member: 58462"]The absolute best piece of advice in the ancient coin hobby is know the dealer or know the coin. </p><p><br /></p><p>In dealing with Lanz, I thought I knew the dealer. He is notorious for selling tooled bronze coins. I also know the stories of people being ripped off for $30,000 or $40,000 after buying fakes and being refused a refund. </p><p><br /></p><p>That being said, when an electrum trite came up for auction, I decided to bid. I was the winner at 1,126 EUR which was an outstanding deal IMO. Fast forward eight months later when Joe from Forvm questioned the authenticity of the piece for two reasons. One, he said the punches looked irregular and some dirt encrustations appeared painted on. He thought it was fake and suggested I send it to NGC if I wanted a second opinion. As you might have guessed, it was rejected by NGC as a forgery.</p><p><br /></p><p>In February I contacted Lanz and his reply was this:</p><p> "If you really want to return this Trite you can but not because NGC has a negative opinion, but because you are an old client. NGC has absolut no capacity give an expertise on a globular trite. Regards Dr. Hubert Lanz"</p><p><br /></p><p>I was amazed he had agreed, thanked him and immediately sent him the trite. A month went by, I emailed him several times and he finally replied, "everyone was gone on Easter vacation." After several more emails, in May, I get an email saying he cleaned the coin and relisted it on Ebay. In the new Ebay listing, the description now included, "Somewhat harshly cleaned." I asked him what gave him the right to clean and sell a coin he accepted back for a refund and he said he "wouldn't charge me for the professional cleaning."</p><p><br /></p><p>Looking worse without the fake dirt, the coin sold for 694 EUR to some poor soul who thinks he won the lottery. Obviously, those who knew the coin stayed far away.</p><p><br /></p><p>When I again asked for a full refund, he said, "the trite was sold on Ebay and the result was €694,-, unfortunately you just paid to mach. I will pay you the full amount of €694,-, and shoulder the ebay fees for selling this genuine piece." This he did refund to me today, a loss of 432 EUR.</p><p><br /></p><p>I still demanded a complete refund and Lanz replied that he never agreed to a refund because he was having "a hip replaced in Bangkok." I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP! Then the best part was his concluding comment, "Ask NGC for a refund for making false expertises. Regards Hubert Lanz"</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, I take full responsibility for this mess, I knew the dealer, I knew his reputation but I ignored it for a coin I wanted. I also feel awful that someone else now has this coin in their collection. I hope this confession spares someone else the frustration that I have experienced. And thanks to honest dealers like Joe at Forum ancient coins who have the highest degree of honesty and integrity.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is the "improved" trite and description, eBay item number: 233216959910:</p><p><img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/uawAAOSwjaBczZRK/s-l400.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /><img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/jFoAAOSwVbhczZRM/s-l400.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><b>Ionia/ Lydia - Uncertain</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Circa 680-650 BC.</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b> EL Trite – 1/3 Stater.</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>12mm // 4,53g.</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b> Lydo-Milesian standard.</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Obv: Blank convex surface</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Rev: Two square punches with raised lines within.</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Weidauer –, but cf. 4 (hecte); SNG Kayhan 673.</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>VF, somewhat harshly cleaned.</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Nemo, post: 3533989, member: 58462"]The absolute best piece of advice in the ancient coin hobby is know the dealer or know the coin. In dealing with Lanz, I thought I knew the dealer. He is notorious for selling tooled bronze coins. I also know the stories of people being ripped off for $30,000 or $40,000 after buying fakes and being refused a refund. That being said, when an electrum trite came up for auction, I decided to bid. I was the winner at 1,126 EUR which was an outstanding deal IMO. Fast forward eight months later when Joe from Forvm questioned the authenticity of the piece for two reasons. One, he said the punches looked irregular and some dirt encrustations appeared painted on. He thought it was fake and suggested I send it to NGC if I wanted a second opinion. As you might have guessed, it was rejected by NGC as a forgery. In February I contacted Lanz and his reply was this: "If you really want to return this Trite you can but not because NGC has a negative opinion, but because you are an old client. NGC has absolut no capacity give an expertise on a globular trite. Regards Dr. Hubert Lanz" I was amazed he had agreed, thanked him and immediately sent him the trite. A month went by, I emailed him several times and he finally replied, "everyone was gone on Easter vacation." After several more emails, in May, I get an email saying he cleaned the coin and relisted it on Ebay. In the new Ebay listing, the description now included, "Somewhat harshly cleaned." I asked him what gave him the right to clean and sell a coin he accepted back for a refund and he said he "wouldn't charge me for the professional cleaning." Looking worse without the fake dirt, the coin sold for 694 EUR to some poor soul who thinks he won the lottery. Obviously, those who knew the coin stayed far away. When I again asked for a full refund, he said, "the trite was sold on Ebay and the result was €694,-, unfortunately you just paid to mach. I will pay you the full amount of €694,-, and shoulder the ebay fees for selling this genuine piece." This he did refund to me today, a loss of 432 EUR. I still demanded a complete refund and Lanz replied that he never agreed to a refund because he was having "a hip replaced in Bangkok." I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP! Then the best part was his concluding comment, "Ask NGC for a refund for making false expertises. Regards Hubert Lanz" Anyway, I take full responsibility for this mess, I knew the dealer, I knew his reputation but I ignored it for a coin I wanted. I also feel awful that someone else now has this coin in their collection. I hope this confession spares someone else the frustration that I have experienced. And thanks to honest dealers like Joe at Forum ancient coins who have the highest degree of honesty and integrity. Here is the "improved" trite and description, eBay item number: 233216959910: [IMG]https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/uawAAOSwjaBczZRK/s-l400.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/jFoAAOSwVbhczZRM/s-l400.jpg[/IMG] [B]Ionia/ Lydia - Uncertain[/B] [B]Circa 680-650 BC.[/B] [B] EL Trite – 1/3 Stater.[/B] [B]12mm // 4,53g.[/B] [B] Lydo-Milesian standard.[/B] [B]Obv: Blank convex surface[/B] [B]Rev: Two square punches with raised lines within.[/B] [B]Weidauer –, but cf. 4 (hecte); SNG Kayhan 673.[/B] [B]VF, somewhat harshly cleaned.[/B][/QUOTE]
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