Possible Scammer...but which one

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Chris B, May 21, 2020.

  1. Chris B

    Chris B Supporter! Supporter

    I know it is frowned upon to post links, photos, etc from current auctions but was concerned about the legitimacy of these sales.

    I was perusing some auctions today during downtime today at work and came across this listing for an auction that ends in 11 days.

    https://www.vauctions.com/APViewItem.asp?ID=55439

    Some of you know I dabble in ancients but they are not my area of expertise. I really like the coin in the above listing but wanted to figure out what similar ones were selling for like I usually do.

    My research led me to the eBay listing:

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lucernae-T...740386?hash=item42124ae7a2:g:lGcAAOSwjJdePSG8

    It's obviously (to me) the same coin but I don't want to jump to conclusions. Well, obviously, I did. I know a common scam for unscrupulous eBayers is to create listings with photos of items they don't have. I have no experience with either seller. Am I missing something?

    My first thought is that the eBay listing is a fraud but, like I said, I don't know either seller.

    Here is the coin. Photo from VAuctions listing.

    67-SAB55-12LG.jpg
     
    7Calbrey likes this.
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  3. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    The seller on Ebay, Lucernae (located in Spain), is the same dealer who owns the coin that's being auctioned on VAuctions. (Note the title at the top of the page on VAuctions: Lucernae Prima.) Lucernae is one of the dealers that's on both ebay and VCoins. I've bought from them at least once, without an issue. I assume that if they sell the coin on Ebay before they get a higher bid than the Ebay price, they'll withdraw the coin from the auction, and if they do get a higher bid first, they'll withdraw the coin from Ebay.
     
    Justin Lee, Theodosius, Ryro and 6 others like this.
  4. Chris B

    Chris B Supporter! Supporter

    Well, that's confusing. I didn't notice the names were the same. That does make me feel better about it.

    Thank you
     
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  5. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    I have dealt with Tony several times. Very accommodating, and fair. I have challenged him in the past about "dubious coins", and he has always been very forthright. He is very careful not to have bad coins in his offering, knowing that sometimes Spain can be a problem area.

    He is also very careful that his reputation is not tarnished, ensuring that his offerings are genuine.

    Yup, I have noted several Sellers cross into several avenues to sell their coins: eBay, VCoins, MA-Shops, their own sites, etc.

    So far, I have been very happy in my dealings, even having some of his coins passing the test with David Sear.
     
  6. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    The only reason I haven't bought anything from him lately is my concern about the delays in mail coming from Spain to the USA.
     
    rrdenarius, dougsmit and Alegandron like this.
  7. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Agreed.
     
    DonnaML likes this.
  8. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    I've done business with this sell from Spain in the past, through eBay, most back in the days that I was collecting Spanish cobs and colonial coins. These transactions went through smoothly and I believe that he is a long time, reputable seller. He does sell ancients (Roman coins), but I've only purchased a couple of those from him, both are authentic and nice examples.
     
    Chris B, Spaniard and DonnaML like this.
  9. svessien

    svessien Senior Member

    In my ebay days, I often purchased from Lucernae. Nice guy!
    Wonder what he’s up to here, though?
     
    Ryro likes this.
  10. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    Trying to sell his coin at auction and at a fixed price at the same time -- whichever is higher first.
     
    Orfew, Orielensis and Spaniard like this.
  11. Spaniard

    Spaniard Well-Known Member

    I've had no issues with him at all and have bought from him for years.....He also auctions a lot on Catawiki...Sometime his prices can be a little steep but he's also flexible..
    Why do you think he's up to something?
     
    Orfew likes this.
  12. svessien

    svessien Senior Member

    I thought that was potentially problematic: To have a coin for sale at two venues. If someone bids on the auction while another buys on ebay,what then? Or would that just work as an auction with a «buy it now»-option?
     
  13. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    Have you seen any posted terms of sale or comments on shipping? I saw coins that I would buy for the estimate but these days surprises have less appeal than usual.
     
    Ryro and svessien like this.
  14. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    I see that he charges a 15% buyer's fee. The VAuctions Terms of Sale are at https://www.vauctions.com/terms.asp.

    In terms of payment, at least on ebay he takes paypal and credit cards. As for shipping, on ebay he charges $22.00 for "expedited" shipping to the USA. Whatever that means as far as shipping from Spain is concerned.
     
  15. David Atherton

    David Atherton Flavian Fanatic

    A Spanish dealer I've dealt with recently used DHL and charged a similar amount.
     
  16. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    London Ancient Coins charges $26 to ship by DHL from the UK to the USA. The several orders I've placed with them during the present situation have all arrived here in NYC within 48 hours of shipment. So I imagine that it should be similar from Spain.
     
    Chris B likes this.
  17. David Atherton

    David Atherton Flavian Fanatic

    Correct. The coin took 2-3 days to arrive once it was shipped.
     
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