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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 3085528, member: 85693&quot;]I really enjoy this discussion - it is good to hear more experienced collectors&#039; opinions on the market and, especially for me, eBay, where I buy most of my ancients. </p><p><br /></p><p>Personally, I find eBay bargains can be had, but you have to do a lot of digging - there are so many overpriced lots, ridiculous buy-it-nows, and counterfeits that finding a bargain is difficult.&nbsp; On the other hand, all those useless lots disguise the gems - if you have the time to sort through them...I paid $33 and $15 for the Tarentum didrachm and the Max Thrax sestertius this past March (&quot;buy it now&quot; auctions from a world coin dealer who doesn&#039;t often sell ancients):</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]777739[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]777740[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>On the lower end of things, I wanted to share a scruffy &quot;educational&quot; lot that I just got in the mail from eBay.&nbsp; For you more advanced collectors, this is junk, but I have spent several enjoyable hours trying to figure this stuff out - it cost about $10 including shipping:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]777736[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The attributions are off - the Trajan asses are close - the Dacian being trampled is a dupondius; the as has Victory, not Mars on the reverse.&nbsp; The Philip is a fourree - foil covering over a copper core.&nbsp; The Gordian III antoninianus is an ancient fake - barbaric is style with remnants of a silver wash over a copper core.&nbsp; Interesting, not worth much, but a lot of fun for me.</p><p><br /></p><p>The gem of the lot, I think, is the tiny bronze labeled &quot;Gordian III&quot; - it is, I think, a Diadumenian from Markianopolis - any help would be appreciated:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]777737[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]777738[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Sorry to ramble on so...the point being (if there is a point) that I still find value in bottom feeding on eBay, both in the &quot;good bargain&quot; sense and the &quot;educational&quot; sense.&nbsp; But you have to be willing to sort through a lot of overpriced stuff and fakes.&nbsp; And you have to be willing to take a gamble from inexperienced sellers with poorly-photographed lots (see my recent post about a blue-painted sestertius of Antoninus Pius!)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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