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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 3359214, member: 19463&quot;]I agree with Al completely except for one little detail.&nbsp; I would have placed quotation marks around &quot;experts&quot;.&nbsp; A problem in the hobby as the appeal of ancient coins extends to a larger population is that there are an increasing number of people with a little knowledge selling coins to people with a little less but still enough to protect themselves from the tourist grade fakes.&nbsp; When these lower level &quot;experts&#039; are running local coin stores or selling all sorts of coins online we encounter a new level of danger.&nbsp; Even if the coins are offered with a money back guarantee, many will be put away and not revealed until the collection is sold by another generation.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>It costs a lot of money to make really good fakes. Transfer dies are not appealing to make just one example.&nbsp; That makes the practice most appealing for really popular coins like the shekels here, Tribute Pennies and other religious items that appeal to people that have not handled many coins but still want to spend big money of the coin.&nbsp; What can we do?&nbsp; I have no interest in learning all there is to know about these coins as a specialty (and do not own a shekel) so I could only rely on my source for guidance.&nbsp; This is the last coin that you should buy at a flea market, from your local &quot;we sell anything&quot; coin store or from a general dealer in ancient coins with considerable expertise in some fields but who has not made a careful study of these both real and fake.&nbsp; Perhaps this is the one coin I would suggest be bought in a slab but not just any of the increasing number of off brand plastic pushers.&nbsp; These coins exist by the thousands but demand will continue to make them appealing to the criminal element.&nbsp; My answer is to collect something else but I really hope those of you who &#039;have&#039; to have one of these will take special care in picking your &quot;expert&quot;.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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