Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;1934 Wreath Crown, post: 3102478, member: 76965&quot;]Welcome to CT Mike ([USER=67575]@Mkman123[/USER]). Like you I&#039;m a novice when it comes to ancients. Most of the guys here on CT are extremely knowledgeable and can spot a fake from miles. But unfortunately I couldn&#039;t tell even if it hit me on the head. I dabble in ancients from time to time and love the look of Phoenician shekels or Alexander III tetradrachms or those from the Seleucid empire etc but would not profess to being able to tell a real one from a cleverly cast fake. </p><p><br /></p><p>Not too long back I bought a couple of fairly expensive coins ($2,000+ each) from a very well known auction house which turned out to be fake or severely impaired. If I hadn&#039;t submitted them for grading, I&#039;d still be sitting on them, foolishly thinking I had something special. Moreover, if you&#039;ve got a really special coin, would you want a clumsy friend dropping it on a hard floor and putting a mark or scratch on it, reducing its value by half???</p><p><br /></p><p>Yes in ancients there are many different things to look for in a coin like the strike quality, centring, metal quality, porosity and very importantly the style (fine style coins command a much higher price among the investor collectors), which one does not have to worry about too much in moderns. I use the term &#039;investor collectors&#039; because many of them collect to accumulate nice collections but also to enhance their wealth in future whereas most of our colleagues here at CT are true collectors, passionate about their hobby but not overly concerned about profiting from their hobby.</p><p><br /></p><p>There was a recent thread about a CT member who purchased some very expensive Chinese coins, in raw state and found them to all be modern reproductions/fakes. Luckily that auction house would take back the coins even after many months to protect their reputation but if you&#039;re buying from eBay, you would be picking up the tab after the 2 month period expires.</p><p><br /></p><p>So to summarise, it&#039;s your money at the end of the day and you&#039;ve got to decide what you&#039;re comfortable with. Consider where and who you&#039;re buying from, how much you&#039;re paying and if you want to break some out of their prison, feel free to do so. You might consider having the coin graded/authenticated but not encapsulated.....best of both worlds IMHO.</p><p><br /></p><p>I think I&#039;ll take a long holiday now so most of the guys will have forgotten my post when I come back to CT<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in