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Message:: [QUOTE="medoraman, post: 1990777, member: 26302"]Just be careful guys. These aren't hoards in the proper sense of the word. A true hoard of coins are a group found together that the owner buried together. These coins look like loose ground finds. Huge difference. A hoard will be protected and usually the coins are will be in better shape. Loose ground finds will usually show signs of deterioration, like corrosion. So, this "hoard" is simply a pile of metal detecting coins that 4 or 5 very experienced people have already sorted through to pick out any valuable coins. Guaranteed. The people employed in the source countries know more about ancients than we do, since its their business. If you like the challenge of cleaning them up and identifying them, then go for it. It can be a fun hobby. However, I have seen numerous studies done by "uncleaned coin" collectors, and 90% of all batches you end up losing money on. Unless you hit the lottery, its usually better spent money on an already cleaned coin. It used to be different. When Ebay started out, you COULD buy coins direct from diggers in the fields, and many of their coins WOULD clean up to be fairly valuable. I got a number of Cleopatra VII small bronzes, and a lot of other scarce coins from a digger in Cyprus. However, I believe all of those sources are now gone. Now its a big business, with people along the way all sorting out any valuable coins they identify.[/QUOTE]