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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kaparthy, post: 94917, member: 57463&quot;]<b>If You Don&#039;t Know Yours Coins, Know Your Dealer</b></p><p><br /></p><p>I recommend the VCOINS site of independent dealers, <a href="http://www.vcoins.com" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.vcoins.com" rel="nofollow">www.vcoins.com</a>.&nbsp; Here is why.</p><p><br /></p><p>I went to the site mentioned above and they do not say that they are ANA or ANS members. They do not say who the owners are.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>On the other hand, the VCOINS dealers identify themselves, are ANA and ANS members, go to conventions, write books and articles, etc., etc.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the March 2004 issue of <i>The Celator</i>, there was a warning about fake ancients being salted into bargain lots of 99-cent coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>Bargain lots of uncleaned coins, are not bargain lots of unsearched coins.&nbsp; I have done this, sitting with a dealer, out in the Florida morning sunshine, going through a new shipment from the Middle East, sorting and searching the coins right through the dirt into little packets of approximately equal value -- and putting the better coins aside for a different set of sales...&nbsp; all without cleaning.</p><p><br /></p><p>I bought my first ancient as a numismatist in 1993.&nbsp; I bought my last in 2002.&nbsp; I have written over a dozen articles about them, one of which garnered an ANA literary award.&nbsp; I rely heavily on the dealers who see hundreds of these at a time, thousands upon thousands, year after year.&nbsp; That goes for ancients, tokens, paper, anything.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Yes, there are things I know that they do not.&nbsp; A little study goes a long way.&nbsp; But if I wanted to move into a new area of collecting, I always start with a reliable, expert dealer, from a trusted marketplace, such as an ANA or MSNS convention bourse floor, or an advertisement in a magazine such as <i>The Celator</i>, or a recommendation from another dealer or collector whom I know from experience to trust.</p><p><br /></p><p>Read about The Celator here:</p><p><a href="http://www.coin-newbies.com/articles/celator.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.coin-newbies.com/articles/celator.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.coin-newbies.com/articles/celator.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Then goto <a href="http://www.celator.com" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.celator.com" rel="nofollow">www.celator.com</a> and see if you want to buy a sample issue.&nbsp; Among the bargain dealers with bulk lots are Frank Robinson (retired administrative law judge, author, and expert on Chinese coins) and Francis Rath of Youngstown, New York, who has been doing this for 30 years.</p><p><br /></p><p>Let me give you one example of a good &quot;pig in a poke&quot; purchase.&nbsp; I was at the Michigan State Numismatic Society convention, looking for ancients and I saw a tray of medieval and asked if he had any ancients.&nbsp; He asked what I wanted and I said, &quot;Got any Ionian silver?&quot; and he said, &quot;Gold can be as cheap as silver.&quot;&nbsp; and I looked up and I was facing Andy Singer.&nbsp; Gordon Andreas Singer is well known for medievals -- and he was sharing his table with Edward Waddell, also well known in ancients.&nbsp;&nbsp; Dr. Singer said that he got this little coin in a collection and he knew nothing about it.&nbsp; So, he did not know the coin -- but I knew the dealer...&nbsp; turns out, it&#039;s a museum piece...&nbsp; nothing like it... unique...&nbsp; I&#039;m still pretty happy with it.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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