Classical Numismatics Discussion
  Welcome Guest. Please login or register. 10% Off Store-Wide Sale Until 2 April!!! Explore Our Website And Find Joy In The History, Numismatics, Art, Mythology, And Geography Of Coins!!! Expert Authentication - Accurate Descriptions - Reasonable Prices - Coins From Under $10 To Museum Quality Rarities Welcome Guest. Please login or register. 10% Off Store-Wide Sale Until 2 April!!! Explore Our Website And Find Joy In The History, Numismatics, Art, Mythology, And Geography Of Coins!!! Support Our Efforts To Serve The Classical Numismatics Community - Shop At Forum Ancient Coins

New & Reduced


Author Topic: Who can be trusted?  (Read 524 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Mark J2

  • Praetorian
  • **
  • Posts: 33
Who can be trusted?
« on: September 03, 2021, 07:34:12 pm »
So my question is, you can't buy in confidence from Ebay or Etsy... as I have learned from first hand information, who can be trusted?

[REMOVED BY ADMIN - THE ANSWER IS FORVM ANCIENT COINS!]


Offline Virgil H

  • Caesar
  • ****
  • Posts: 1404
Re: Who can be trusted?
« Reply #1 on: September 03, 2021, 08:39:33 pm »
The only one I can vouch for personally is Forum Ancient Coins on your list. There are some others not on your list I know of, but rules here preclude mentioning them as Forum Shop supports this Forum and is Joe's site, so I honor his rules on this and I buy 80% of my coins from him, so I am biased anyway. But I have never had an issue. I will say that I bought one coin from a dealer on vcoins that was trusted by many and it was misattributed. Not a huge deal, but still. When I got the coin, it was pretty obvious even to me and if I had any sense I would have noticed from the photos before I bought it. We are talking wrong city here, that is all. And there are many vendors there, so each one needs to be vetted. I think NCG slabs are a pretty safe bet, but they don't guarantee authenticity (there is another thread about encapsulated coins going on now you may want to look at). That said, I think most NCG coins are going to be real.

Hope this helps a bit.

Virgil

Online Tracy Aiello

  • Caesar
  • ****
  • Posts: 445
Re: Who can be trusted?
« Reply #2 on: September 03, 2021, 09:05:07 pm »
Hi Mark,

Welcome to the community. I echo Virgil's comments 100%. You will never go wrong purchasing from Joe. His prices are extremely fair and his coin write-ups, attribution/historical context are second to none. Period. I've purchased other places and via auction, and no one anywhere comes close to the depth and detail of Joe's write-ups. For me when I was first starting out in this hobby (addiction?) that kind of information was paramount, because it was a great way for me to learn. Notice at the bottom of each category page in Forum's shop how Joe presents a list of references? That kind of information is golden when first starting out. At least it was for me. Let's not forget Numiswiki and let's never forget the eternal guarantee of authenticity that Forum provides.

Happy collecting.

Tracy

Offline Ron C2

  • Procurator Caesaris
  • Caesar
  • ****
  • Posts: 1055
  • Qvod perierat adhvc exstat nvmmorvm
Re: Who can be trusted?
« Reply #3 on: September 03, 2021, 11:11:49 pm »
Joe is a (very good) coin dealer that offers this fine website free for all to use.  That service has to be funded by his business - which isn't thriving if he lets people come here and effectively advertise for his competitors.

Realistically you cannot always buy from Forum, because Forum does not always have an example of the coin you might be trying to acquire.  If this is the case, I would suggest that sites which are also widely recognized authentication services are also a low risk proposition (generally speaking).  There are lots of well respected ancient coin dealers in the world, and there are some that have difficulty finding their ethics.  It's really not that difficult to ferret out who is which.

Any time I've purchased from a well-known, trusted, and established dealer - if I had any doubts on concerns, they have taken the coins back.  Perhaps ask about their policies in this regard first before buying something impulsively?  Also, as a general rule, consider purchasing only from places that specialize in ancient coins (and that check out, and, and...). 

If they also sell paintings, cars, estate jewellery, etc... you are likely not increasing your odds of purchasing an authentic coin if you aren't adept enough to authenticate it yourself ;)
My Ancient Coin Gallery: Click here

R. Cormier, Ottawa

Offline Joe Sermarini

  • Owner, President
  • FORVM STAFF
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 12103
  • All Coins Guaranteed for Eternity.
    • FORVM ANCIENT COINS
Re: Who can be trusted?
« Reply #4 on: September 04, 2021, 10:10:02 pm »
Notice at the bottom of each category page in Forum's shop how Joe presents a list of references?

Perhaps even more useful, the reference abbreviations in the descriptions are all links to NumisWiki pages with the full name of the reference, and often other information, sometimes even a link to the reference online.
Joseph Sermarini
Owner, President
FORVM ANCIENT COINS

 

All coins are guaranteed for eternity