When the coin arrived and i opened up he package i thought they had sent the wrong coin.
On closer examination it is without a doubt the same coin but boy does it ever look different.
Auction photo totally misrepresented the coin and probably garnered a higher bid, i know i wouldn't have gone as high.
Hi DP,
That has happened to me a few times in my 24 years of collecting
ancient coins. Your 3 sentences (above) perfectly sum up how I felt when I received the coin. The last instance for me was a supposedly well respected European dealer. It was also the highest value coin that I ever
had to return (much more valuable than your coin). That was the second time and last time I ever did business with him. However, in that case, it wasn't a "coloring issue". The coin was actually damaged. It
had a nasty gouge in it. And the dealer either manipulated the lighting/angle when he shot the photo and/or altered the photo (photoshopped?) after shooting it in an effort to conceal the damage. I was furious when I received the coin because I bid so high on it. I returned it with a very nasty email/letter. I rarely have to do that (less than 0.5% of the time). I have well over 2,000
ancient coins in my
collection. And I have
had to return a coin less than 10 times in 24 years of collecting. As I mentioned above, I just never did business with that dealer again. I think that thinking ties in with what owner Joe mentioned above. The best way to deal with these
types of situations is to never do business with that particular dealer again. I have
had to do that with several dealers over the decades for different, various reasons. I now have a small
circle of dealers that I do business with regularly, and I have great trust in them.
That being stated, I think that you are "making a mountain out of a mole
hill" (as the old saying goes). In your case, it is just a coloring issue. Obviously, they did something with the lighting when they shot the photo. That is the reason why most dealers describe the color of the coin in the text description in addition to posting photos of it. Your coin isn't actually "damaged". It is just a different color than they represented it to be in the
auction photos. I actually prefer green coins anyway. I think your coin looks better in your photos than the dealer photos. But that is just my personal preference.
Meepzorp