"Jimmy Smith" wrote:
Has there been much selling of fake ancient coins on Ebay?
... most of the buyers would not know a fake from a real coin ...
Where is the best, cheapest, trustworthy place to buy ancient coins?

I do not buy anything on eBay. Positives can be manipulated. Buyers
and sellers are anonymous. I usually save my money and go to
numismatic conventions hosted by coin clubs, especially the larger
regional and national shows put on by the American Numismatic
Association and by clubs that are ANA members. I have also shopped
via the mail, generally patronizing those dealers who advertise in THE
CELATOR, the leading magazine for collectors of ancients.

In fact, rather that buying from anyone, if you are interested in
ancients, you should start with a subscription to The Celator. In
numismatics, we often cite the words of Aaron Feldman: "Buy the book
before you buy the coin." In addition to The Celator, there is a
series of books by Wayne Sayles, published by Krause.
(Sayles founded The Celator; it is now owned by Kerry Wetterstrom.)

The problem of fakes in numismatics generally is very real and in
ancients all the more so. A recent report published in The Celator
tells of fakes salted into cheap "uncleaned" lots of Roman coins.

If you go to coin shows you get to see the coins. You will learn to
spot the easy fakes. More knowledge brings more confidence. At some
level, you have to minimize your risk by patronizing trusted sellers.
That means participating in the hobby. There is some overhead cost in
this. However, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Ultimately,
you pay as much as you would have if you had done the job right the
first time.

We in America do not stand up often enough for capitalism and the free
enterprise system. You go to the grocery store; you pay $1.29 for a
can of soup and lo! you get a can of soup. You click up Travelocity,
give them your credit card number and lo! you really do have
reservation on a jetliner. We never question it. eBay is more like a
Third World open air market. It is a totally different kind of trade
and commerce than we are used to. Yes, there are many bargains, but
only because there is also greater risk.

Here is my review of THE CELATOR:
http://www.coin-newbies.com/articles/celator.html

Here is a link to the books of Wayne Sayles:
http://ancientcoins.ac

Michael
ANA R-162953
MSNS 7935