Byzantine Coin - Authentic?

DustyCoinbox

I am considering purchasing a Byzantine coin (Coin)
How do I know it's authentic? It says it comes with a certification from a purported expert in the field. How do I judge the quality of the certification?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

-DCB

Dawg144

It looks to me that the certificate of authenticity is signed by the seller...which may be a bit of a bias.
His feedback looks decent, and nothing horrible has come up for a few years. He seems to me like he knows what he's talking about. However, I did a quick search of him and I saw nothing pointing to Long Island University. The only "Nechayev" I found was a pre-calc instructor. Coupled with the small pictures, I would be cautious on this one.

MadMuffin

I agree with dawg. There are plenty of byzantine coins out there so my best advise is to keep on looking.

When you find a coin that you like you should check the following:
- seller feedback - should be at least 99.7% (IMO)
- seller's other items or ebay shop - does he sell many other byzantine coins including some expensive types (which would indicate that he has some knowledge on the field) or is this the only byzantine coin that he happens to offer?

There are plenty of home made certificates out there and I wouldn't trust them too much.

Perhaps one of the other members here could recommend a trustworthy seller?

Good luck on your hunt!

Marcel

AuldFartte

Seller's feedback is too low for me to even consider grabbing that one. I draw the line at 99.5% positive.

CIVITAS

The coin looks authentic to me, but it looks like it may have been heavily worked (but it's hard to say for sure). I also think there's better out there for the same price or less than this example.

Try a search on Vcoins for "anonymous follis" and see what comes up. Ephesus has several nice ones for about 100 dollars or a little less. Mediterranean Coins has a very nice example for about the same price as the eBay coin. It's worth a look.

DustyCoinbox

Thank you all, very Much! I'll heed your advice and keep looking.

-DCB

lordmarcovan

I second the recommendation of VCoins. My favorite dealers there are Ancient Imports, Incitatus Coins, and of course Civitas, who was kind enough to chime in here.