Is there a way to shop on VCoins for US sellers only?

[thenickelguy]

I have been looking around in there and find tons of coins for sale but I can't seem to filter out places I am not interested in buying from. I have nothing against other sellers except shipping costs and waiting times.

Hope it's OK to mention the VC site. Thanks

Edited June 29, 2022 by thenickelguy

[kirispupis]

Couldn't you just ignore the stores that don't list prices in USD? 

FWIW, stores like London Ancient Coins ship faster than most of the US sellers. I've received FedEx packages on Thursday that were shipped Monday from London. Most of the US sellers use USPS, which can take eons...

I do wish there was a way to strip certain stores from the results, though. For example, I don't trust Zurqieh and they tend to list tons of coins that I have to scroll through.

[thenickelguy]

Ah ... I had it set to see all prices in USD. That is a help. Thanks

Late edit: I do like the looks of that store you mentioned though. Looking now 

Edited June 29, 2022 by thenickelguy

[Topcat7]

37 minutes ago, kirispupis said:

Couldn't you just ignore the stores that don't list prices in USD? 

FWIW, stores like London Ancient Coins ship faster than most of the US sellers. I've received FedEx packages on Thursday that were shipped Monday from London. Most of the US sellers use USPS, which can take eons...

I do wish there was a way to strip certain stores from the results, though. For example, I don't trust Zurqieh and they tend to list tons of coins that I have to scroll through.

Mmmmm. Interesting! "Tons of coins" is a good thing, isn't it?

My experiences with Zurqieh have been good. (Fast, accurate description, good communication.) Just goes to show, eh?

[John Conduitt]

8 minutes ago, Topcat7 said:

My experiences with Zurqieh have been good. (Fast, accurate description, good communication.)

I believe the widely-discussed objection to Zurqieh (and some other VCoins dealers) is not in their service levels but the patina on some of their coins and perhaps the provenance of some of their items.

Edited June 30, 2022 by John Conduitt

[kirispupis]

10 minutes ago, John Conduitt said:

I believe the widely-discussed objection to Zurqieh (and some other VCoins dealers) is not in their service levels but the patina on some of their coins and perhaps the provenance of some of their items.

Correct. They also tend to list a lot of Egyptian antiquities (non-coins) whose authenticity I strongly suspect. Given these practices, I can't entirely trust the authenticity of the coins they sell either, so I stay away from them. They're the only seller whose coins I won't bother to even look at, though there are other sellers I don't buy from (though I'll peruse their coins) because they resell coins from auctions I don't trust.

[thenickelguy]

Thank you everyone!

Well, I had an educational couple hours anyway. I learned what a hippocamp was. I've seen them but didn't  know that was the name of one. I also learned what an eunuch was after reading about Philetaerus, King of Pergamon. Kinda disturbing. 
Pergamon was quite the place.
I had a few nice coins in my cart but when I saw the total, I didn't pull the trigger.
Every minute I spend reading and looking I am learning more.
I think there will always be a "good deal" out there to be had, so it's back to work I go. 
A coin is going to have to really grab me. Not that I'm cheap, but I can afford to be picky and a bit frugal.

[JohanTR]

Go to Vcoins main page and at the top, click on Stores by Category.

 Click on Dealers by Country and bookmark that page

Scroll down to United States, find a dealer, right click and open in a new tab

when done, close tab and go on to the next one

 

works for me🙂

[DonnaML]

1 hour ago, kirispupis said:

Correct. They also tend to list a lot of Egyptian antiquities (non-coins) whose authenticity I strongly suspect. Given these practices, I can't entirely trust the authenticity of the coins they sell either, so I stay away from them. They're the only seller whose coins I won't bother to even look at, though there are other sellers I don't buy from (though I'll peruse their coins) because they resell coins from auctions I don't trust.

The experts in the io.com ancientartifacts group seem to think that most of their Egyptian antiquities are genuine. What concerns me more than authenticity is whether the sources of the place's seemingly inexhaustible supply of small Egyptian artifacts are legitimate. After all, you can't dig them up in Abu Dhabi, and exporting antiquities from Egypt hasn't been legal for some time, to the best of my knowledge. I can't help wondering if there are really enough small Egyptian artifacts floating around on the legitimate secondary market in the Middle East to allow Zurqieh to replenish his inventory perpetually.

[thenickelguy]

JohanTR, I'm sorry but I go to home page, nowhere do I see Stores by Category, at the top or anywhere else. I looked hard. Maybe you could go there for me please, copy and paste the link for me in this thread. I just don't see it.

 

35 minutes ago, JohanTR said:

Go to Vcoins main page and at the top, click on Stores by Category.

 Click on Dealers by Country and bookmark that page

Scroll down to United States, find a dealer, right click and open in a new tab

when done, close tab and go on to the next one

 

works for me🙂

 

Edited June 30, 2022 by thenickelguy

[JohanTR]

here you go

 

Stores by Category

Ancient Coins Dealers Online | VCoins.com Coin stores online

 

and Dealers by Country

VCoins.com - dealers by country

[thenickelguy]

Awesome! Thank you 😊

Works good.

[Topcat7]

5 hours ago, John Conduitt said:

I believe the widely-discussed objection to Zurqieh (and some other VCoins dealers) is not in their service levels but the patina on some of their coins and perhaps the provenance of some of their items.

Mmmmm. OK. Thanks.

[KenDorney]

16 hours ago, John Conduitt said:

I believe the widely-discussed objection to Zurqieh (and some other VCoins dealers) is not in their service levels but the patina on some of their coins and perhaps the provenance of some of their items.

This is the main objection.  I dont care for the applied patina or soil/dirt/sand but its generally accepted and considered an improvement in many place in the world.  It's easy to simply not buy them that way, or to clean it off when you get them.  For me, I simply dont buy them as I prefer not to clean coins.

16 hours ago, kirispupis said:

They also tend to list a lot of Egyptian antiquities (non-coins) whose authenticity I strongly suspect.

From what I have seen in the past 100% has been genuine, but I have not looked in a couple years.  Despite what some might think based on social media posts, Hussam is a really great guy.

 

14 hours ago, DonnaML said:

I can't help wondering if there are really enough small Egyptian artifacts floating around on the legitimate secondary market in the Middle East to allow Zurqieh to replenish his inventory perpetually.

You would be surprised at how much material is out there sitting in dealer store rooms.  Its truly amazing, really.  But, do I think smuggling doesnt happen?  Of course not.  It always will when there are buyers, especially so from poorer nations.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I overcame my reticence and made a minor order from Zurquieh.  It was super-fast, arriving within a week and a half from the order, and postage was under 6 dollars.  Many factors had made me stay away; I was warned against that dealer by another in around 2008 (same type of concerns voiced here), I used to be afraid to order from overseas, especially a place so far away, and the orange patina thing.

It was purchased for the Hadrian, which was probably aXF by wear, but crystallized and chipped.  The bust was mostly spared.  The AEs were all 'impulse' buys, mainly as box tickers.  The bonus: the Nabataean was the most expensive of the AE at $9.  I don't know if the patina's faux on the the AE's, but for $6 and 7 respectively, one can't really squawk. For $6, it should be a bd encrusted lump.  And $6 is about what I'm willing to pay for a widow's mite.

I actually like Zurquieh better than the other, closer to home orange dealer.  At least the silver's mostly left alone.

Per the coins, there was one Alexandrian Drachm which didn't look quite right. It was probably genuine and corroded - same type of situation as the Hadrian, but I kept away from that one. 

The coins arrived in paper envelopes but now that I've ordered 200 flips (100 lasted me since 2009), so I'm good now.

After my good experience, I'd certainly return.  My experience certainly flipped my opinion.