I've purchased thousands of coins online over the years, and much of what I have learned was gained the hard way. As anyone who has spent any amount of time perusing ancient coin listings on eBay knows, there are as many types of sellers as their are ancient coins: Good ones, bad ones, crusty ones, and dirty ones. How to find good coins? This list is just my experience--I don't claim to have a magic formula that will guarantee a great online purchase of uncleaned coins. However, I have learned what to avoid, and subsequently, a few common denominators that have reduced my risks when buying uncleaned ancient coins online.

1. Pictures Don't Necessarily Guarantee Success. While a listing's picture can be a good indicator of the quality of the items for sale, this is not always the case. So, how do you minimize the risk of buying bad coins? Taking good pictures of uncleaned coins is not an easy task. It took me months to get to the point where I could take a half-decent photograph of a coin or coins. However, being able to view a good picture of a listing is a huge step in the right direction for making a good purchase. But be careful: Has the photo been altered? One giveaway is if the contrast has been turned way up, or the sharpness. Does the background of the photo bleed into colored hues, or is it a flat white (which is good)? Sometimes a "doctored" or heavily Photoshopped item contains red or pink shaded hues on the edges. What you are looking for is a photo that contains natural or even light, not colored edges or surrounding fields. How has the seller positioned the coins? If the coins are being photographed at an extremely sharp angle, this can be a trick to grossly enhance the detail of an otherwise medium- or low-grade coin. So look for photos that look, well, normal or natural. Undoctored. But be careful: Just because a listing has sub-standard photos doesn't necessarily mean the seller is trying to inflate or exaggerate the quality of his or her merchandise. Sometimes very honest, earnest sellers just simply don't know the finer art of macro photography. It's a gut feeling--the greatest coin purchase I ever made on Ebay contained a really bad photo of 11 coins being sold by an individual with a 7 feedback score! I carefully examined the photo, and thought I saw two silver coins in the lot. And because the listing only had one bid, I was able to win the auction for $9. One of the 11 coins was a silver Triumvir issue of Octavian, Antony and Lepidus, worth about $200!

2. Look beyond the pictures. Read the entire listing. Yes, it can take time, but good sellers have traits in common that will help you make a good buying choice. For one, they allow returns. Second, they work hard to give you the information you need to buy safely. Specifically, they offer a succinct, clear description of their listing. With uncleaned coin buying, I've been blown away by some of the information to be had "in plain sight." For instance, I was cruising through the listings one evening under the category "roman lots," and came across a really sweet looking set of about 10 coins. One was a Nero, and I believe one other was a very sweet looking Trajan with killer brown patina. The listing had about three days left, and already the price was up to about $70. And here is what the listing description said: "Some odds and ends that were sitting in my draw for some time, now ready to sell, including Roman, Byz, Reps, Greek, etc." Did you catch that word "reps"? I emailed the seller and asked if the EF Nero he had casually referred to as an "odd or end" was authentic, and he replied, "No, a rep." As in, a reproduction. So be careful--most sellers are quite honest, I've found, but there's always a bad apple in the batch, such as this particular seller who "buried" his rep information in his listing.

3. Use Ebay's organizing tools. One of the most powerful features that has helped me cut down on my number of disappointing purchases is simply the favorite sellers feature. When I find a seller I really like, I save them as a Favorite Seller. Currently I have a short list of about 15 sellers that I have saved in my Favorites area, and I buy from them on a consistent basis.

4. Don't be spooked by the word "Dutch." Yes, I know, some will tell you to avoid sellers who feature Dutch auctions (wherein you pay a set price--for example $2.00--per coin, under the Buy It Now feature. Actually, if you can find a trustworthy seller who offers Dutch auctions, it can be a nice way to buy uncleaned ancient coins if you don't want to hassle with an Auction, or want to, well, buy it now. I've bought from oldcoinman in this manner, and have always been pleased with the results.

5. There's something in the shape. When browsing for uncleaned coins, you can tell a lot by the shape of the coins for sale, and how they are shown in the listing. I prefer to buy from sellers who shoot their coins from directly overhead, with at least half the coins showing fully. A pile of 50 coins shot from an angle, where you can only actually see the shape of say 10 coins, makes me skittish. A couple of examples of sellers who provide straightforward, true-to-life photos of their coins are something-from-history (who sells nice uncleaned Holy Land-found coins) and Wallyworld. Both of these sellers give you full-coin views of all the items in a particular lot. Also, be wary of lots that reveal chipped, broken, or bent coins. I look for listings with a majority of coins that have clean, uniform, rounded shapes. Typically, the more prominent dealers are buying their uncleaned coins from wholesalers or excavators in Europe or the Middle East. So if you find a seller that you like, the chances are that, because their suppliers are reliable, they will consistently have decent coins for sale.

6. What's in a country? I've read reports online, both on eBay and on other ancient coin collecting sites, telling beginning collectors to stay clear of coins from the Balkans or the surrounding southern and eastern European nations. You know, I've bought some amazing uncleaned coins from the Balkans (Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia), and I've bought some real duds. Every hoard found is unique, though of course regional finds do share common history in terms of the trade routes present, etc. Just be careful, and if you are trying out a new source, buy small at first and test the merchandise.

7. Buy like a toroise, not a hare. When I first discovered the captivating world of ancient coin collecting, I went a little nuts. I'd go online, click on "endingsoonest" and bid like a crazy person. I think in my first month collecting, I learned a very fast, hard lesson as I got to know the meaning of words such as "cull," "practice coins," "medium grade," and "gold found." Rather than rushing to "ending soonest," I now first out the newly listed auctions. Then, when I find one that looks promising, I watch it. At any given time, I am watching anywhere between 40-80 listings. Do I bid on all of those? No. (If I did, me and my pillow would be sleeping in the basement, away from my wife!) I rarely bid early. I wait, watch, and see what develops. I try to avoid the auctions that get red hot--after years of bidding, I've learned that a good deal is rarely had from a bidding war. I actually look for those listings that look promising but have not been "bid up" too high within a few hours of the closing. Then, I set my price in my mind, and typically bid just once--toward the end of the listing. That way, if I lose the auction, I can sleep well, knowing that I bid the amount over which I was not comfortable paying. Hey, that's just me. Whatever style of bidding you choose, do it with "ceiling" prices in mind, and with your own personal budget well in hand.

8. Give feedback. Every time. It's just common courtesy, and as a seller myself, I can tell you that a seller will remember who you are if you are consistent with your feedback. For my loyal, return customers who do give feedback, I throw in bonus coins with virtually every order. Ebay may be huge and somewhat impresonal, but I know who my customers are, and I reward them for that loyalty!

9. Don't ignore single-item listings. Even if you are solely a bulk-buying, uncleaned coin bidder, change things up every now and then and browse individual listings. You would be surprised what you can find there. There are so many individual listings, that if you are diligent, you can find great deals. More listings can mean less competition when you go to bid.

10. Ask questions. Back when I was a beginner ebay bidder, if I had not asked that seller what a "rep" was, I would have paid way too much for some coins that I thought were originals, only to find out their were reproductions. (There is nothing wrong with buying repros--some nice ones can be found. Just make sure you know that what you are buying is not an original.) If a listing is spotty, or the photo not up to par, I've found that a quick message to a seller can be a great help. Based on the manner and speed in which a seller responds, I've ended up bidding on items that I otherwise wouldn't have--and come away with some great deals. Use the messaging system Ebay provides, or email the seller if they don't use Ebay's messaging system.

All the best in your coin-hunting endeavors.

Kyle at Seven Hills Coins