Uranius Antoninus tetradrachm found
This coin, a Uranius Antoninus Tetradrachm, was put on sale at Vcoins by the dealer Zurqieh on 12/15/2005. The coin was listed as a "Syrian Tetradrachm" for $145, far below it's actual value because the dealer had not attributed the coin. I bought it immediatley when I saw it the same day, because I recognized how valuable it was. It was especially nice for me because the coin falls right into my specialized collection of 251-253 AD. Six weeks later, on 1/30/06, an empty envelope arrived from Zurqieh. Here is the time line.
12/15/05 I bought the coin and received an automatic confirmation from Vcoins
12/17/05 Receipt of my payment is confirmed.
12/17/05 Zurqieh e-mails me to say that he can get me $250 for the coin from another buyer. I thank him but decline. This made me a little worried that the dealer might decide not to sell the coin. The dealer always left his sold coins on his web page for later viewing and I kept it bookmarked: http://www.vcoins.com/ancient/zurqieh/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=2677&large=1 You can see that the link is dead now. I also saved the page as an html file on my hard drive so fortunately it is not lost and you can see it here: Uranius Antoninus.
In fact, Zurquieh did recieve multiple offers for the coin (but not for $250), but he told the dealers that the coin was sold.
12/20/05 I am informed by e-mail that my order has been shipped
12/23/05 Unbeknownst to me, Zurqieh sent the following e-mail and picture to Michel Prieur (a dealer at CGB.fr and the author of a wonderful book The Syro-Phoenician Tetradrachms and Their Fractions 57 BC to 253 AD):
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Dear sir:
Attached is a coin of Emessa, US$3000.00
35 tetradrachms, US$60.00 each.
Prices delivered to Paris.
All the best
Hussam
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01/30/06 The envelope arrives from Zurqieh. It is registered but none of the borders are stamped, and the envelope has a gummy flap that can easily be opened and was not taped over. The envelope contains only a smaller envelope that is empty and, by all appearances never contained anything. The envelope shows that it was mailed 1/15/06, almost a month after I was told that it had been sent.
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1/30/06 - 2/2/06 I exchange e-mails with Zurqieh, and Bill Peutz of Vcoins also helps me. Of course we don't know if the coin was stolen, or if it was never sent. Hussam Zurqieh very passionately pleas that he is an honest dealer, and I accept his story and wish him well.
2/06-5/06 (approx) Zurquieh offers the coin to several dealers. He explains that he had listed the coin as 'sold' as an advertising ploy. Zurquieh sells the coin to a dealer in Israel (a gentleman with a good reputation, and who was kind enough to telephone me recently). This dealer (I leave his name out because it is not my intent to discuss details of other people's business arrangements) then sold the coin to HJB, who also didn't know of Zurqieh's duplicity.
5/30/06 Michel Prieur (see above) e-mails me to tell me about Zurqieh's attempt to sell him the Uranius Antoninus Tetradrachm. He had not know at the time it was stolen and had declined because of Zurqieh's asking price. Prieur told me that the coin had been offered to him again at a later time by David Hendon, who was selling the coin on consignment (and who likewise didn't know the coin's story). This time the price was higher, and again Prieur declined. That same day I contacted Bill Puetz, and asked for his help in tracking down the coin. With the evidence Prieur provided, Bill Peutz (owner of Vcoins) researched the situation and removed Zurqieh from Vcoins for violating the ethics code. Bill also found that the coin had been bought by Harlan J. Berk Ltd. from a dealer in Israel, (who I later learned is named Runin).
Update 6/10/06: The Uranius Antoninus tetradrachm that had been missing for so long was bought by Harlan J. Berk Ltd. for $2500 the dealer in Israel. They did not know it was stolen at the time and placed in their sale (#150). As soon as I knew HJB had the coin I let them know the coin's history. It put them in a very unpleasant situation. The ethics of the situation (me buying the coin for a fraction of it's value, Zurqieh selling the same coin twice, and Berk having bought the coin without knowing the history) became a hot topic of discussion on two internet discussion boards: FORVM and Ancients.info. I was overwhelmed by the support of fellow collectors and also many dealers who put their name on the line for me. HJB delayed they decision for a few days, which seems like an eternity on the discussion boards. I offered HJB to split the amount of their loss, and told them that I would make it known that they had treated me fairly if they would accept my offer. A few days after I had first contacted HJB, Aaron Burk called me at home and told me that they did not wish me to pay anything for the coin's return, and that they would Fed-Ex it to me the following Monday. This came as quite a surprise - it is still so recent that my mind hasn't fully registered the event. Five months ago at the desk where I sit and type this, I had opened the empty envelope that Zurqieh had sent. In that second, I 'knew' that the coin was gone forever, and that I had been cheated.
Although I am overjoyed to have the coin, the story does not end entirely happily. My loss at the hands of Zurqieh has merely been taken on by Harlan and Aaron Berk and the others at HJB. That is not an acceptable end to the story - I hope that the ancient coin community will show enthusiasm for seeing justice for them, as was done for me. I hope that Zurquieh would clear his name of all this ugliness by reimbursing Harlan. Then we could feel that justice was complete.
Here is the coin after it finally arrived 'home'. Thank you to Harlan and Aaron Burk, Curtis Clay, my many friends at FORVM and Ancients.info, Michel Prieur, and Bill Puetz.
