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Let's play the "real" or "fake" game...


Romismatist

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If that is fake, it is a pretty good one.  The edges seem a bit suspiciously round and even, but that might be the way the photo is cropped.  And yes, I agree, some of the fakes out there are quite convincing - and some fairly common coins are being faked.  Some Gordian III antoninii from Bulgaria are positively scary.  

A seller on eBay listed this one as fake, for $9.95 buy it now.  I thought it looked okay, although it is a bit light.  I have found from time to time that eBay sellers who do not know what they have play it safe and call it fake, when sometimes it is not. 

456996385_Trajan-DenariusAequitasFeb2022(0aa1).jpg.e374f04e28f62ccc0e8422b218ea436c.jpg

Trajan Denarius (103-111 A.D.) Rome Mint IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P, laureate bust right, draped left shoulder / COS V PP SPQR OPTI[MO PR]INC, Aequitas standing left with scales & cornucopiae. RIC 118; RSC 85; BMC 281. (2.51 grams / 17 mm) eBay Feb. 2022 $9.95 BIN

  

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If it is indeed fake, that coin would certainly fool me, and I am somewhat familiar with Trajanic coinage.

@Marsyas Mike I find it difficult to determine the authenticity of worn coins. I wouldn't personally buy that one mainly due to the lettering on the obverse, it looks strangely blurry and rounded and some of the spacing strikes me as bizarre.

Edited by Steppenfool
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6 minutes ago, Steppenfool said:

If it is indeed fake, that coin would certainly fool me, and I am somewhat familiar with Trajanic coinage.

@Marsyas Mike I find it difficult to determine the authenticity of worn coins. I wouldn't personally buy that one mainly due to the lettering on the obverse, it looks strangely blurry and rounded and some of the spacing strikes me as bizarre.

Yeah, I agree.  Since the seller stated it was a fake to begin with, I thought it was worth the price just in case it was okay.  One of the things I used to really like about worn ancients was that they weren't faked as much as the pristine high-grade stuff that I can't afford anyway.  Recently, however, I've seen more and more "worn" fakes of fairly common coins.  This makes me unhappy.  😒 Come on, counterfeiters, leave the low-grade stuff alone! 

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eBay UK is full of random low grade fakes now, I'd say about 2/3 of listings fall into this category. Thankfully they do have a distinctive appearance and are blatantly cast. I mainly buy exclusively from trusted sellers now. Otherwise the coin needs to pass my eye test and be a great deal on top of that.

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Looks very much like the real deal, which is a very inexpensive coin. From my collection:

125559538_TrajanCOSVPPSPQROPTIMOPRINCVictoriadenarius1.jpg.cebd65a6414af9c13ea7621570b4f625.jpg
Trajan, AD 98-117.
Roman AR Denarius, 3.21 g, 17.8 mm, 6 h.
Rome, AD 107.
Obv: IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P, laureate head, right, with drapery on left shoulder.
Rev: COS V P P S P Q R OPTIMO PRINC, Victory, half-draped, standing left, holding wreath in right hand and palm in left hand.
Refs: RIC 128; BMCRE 328-34; Cohen/RSC 74; Hill UCR 471; RCV 3129.

Edited by Roman Collector
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Speaking of fakes, often, good fakes can't capture the lettering or natural patina. Sometimes a coin can look too clean. When a coin has wear it still could be a fake but just a worn fake. There are those 16th century fakes but they actually have some market value and are not just cheap tourist knockoffs. 

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8 minutes ago, Amarmur said:

I don't like the look of that at all, especially the edge and reverse lettering.

He's also selling these which I wouldn't touch:

image.png.846aa8878e4db96b2883d360bae48800.pngimage.png.c8708392d334ca7ff692b6f9731b6707.pngThis feedback should seal the deal.

BUYER BEWARE: FAKE ancient coins. Seller claims they're authentic, "all coins checked prior to shipping". I submitted the tetradrachm to an independent expert, who marked it as a fake, even provided URLs to stores selling the exact same replica (cheaper than what I paid!) -- other coins aren't similar, but identical (even faults, background markings). Also: auction pictures differ from actual coin; coins supposedly obtained from Wigan, but seller cannot prove. DO NOT BUY. You've been warned.

Edited by Steppenfool
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  • 2 weeks later...
1 hour ago, Amarmur said:

This probus? 90% sure its fake

IMG_9394.jpg

IMG_9395.jpg

It looks ok to me - I don't see any glaring issues with it. Why do you think it's fake?

 

On 11/26/2022 at 5:18 PM, Steppenfool said:

eBay UK is full of random low grade fakes now, I'd say about 2/3 of listings fall into this category. Thankfully they do have a distinctive appearance and are blatantly cast. I mainly buy exclusively from trusted sellers now. Otherwise the coin needs to pass my eye test and be a great deal on top of that.

I know! It's really annoying, and clogging up my feed when I look for new coins.

It's also slightly depressing that they often sell for more than my similar grade (but genuine) coins...

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26 minutes ago, Kiaora said:

Only if cheap for the Black Cabinet! It’s a fake - nonsense obverse legend, poor style -especially the eyes and mouth, and listed on Forum Ancient Coins https://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/displayimage.php?pid=231

 

ConstantiusFake2.JPG

Haha, yeah that “NOB C AVG” is interesting in the obverse legend. I bought it knowing it was fake for about $5. I’ll buy interesting fakes sometimes if they’re extremely cheap. This is a fun one.

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On 11/26/2022 at 9:53 PM, Amarmur said:

These Elymais coins look fake but really good fakes. I'm actually not sure...

They look fine to me. Also, genuine small Elymaian bronzes of this quality are usually traded for very little money. Producing such elaborate fakes likely wouldn't pay off for the forger...

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