ohadary

Hi,

I went to an ancient coin expert yesterday in New York City to check if the attached coins are real or fake and he had a real surprise for me! He told me that the first two are fakes and only the third one is real (worth $5-10). I always had my doubts about the first coin, but it is the second one that I can not believe is a fake. I cleaned it myself after it was given to me by a diver who found it in the sea off Alexandria in Egypt. What do you think, can it be a fake?

Thanks,

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satootoko

It certainly can be a fake, and if an expert believes that it is, who am I to argue with him

Assuming that the diver who gave it to you was telling the absolute truth, it doesn't prove anything about it's authenticity. Being found underwater in need of a cleaning proves only two things:

• Iit was in the water when found; and
• It had gotten dirty between the time it was made and the time it was found.

From that information, and that information alone, it can be conclusively deduced that it is either:

• A genuine coin
• A contemporary counterfeit made for circulation
• A replica or fantasy piece made more than 100 years ago
• A replica or fantasy piece made less than 100 years ago for some legitimate purpose
• A "souvenir" made to fool tourists/collectors which was artificially aged and planted to be found
• A "souvenir" made to fool tourists/collectors which was tossed into the water by a sucker who bought it and later found out what it was
• A "souvenir" made to fool tourists/collectors which was accidentally dropped in the water
• Something else.

BTW to CoinTalk.

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happycobra

The first one does look a little funny. The second coin if it were a fake, would trick me

ohadary

Thanks for your help. I will probably take this coin to another expert and see what he thinks. The first guy did not explain why he thinks this is a fake and so I am far from being convinced. Maybe he never saw a similar coin (which makes it very rare) or maybe the fact that the first coin is fake cast some doubt on the authenticity of the second one.

Thanks,

Conder101

Don't make that assumption. Since there are tens of thousands of varieties of ancient coins, just because he hasn't seen that one doesn't mean it is rare, let alone very rare.

He may have also recognized it as a contemporary counterfeit and called it a fake for that reason.

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Troodon

I guess I can see why the second one might be fake, if those dots all over its surface are casting bubbles, however that could have been caused by being submerged in salt water too. Would show it to others to sww what other opinions you get, without showing them the other suspected fake.

Also if it is a contemporary counterfeit rather than a modern one still might be worth something anyway, at least due to novelty value.

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ohadary

Thanks Troodon, I guess you might be right about the dots on the surface, they can be misleading, but then the fact that this coin was submersed in water for 2000 years might be the reason as you said. Anyway, I am still looking for experts in the New York Metropolitan area to show them the coin, and I will take your advice and not show them the second one.

Thanks everybody

quick dog

If the coins were collected from the seafloor off the coast at Alexandria, would they not be the property of the Egyptian government? I was under the impression that Egypt was quite concerned about illegal disturbance and collection of artifacts in the bay at Alexamdria.

I guess there is no shortage of these coins anyway.