Post your Fakes here

Aha!

 

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Antoninus (probable fake)
One of the first Denarii I purchased. I'm 99% sure it's fake, but have not been able to find a die match.

 

Tiberius
My youth pastor had dozens of them and used to hand them out; as a counterfeit witnessing tool. ha

Probably silver plated lead; it's 5 grams.
The edge has a seam, but there's no reason to post a picture when it's this obvious.

 

this isn't really a fake, obviously not meant to deceive with the clearly stamped "copy" on the reverse. i guess these were given out my readers digest back in the day. payed a buck for it at a coin show.



this isn't really a fake either, it's a fantasy piece of a byzantine style coin. i'm not sure if the maker meant to deceive or not. it was mixed in with a lot of uncleaned coins, not sure if the seller of that lot was trying to be deceptive or not. at about 2 bucks, i wasn't worried about it.

 

Istros
Given to me by an older guy at Church. He said his Father bought it during WW1 in Europe. He kind of gave it to me with a "He would have wanted you to have this," vibe. I didn't have the heart to tell him.


I've purchased 2 fakes (that I know of) probably have a few more in my collection that I don't know of. 2/400ish - Not bad.

 

Surely those are ancient fakes @Bing. I have a modern solidus fake of Gratian that I keep as a reminder not to buy out of my area.


Gratian, fake solidus, RIC 9 Trier 17 (g) (in sliver)
Obv: D N GRATIANVS P F AVG, Rosette-diademed, draped and cuirassed, right
Rev: VICTORIA AVGG, Two emperors seated facing, together holding a globe. Behind and between them the upper portion of a Victory with outspread wings; between and below, a palm-branch
Exe: TROBT
Mint: Trier
Date: 367-375
Ref: RIC 9 Trier 17 (g)

Modern style.

Dr. Ilya Prokopov's Fake Ancient Coin Reports

 

MODERN FAKE Cast of Roman Republic denarius
P Servilius M F Rufus RVLLI
100 BCE

Purchased 20 years ago when I was first pursuing ancients. Knew no better.
Too round, etc. I actually have a couple more with casting bubbles, etc. that I did not know about during that time.

I also have an ANCIENT FAKE - Fouree. It was given to me as being a good customer from a friend. However, it is my only Fouree... I just do not accept the concept of "fake" during any age. Revolted by the concept of deception / lying, etc.


ANCIENT FAKE - Fouree of Roman Empire denarius
Unknown Emperor - anyone guess?
?? CE

 

modern fake..and i have not got a clue on what coin it copies..if any...

 

Wannabe Shekel of Tyre.

 

Nero maybe?

I have one fake so far but it's not an ancient. The moment the fake hit my hand I knew something wasn't right. Under closer inspection there was an obvious seam, a recent filing on the rim what I imagine was a sprue, and obvious pitting that was not the result of corrosion.

I suppose I could have an ancient fake, but if I do, I don't know it. Feel free to browse my albums and point it out. Just let me down gently

 

My Trajan's Column

 

I am sure many of you remember this fake I bought a few months ago:



The eye is rendered completely wrong compared to the real ones. The copies all share the same corrosion pits as this one.

I got my money back without any questions. Don't buy coins of this type if you see one for sale. There are only 3 genuine ones known and the last real one sold for $6500. Maybe that is why they decided it was worth the trouble to forge it?

 

The coin that inspired this thread, with the results of my study



Some basic observations



And for the edge shot, at 100x magnification with intense LED lighting



The metal is not silver. It could be pewter treated with something to add the patina, but I couldn't say with certainty. But it's definitely not silver.

 

Nice work Sallent on investigating and documenting that coin. That should give us all more ideas what to look out for.

John

 

Could it be:-
Severus Alexander. AD 222-235. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.71 g, 12h). Rome mint. 6th emission, AD 226. Laureate and draped bust right / Annona standing facing, head left, holding cornucopia and sacrificing over altar to left. RIC IV 133; RSC 23.

 

Looks pretty good! Thanks, I can live with that for my fouree.

 

I know I have others but my photos of fakes are not as well organized as my collection images. For the record, only one of the fakes below was purchased as genuine and not refunded by the seller. Several were bought knowing they were fake including the group image of Slavey's which all have toned a bit since this photo was made and look 'better' now.







There is a 'ringer' in the above hoard of fakes. One coin, I believe, is genuine. Can you pick it? (no fair if you are long term and remember when we discussed this a few years ago).

 

@Barry Murphy and @Insider : Thanks for your opinions!

I have to admit that I'm no expert here, but when I first handled this coin, even before looking at the edges, my instinct suggested it seemed 'off'. The last time I posted those pictures here saying I thought it was a fake, at least one member, @maridvnvm, agreed that it looked like two cast halves joined together.

I took a few more pictures of the edge of the coin, showing where the seam runs around the whole circumference. If not a casting seam, what do you think it may be?

 

Septimius Severus, Denarius

Obv:- L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP VII, Laureate head right
Rev:- DIVI M P II F P M TR P III COS II P P, Mars advancing right, holding spear and trophy.
Minted in Rome A.D. 195
Reference:- cf Aureus with references RIC 65. Cohen 123. Calico 2447.

A cast fake made from an example from the Calico 2447 dies. Bought by myself as a study example as a fake.



Julia Domna, denarius

Obv:- IVLIA DOMNA AVG, Draped bust right, hair tied in bun behind
Rev:- MONET AVG, Moneta standing left, holding scales in right hand, cornucopiae in left

Cast fake. I bought one of the earliest of these to hit the market. I then saw three other matches appear on ebay. I have seen hundreds since. The broken N on the reverse is a simple tell.



Clodius Albinus, Denarius

Obv:– D CLOD SEPT ALBIN CAES, Laureate head right
Rev:– FELICITAS COS II, Felicitas standing half left, caduceus in right and scepter in right hand
Minted in Alexandria. A.D. 194.

Cast fake.

I bought the top coin and thought it superfically ok. Whilst researching the coin I located the lower coin. Upon much closer examination I found the traces of a casting seam on my coin confirming it as a cast fake. I suspect the lower coin is a cast fake too though there is an outside chance that it is the host but I doubt it.



I do have a Caracalla quinarius by Slavey knocking around somewhere that I bought as a curio. I will have to dig it out and take a photo.

Septimius Severus, Denarius

Obv:- IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II, Laureate head right
Rev:- FELICITAS TEMPOR, grain ear between crossed cornucopiae
Minted in Emesa. A.D. 194 - 195
Reference:- BMCRE 347 note. RIC IV 374A. RSC 141b

A modern cast fake. The coin is too small and too light. The metal feels wrong and has artificial patination. The coins show casting pits and bubbles under magnification. There is an edge seam and there has been an attempt to obliterate this edge seam by filing the edge of the coin.

Bought on ebay November 2010 to go in my black cabinet as I have an interest in this coinage and have never seen a fake of this type before in hand.