Good morning/evening all, I'm a new member of this Forum (and in collecting antiques in general), I had a look around I have to say that this is a great place to be and talk about ancient coins. My name's George. As mentioned in the title, I believe I have a Silver Coin Koson that will need more investigation, to be 100% sure. I had a look at some replicas around the Internet and it doesn't look to be one: Details: Dacia SILVER Koson/Coson 54BC Case Study: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=koson silver&category=1-2&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&images=1&thesaurus=1&order=0¤cy=usd&company= - It doesn't have the "R" letter inside the wreath, - The weight is pretty much genuine (4,40 gr) - The patina on the coin looks genuine, - Did the Acid test, turned out to be a "Blood" red color - Passed the Neodymium magnet etc... But I might be wrong. Could someone help me out with the identification, please? Your help is massively appreciated. I posted a link with the pictures below. Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XXUDQ5zOZGvPSyAG5f_ASIJFHGfFsnTy?usp=sharing Thanks all, George
Wow, @Sulla80 and @Andres2, that's impressive and eye opening at the same time. I'm learning new things today This is a spectacular fake then considering the weight, that's silver and so on.. Appreciate all the help By any chance, where's a good spot/website for buying antiques that are authentic? Ebay could be legit? There are some sellers who sell garbage...
Genuine examples are actually a bit more crude than the fakes. Below is a photo of the last one that I owned:
I've even heard that the silver ones might (I said might) all be fake. I don't know enough about the silver finds to make a comment one way or the other but Ken's looks legitimate enough from the picture. Does anyone know where the silver coins came from? There was a bunch that showed up all at the same time but I haven't really seen any for quite a while now. "Know the coin or know the seller" is the old adage. A good place to start is Forumancientcoins.com All coins guaranteed for life and Joe is meticulous in what he sells. If he has even a doubt about authenticity it doesn't get listed. Forum even has a member auction, and I'm not just saying that because I have a few for sale there. Vcoins is good too but some dealers there are overpriced or highly specialized. It takes time to know who the better dealers are. They all subscribe to a code of ethics. And of course there are dealers right here who are also on Vcoins like Ken, who is great too and very reasonable!
most everyone gets bitten by the phony bug George. don't feel bad or lonely..ebays got its share...another good rule of of thumb is to check FORVM fake sellers list and check to see sellers ID changes. 3rd party checks are good but not real cheap and a bit of a hassle. but you can get your money back that way...i concur with the above peeps also..make sure you can return coins or artifacts and post them here. we got good peeps that will help you as @Sulla80 & @Ken did today... welcome to cointalk
Thanks for the feedback and suggestions @Jay GT4 and @ominus1. This research is getting interesting. These type of coins, the kosons, that come in both versions (gold and silver), are being mainly subtracted with the metal detectors from the Transylvania region by illegal activities around the Sarmizegetusa Regia or other small areas that are currently being protected by UNESCO. This is what I know and what I've heard/read about them... There are a few coins that are being sold online from time to time such as this one and many others that have the NGC COA, usually the gold ones that cost a small fortune and that could be found on Heritage Auctions or different other professional auction websites. One thing's for sure: I'll keep digging for more info and obviously keep the coin as a lesson, in case it's a fake. All this help is much appreciated.
One thing I would say is I am not sure all of these on the market are being illegally dug up in a UNESCO protected area. There was a huge cache of these on the market about 12 years ago. From what I have seen, most being resold today look like they are from the same hoard. I just bought one in a very old, scratched up slab, so I am sure its not a recent find sir. You are right most of these have been found in modern Transylvania, which is why the old attribution of "Thracian" and being associated with Brutus, is discredited today.
Correct, these all came from that same hoard and then shortly after the silver ones showed up... Did you read the link I posted above? There are two types of Koson staters, one with the BR monogram and one without. The composition is different between the two, and Robert makes some very well thought out points as to why the BR monogram coins are from Brutus.
Ever since you posted this stater I've been wanting to add one to my collection. Your example is simply outstanding!
Yes. Sorry, I read it after my main post. I know CNG does not accept this reasoning if you read their current descriptions of the coins. Robert lays out some interesting facts, but I am unsure of the age of his article or if he still believes this way. As an owner of a BR piece, I would love it if he were right of course. On the silver pieces, I have always been extremely leery. Most have simply not looked right to me. I would love to see proof of field finds and locations of these silver pieces.
