Hi all. I recently bought these denarii for what I believe was a good price from a well established ebay seller. Im relatively new to ancients but have been meaning to pick up a couple denarii for awhile. Per the seller these came from a large collection. Im hoping some people here can weigh and and confirm to me if appear authentic. I have no reason to question the seller, im just a little paranoid. Coin 1: Caracalla denarius, weight 3.22 grams--https://imgur.com/a/CI1yxCI Coin 2: Hadrian denarius, weight 2.747 grams--https://imgur.com/a/1qyHlP7 Coin 3: Severus Alexander denarius (fourree?), weight 2.17 grams--https://imgur.com/a/iPclhgX Any and all insight/opinions appreciated!
They look good to me, but I've been fooled in the past. Welcome to Coin Talk, by the way. When you post photos, if you hit "full image" your photos will appear as part of the post, rather than thumbnails that have to be clicked separately to see. I think this is like the Caracalla you posted: Caracalla Denarius (201 A.D.) Rome Mint ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, laureate draped bust right / PART MAX PONT TR P IIII two Parthians bound & seated back to back at base of trophy. RIC 54b; BMC 262 (3.12 grams / 18 mm)
It is not possible to say that a coin is genuine from a photo, but it is often possible to identify a fake from one. That being the case, I did not see any obvious fakes in your photos. But the quality of the photos makes it difficult to say anything more certain than that. Also, you should get in the habit of including the size and weight of the coins when making an inquiry like this. Weight, in particular, can often be used to identify a fake. Finally, there are many resources on the web that will help you to avoid buying fake ancient coins. Here are three of them: http://forgerynetwork.com/ https://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/ https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=18502.0 Welcome aboard.