Bulgarian fakes

This seller below offerers modern reproductions from Bulgaria. He is transparent about that. However, I would not be surprised if coins from the same workshop are also circulating as genuine. Most of them are bad, but some are better than others. In any case, I thought it would be useful for members to get familiar with the style in order to avoid bad surprises

Artikel zum Verkauf von coinlandia | eBay

 

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Some of these look rather convincing. I'd be down if they were like $5 or $10 as curios.

 

there is a whole craft industry in bulgaria

 

Bulgaria has a whole handicraft industry for making handicrafts

 

Tejas, Thanks for the link . These fakes are good enough to fool a novice !

 

Some of the sestertii are very well-executed in terms of style and fabric. NEVER buy rare coins such as Gordian II sestertii from anyone other than one of the big, high-end auction houses.

 

There are also these three Polish accounts with "coins" that look as if they were all products of the same workshop.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/skrz64/m.h...CyYAAOSwJFlgAE2~&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

https://www.ebay.com/sch/zbigkun/m....RTYAAOSwJ7RftE~F&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

https://www.ebay.com/sch/marcusbond...gtYAAOSw8NtfsPtG&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

 

Very disturbing! Some of them are complete with fake mineral deposits and verdigris.

 

R.C., I agree, some of the sestertii are impressive ! As Deacon Ray mentioned, some of the patinas are impressive too.



I was also impressed with the fake Byzantine enkolpia .

 

I don't buy coins from the "high end big auction houses) but do buy from vendors on V Coins. I have wondered about this. One of the reasons I do buy from these vendors is to lessen the possibility of buying fakes. However the volume of coins that some offer make me wonder if they can really vet each and every coin. I am willing to pay a slight premium to ensure that my purchases are of genuine coins but with so many fakes now out there how can I be sure I am getting what I am paying for? Yes, I know I can send my coins away for certification but the kind I buy are not worth spending half their cost to put into a slab I don't want them in anyway. What can collectors of medium grade and lesser rarity coins do to protect ourselves?

 

There is a very good series of books on all aspects of the counterfeiting of ancient coins in Bulgaria. The books are published under the collective title 'Coin Collections and Coin Hoards from Bulgaria' (CCCHBulg). Digital editions are generally free and hard copies are available. As the CCCHBulg title suggests, the series also includes volumes on genuine coins. Dr. Ilya Prokopov has made a number of the CCCHBulg titles and more available for download at academia.edu. Required reading imo.
https://independent.academia.edu/IlyaProkopov

 

I don't buy Bulgaria but thanks for the information everyone.

 

they are nice looking "coins" , but just too nice in too many aspects to fool me enough to buy 'em raw for real money. Gems like these always need to be slabbed for me to consider buying. It would be nice to have an "Authenticate Only" option for a lower price with the slabbers. Also, why are there so many fakes from Cyprus?? It's like the island is beset by corrupt coin dealers beyond reason, yet these fakes are allowed to be sold for $1000 and up?

 

interesting. do any of the slabbers Guarantee Authenticity for Ancient/Medieval coins?

 

Thanks for the link Tejas. From 2005-2015 two or three dealers each week at the giant outdoor Nashmarkt flea market in Vienna would be selling those exact coins and "antiquities". Of course they were marketing them as genuine items. I assume that continues to this date. Interestingly most of these dealers would also have several dozen genuine coins on their table for sale as well - all really poor-grade late Roman or Byzantine bronzes. Stuff worth 2-3 Euros being sold for 20 Euros...

SC

 

Buying as curios still supports the counterfieting business.