AUTHENTICITY CHECK - Vespasian NEP RED

I picked up this guy for like $42, which seems pretty good considering the high grade.

(EDIT: silver, denarius, 12h, 20mm, 2.92g)

However, I have some concerns
1. odd toning
2. strange font, especially the letter "M" on the obverse.

I couldn't find an exact match in Wildwinds, but I suspect it's a variant of RIC 358, an aureus with similar font.



So, does this look legit?

 

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It has a really fine style portrait which doesn’t really match the woodwinds examples.

I sure hope it’s good. I love it

 

In my copy of RIC, there is no COS IIII bronze of Vespasian that has an obverse legend remotely similar to IMP CAES VESP AVG PM COS IIII.

You're correct that there is an aureus with this obverse legend.

My cursory observations about this coin: The edge appears almost serrated, the fields appear far too smooth/flat, and the sharpness of the detail, especially on the obverse, seems unlikely given the very small amount of relief on the devices -- i.e., with such small amount of relief I would expect the devices to have far less detail due to circulation wear.

This would lead me to believe that the bronze is a modern counterfeit copying the style of the ancient aureus.

These are personal observations and I claim no expertise in detecting counterfeits, especially based solely on pictures.

 

Thank you for the review. I believe it is silver, albeit heavily tarnished.
Weight is 2.92 grams, which I believe is a silver weight.

I share your same concerns overall.

 

New RIC 1555

 

Yes, the coin in question is a denarius. I apologize I failed to mention that in the OP.

I made an edit with the diam and wt:
20mm
2.92g

RIC 1555 is this guy, which has the right legends and rev but the obv has much thinner letters and a different head style.

 

For an AR example of this type for study...

This coin was sold @CNG 8/26/20:


Vespasian. AD 69-79. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.25 g, 5h). Antioch (or Tyre?) mint. Struck AD 72-73. IMP CAES VESP AV G P M COS IIII, laureate head right / N[EP] RED, Neptune standing left, with right foot on globe, holding acrostolium and scepter. RIC II.1 1555; RPC 1928; RSC 274.

Some others for consideration:

http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.2_1(2).ves.1555

https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/2/1928



EDIT: Heh, you guys above are 'Quick Draw McGraws' on the detective work.

 

The portrait is rather fine style, similar to @Clavdivs Titus sestertius. I don't know if a fine style is a good or bad indicator of authenticity here.

For what it's worth, the flip it came in had a card which is the typical style of "I don't really know anything but I'll fill up the card with text to make it seem like I do"



Maybe some people use the verbage "laurel head" vs "laureate" or "leg on globe" vs "foot on globe," but the flip strikes me as an undereducated attempt.

Plus, I don't think $275 is at all reasonable, even if this coin was bright white.

 

Hoping for some closure, I checked my copy of Sear which had no examples of NEP RED to begin with. I find that Sear is often pretty lacking, but you can't win them all I suppose.

 

I very much doubt that $275 was ever a real asking price. It's just there to make buyers think they're getting a great deal.

 

Knowing nothing about this......My question is.....The OP's coin shows the reverse with the person holding the (Feathers?) straight up. All the other coins shown have the feathers held at an angle. Is that important?

 

I don't know. Some coins have minor variations in positioning or line breaks that don't mean anything.
Then again, some coins with a minor variation becomes an entirely different RIC listing.

 

It looks like some members thought it was a bronze coin.

I see you have edited your first post, but it may be a good idea to try and include all relevant information in the future. Weight, diameter being the most important.

 

That is an interesting piece. Hard to tell if it is legit or not. The letters look more bloated than not but maybe that was a style used during that period.

Maybe @Barry Murphy could shed some light on it?

John

 

I'm sorry but I don't think there is any chance this is an ancient coin. Nothing looks right about it at all. I would check the Forum Fake Reports for a match.