Something looks off with this hadrian denarius to me, it just seems different than all my other denarii. Which kind of makes me suspicious of all the coins that came from this auction house...( not ready to call anyone out.. but they're on biddr) What do you guys think? I've never returned anything to a legit auction house before, I imagine I need more than a suspicion?
Nothing immediately screams "fake" to me from the photos. What seems different about it? Its fabric? How it feels in hand? I've never bid on a Tauler&Fau auction, so I can't speak from personal experience in dealing with them.
I'm not one to make many calls on ancients.. but I will say I really like that bottom left coin with the snakes.. Neat piece
Something about the surfaces screams suspect to me. The cistophoros and the tetradrachm look fake. The first coin, the Hadrian, looks either fake or highly polished. How much did you pay for them? Price is often the first indicator of authenticity.
The Hadrian and the Augustus (a very common type) look pretty typical to me. But I've been wrong before, in both directions!
I was telling myself I'll take a break from such threads. But just in case the OP is really thinking about returning the denarius (I assume you're only asking about the denarius, as the thread title indicates). The style of the Hadrian denarius looks completely fine. Compare this other example: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7883526 Since the style is correct, if it's a fake it has to be a cast or a transfer die fake. Transfer die fakes for such a common coin will be quite unlikely. A cast fake is possible. I say "possible" because, to me, the image resolution is simply too poor to tell. I can't see the fields clearly for example. However the edge does look ok. Weight and diameter of the Hadrian denarius would be helpful.
Ah yes of course! I should have included that, my apologies. I am suspect of them all actually, just the hadrian the most. And augustus the least. But I don't really know, I'm a noob. But heres some more data. Mysia. Pergamon. Cistophorus. 166-160 BC. (Sng von Aulock-7462). Anv.: Serpent emerging from cista mystica; all within ivy wreath. Rev.: Bow in bowcase decorated with aphlaston, flanked by two serpents; ΠΕΡΓ civic monogram to left, horizontal caduceus right to right. Ag. 12,64 g. Almost VF. ~27mm Augustus. Denarius. 7-6 BC. Lugdunum. (Ffc-22). (Ric-207). (Cal-852). Anv.: (CAESAR AVGVSTVS D)IVI. F. PATER. PATRIE, his laureate head right. Rev.: C.L. CAESARES AVGVSTI. F. COS. DESIG. P(RINC. IVVENT), Caius and Lucius Caesars standing facing, shields and spears between them; above, between the spears, simpulum and lituus turned inwards. Ag. 3,89 g. Minor nick on reverse. Almost VF. ~18mm Hadrian. Denarius. 121 AD. Rome. (Spink-3516). (Ric-67). (Seaby-1073). Rev.: PM TR P COS III. Mars advancing to right with spear and trophy. Ag. 3,06 g. VF. Est...80,00. ~18mm Caracalla. Tetradrachm. 215-217 AD. Phoenicia. (Prieur-1551). Anv.: ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ ΑΝTѠNINOC CЄ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right. Rev.: •ΔHMAPX• ЄΞ• YΠATOC TO• Δ•, eagle standing facing on club, head to left and wings spread, holding wreath in beak; murex shell between legs . Ag. 10,72 g. Attractive. Choice VF. Est... ~26mm Thanks for the responses!
A lot... after dealer fee and shipping and import taxes and everything it was like $1000 CAD for these. And there was one other lower value coin.
Seriously, I don't see anything here that screams: "obvious fakes". If any are, they are extremely well done. You didn't answer my question pertaining to: How does the denarius "seem different" than your other coins?
I wish I knew how to put it in words better, but I have a couple dozen denarius now and this one is just a bit too shiny.. or something. maybe its just polished and im paranoid. but then the caracalla also seems different than my other tets too, like the surface, 'fabric' might be it. idk.
The Hadrian denarius, Augustus denarius and the cistophorus all look fine in terms of style and wear. Weight for all three are within expectations too. Fields of the Hadrian denarius look ok to me. It may seem overly shiny or even blast white due to overcleaning. The coin will retone over time. Cistophorus has (inexpert) cleaning scratches. Normally not something a collector would look for, but in this context, the scratches further suggest it's authentic. It is still a handsome coin. I do not know enough about the Caracalla billon tetradrachm to tell.
If I were to be slightly suspicious of any of them, the Caracalla's surface appearance does look a little soapy. It's really hard to tell from a picture alone, w/out the coin in hand. It also appears to be a little on the light side for weight. Additionally, the edge seems a little less chunky than other Eastern Roman Tets that I've personally handled. I am not qualified enough to state one way or another if all (or any) are absolutely genuine with certainty based on pictures alone. So, my apologies in not being able to alleviate any concerns that you may have. Perhaps others with more experience may also contribute to the thread. I'm curious to read more opinions. That all stated, I will repeat that nothing about them screams "absolutely fake" to me. Here is a similar Caracalla that I recently sold: PHOENICIA, Tyre. Caracalla. (AD 198-217). AR Tetradrachm. (23mm, 13.64g). Struck (AD 213-215). Obverse: ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ ΑΝΤWΝΙΝΟC CЄ; Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Reverse: ΔΗΜΑΡX ΕΞ ΥΠΑΤΟC ΤΟ Δ; Eagle standing facing on club right, head and tail left, with wings spread, holding wreath in beak; murex shell between legs.
I would send all of them to NGC for their economy service. If all are ok, the price will be decent even after you add the $150 for NGC. I am not familiar at all with the tet and cista. From reading the webs, I can say I do not like the Caracalla at all. The Hadrian may have been cleaned harshly, I do not see flow lines.
If you look at the letters of the obverse inscription, you'll see that the spaces between them are pretty dark. The entire coin was that dark at one time. Someone, probably fairly recently, cleaned the fields and the high points to remove this dark patina. They may have used something as crude as a pencil eraser. (Look at the space between the R and the trophy on the reverse.) This is why the appearance looks a bit "off." Not to worry, though. The coin will darken in time. I can't say for sure from the photo, but it looks like your Augustus coin might be crystalized. Please handle this coin very carefully just in case.