A game for the brave. For others, nothing to see here.... The three coins below are claimed to be diobols of Messembria. At least one of them is a fake. They came from three different sellers but at least two of them were bought as genuine from a 'name' dealer. All three of them have something about them that makes me feel better about this type being sold by dealers with a clue and not at yard sales. One was $75; one was offered at $265 but I paid less. I have had all three for over 20 years so prices may have gone up if you found a similar trio. OK! Which ones would you buy and how much would you pay? (They are NOT for sale!) Do you feel comfortable enough to spot which are fake and which are not? Do you see anything unusual about any of these? Is that 'good' unusual or 'bad' unusual? I would not sell any of these to a beginner or anyone I felt did not understand the situation with these coins despite the fact that at least two of them were bought as genuine from a 'name' dealer. I believe I am correct in my diagnosis of all three but I'll bet someone here will disagree with at least one or two of my opinions.
The last one is fake, and the middle one is suspect. The first could be legit, though it's worn. My opinion anyway.
Dang...wish I knew. The center one has sun glasses that look different from the other two, but I'm not sure of what that even means.
The center one is a known fake from the Black Sea hoard. The left image does not look good to me, the obverse seems lop sided and the level of execution does not seem good. The right image I dont feel confident with but I would think has the highest chance of being real with the counterstamp. I have seen a few of these and avoided them and discouraged other collectors from buying them.
It's a type I've shied away from because of the plentiful fakes. In the past, and again just now, I had reviewed various webpages about this type of fake. I believe the second coin is a pressed Bulgarian fake. http://counterfeitcoins.reidgold.com/slavey.html
I agree with my esteemed colleague. I have one of these which I think is genuine, but I'm way less than 100% on it:
I feel as some do---The middle is a fake and the left is real and probably the far right as well. I'd be looking at numerous known genuine examples before pursuing it any further. And then I'd probably still be unsure and post it here LOL
Nothing to see here. I would not buy any of them only because I have forced myself to have no interest in them. I cannot invest the time to truly know the Messembria coin type & there are too many fakes to allow my interest. I don't feel that I'm brave or a coward. I just have no interest. Here is the black sea hoard coin that got me to loose interest. The dealer took it back. Perhaps your #2 coin is the real host coin that allowed my fake to be made? (Nice die match huh?) I don't know & I've forced myself to not let it bother me.
I've always wanted to learn more about the older coins and detecting fakes. I think the left is fake because of the holes on the left side making it look like it was poured...
Wow, I should probably keep my head-up when we're talkin' fakes today, eh? I like doug's 3rd example ... so as you probably know, that means ziltch!! ... anyway ... Yah, I suck at spotting fakes and I was called-out on one of these coins, so I spazzed-out and I sent it off to my hero's California ranch ... => Here is my $40 coin with a $50 David Sear authentication (probably not my best investment, eh?) ... but man, I just felt like I had to find the truth, ya know?
I would say in this case it was well worth your money and you or your heirs should have no problem recouping that with your docs.
I wouldn't buy any of Doug's, but I would buy Steve's. I'm guessing the middle one was $265, but went to you for closer to $5?
I want one of these, but I would get it from Vcoins. There are loads on ebay and I am just not good enough to spot a fake. So I assume they all are.
center has no flan wear, obvious fake. the other 2 looked ok but I'd probably go for the left one if I had to choose. Right one has the counter mark but edge at 6 of obv looked weird
zumbly is exacly right to the cent. The first ad I saw in1989 for the Black Sea Hoard fakes offered coins like the middle for $265. I bought mine as a fake for $5. The tip on these is that the eye holes on the helmet are holes not eyes. They do not have fine lines at top and bottom but some good coins do have a heavier bar above that does not curve to shape an eye. I was disappointed no one mentioned the N on the obverse of the left coin. Have you seen a letter in that position on other coins? Steve has. I bought it from Frank Robinson in 1989. It is not Black Sea Hoard fake style but it is still an odd coin. Genuine? I believe so. The ones with N I legend are rare. I was amazed no one mentioned the right coin having the reverse legend E retrograde. The E is reversed but the other letters read the same both ways so you can't tell on them. There is a very sharp countermark H which I suspect might be a Cyrillic N. I consider this a modern mark applied by a collector or a museum. I just hope it does not mean nyet (no). This coin was bought from Victor England ($75 on fixed price list, I believe) in 1989 according to my records but I can't find my copy of the list. I have several of his early lists but need to search more diligently to find this one. I can not remember if it was listed as E retrograde. The coin also differs in the way the radiating lines connect to the inner and outer rims while most (fake or real) leave a space and just float in that space. I have always had questions about the coin but it is not from the hoard. It may be ancient but barbarous. I would love to know the story of the countermark. Proving anything one way or another is not an easy task.
