Is it real threads.

I love the is-it-real threads. Getting to see the experts in action is an education and I get to feel smart when they say things that I already think.

 

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I was just on ebay a bit ago looking for bad coins. I came across a Vespasian sestertius from a seller in China of all places. Of course that's a huge red flag and it was sure to be fake. At first glance if a person had no clue it looked pretty decent. Looking close the eye, nose and mouth were all wrong. The letters looked thick and rounded and the A''s all had the horizontal bar on them. I have never seen that on a Roman coin, even a fake. The reverse was cartoonish too. It was all pretty obvious but I can see that I am picking up some good tips from the threads.

 

Post the pics. Should be good for a laugh, at least.

 

=> you always sound like such a nice fellow ... is your name Richard?

 

Again?? You could have expressed your disagreement with Sallent's suggestion without being so pugnacious.

...

@alde, the way you post your "is it real" coins is different from nuisance posts by just-joined members who flood the board and from people who are screening purchases, hoping to score a miraculously good deal without having to know anything about ancient coins. So no, I don't mind your posts. They present an opportunity for all of us to learn.

 

Do you think that Ancient collectors hold some special entitlement on CT because you now have your own forum?

Chris

 

Special entitlement? Of course not.

The expectation of being treated in a civil manner? Yes, I do feel every collector on CoinTalk has that right regardless of which board he or she posts on. It's in the rules.

 

I second this thought.

 

Okay, I didn't do a very good job of making my point, so allow me to back up a bit and start over.

The suggestion was made that a sticky should be incorporated into the Ancients forum for "Real or Fake" coins. However, if this were allowed, then the other forums, US Coins and World Coins, should have the right to include a sticky for "Real or Fake" coins in each of their forums. That isn't so bad where US Coins are concerned because there is only a little more than 200 years to cover for just one country. However, World Coins is an entirely different ballgame. Take a look at the Krause book just for the 20th Century. There are more than 2200 pages and 48,000+ illustrations. How could you possibly organize all of the type coins from all of the different countries into a manageable index for reference that didn't take up dozens of pages within that sticky?

But hey! If it's okay for Ancients, then it should be okay for all others. Right?

Chris

 

I have no issues with "is it real" threads. I'm not a fan of the sticky idea and I especially don't want to see 3 or more posted by 1 person in a 24 hour period.

 

I didn't mean for every single "is it real" thread to be pinned. All I suggested was a single running thread where every question of authenticity can be addressed. That single thread can run on indefinitely. That way everyone knows where to go to check previous fakes for reference, and also keeps the clutter down to a minimum.

If you don't like it, fine. No big deal. It was just a suggestion. There is no need to be rude to each other and start WWIII over it.

 

I'm still rather new to the forum to understand all the nuances but detecting coin forgeries is very difficult even for the most advanced of collectors and dealers. Even after 11 years and a reasonably good eye I still rely on the help of my fellow dealers. Some forgeries are very easy to detect (I'm talking exclusively of ancients) due to obvious style differences or weights being completely off. However, the more advanced forgers are sometimes far more sophisticated and it takes looking at the coin in hand and a photograph simply will not do. That said, I saw a wonderful series that Coinsweekly put out about detecting forgeries. It is a good starting point.

http://www.coinsweekly.com/en/Archive/8?&tid=547

I myself don't mind to give advice when I can but I would be very cautious about condemning a coin unless it was overtly obvious to be a forgery.

Hope this helps.

 

You're assuming this twerp can read. There's no real evidence of that.

 

Personally I'm partial to a master sticky that lists online and offline resources. Just one post with them that is locked but can be added to by informing a mod, so that it doesn't become disorganized and stretch out over 20 pages. And the thread title would be something like "Check these helpful resources before starting a new thread regarding authenticity". CCF has something similar to this, except its not limited to just authenticity but also includes things like reference pages, links with general info about ancients collecting, etc.

What makes you think we are being selfish with our idea? Or the erroneous idea that we care about what the other forums are doing?

Ok, the other forums can have an authenticity thread also lol (is this what you wanted to hear? Will this stop your crying?).

There's a shocker.

 

I appreciate the fact that most don't mind the posts. From now on I will try to describe what I see as a possible problem or problems with the coin. That would make it a more useful learning tool for myself and others.

 

My. So many opinions and some very strong! For me I have no problem with a sub category or as it is now. I am always here to help, and I will do so if I have the time and knowledge. So, I dont mind the posts. The group is not so busy (yet) that we cant skip over those topic we wish to ignore (and, dont we have an ignore function? I think so.). At some point I suppose CT will be busy enough that sub categories and stickies will be required. Not sure if we are there yet. For now I just ignore threads I wish to.

 

For now I don't mind them either. If the OP of the thread seems good-intentioned, respectful, and appreciative of our help then I have no problem with those kinds of threads. Its the people that think we are some sort of on-call 24/7 ancients assistance service that has to help them unconditionally every time they need something that irk me. Oh, and if we come to the conclusion that a coin is not genuine, they have a right to appeal ("dispute angrily") the ruling

 

Personally I don't think its a problem for people asking is it real? I'm no expert so I feel its educational when the people that do know chimes in. As far as a sticky goes, I don't see a problem with it. It will just be a long running thread.

 

Chris, man, calm down.

I like the Is it Real threads because, as a newbie to the ancient world it is valuable to see examples, and learn why they are or are not real. A single stickied thread would compile all of that information into one place, and could be quite useful. On the other hand, I don't think there are an excessive number of those threads.

The ones I don't like are where the person posts something, someone answers the question, and then the person argues with them and tells them they are wrong and that what they have is actually some rare thing. I haven't seen it too much on the ancient side, but I see it all the time in the PMD/error forum.