Ahenobarbus denarius question

I bought an Ahenobarbus denarius NRCV No 1456 Wt 3.48 gms. It came from someone with a money back guarantee so that put me somewhat at ease but when comparing my coin to others it would appear that there were several dies. As the coin is stated as scarce this interests me as to the reason why? If the coin was common I would expect to see several different examples but with an uncommon coin is the survival rate simply serendipity? The examples I have seen show the portrait exhibiting a beard, I can just discern a beard on mine with the aid of a magnifying glass but otherwise it has been worn away. See below.

 

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I don't like it at all. It appears to be a cast of a modern reproduction.

Here is another from a fakes databse that seems to match.

 

For some reason I find the style strange
Can't elaborate furthermore right now, I'm at work

Q

Edit to add : Martin you beat me to it...

 

Many thanks both. I'll await further news.

 

I'd have to agree with Martin---the 'soapy softness' appears due to casting and not wear.....

 

It's definitely modern.

As far as the number of dies, Crawford estimated the issue had less than thirty obverse dies and less than 33 reverse dies based on a mathematical method for estimating total number of dies given number of dies and number of coins in your sample. That's about right for a "scarce" coin.

 

Many thanks to all.
This is the third bad coin in as many weeks, I need to be more wary.
I intend to hang on in because the field is so fascinating. Had these been Morgan Dollars or other "modern" coins I would probably give up at this stage!

 

If you're buying from eBay, my recommendation would be to shop on Vcoins, CNG, Agora Auctions, etc for now. There are many good coins on eBay but it is a bit of a minefield for a new collector. In time with experience you can learn to navigate it but they do so little policing of sellers that it's best to avoid initially. Unfortunately even their feedback system cannot be trusted as there are fakesellers with over 30k positive feedback and most of the fakesellers are able to work the system to get bad feedback removed(I.e. by offering a refund for the small percentage who catch their fakes).

 

That seems to be very good advice red_spork, I have bought some from Denant and Lodge Hill and Michael Trennary and they seem to be OK. I know having read the forum rules that I cannot post an image from say Ebay for an opinion because of copyright law so I'm finding out my mistakes after the event. What really confounded me was the fact that people are selling worn fakes which makes it harder for someone like me to determine if they are genuine, you are almost put at ease because they are not in good condition. At least now I have so many helpful people pointing me in the right direction.

 

Yes, it is a cast replica. If you are buying from Ebay please avoid most sellers from Spain. That seems to be where most of the fakes are currently originating.

 

I have been buying and trading ancient coins for just over a year now and as an optimist and of the firm belief that most people are honest I had not really concerned myself about the authenticity of coins because many were not in great shape. I think I have reached a watershed and if members would indulge me, show the ones that I now have doubts over and ask opinions even as basic as yes or no.
When I started this I bought the standard works by David Sear published by Seaby but these don't warn of fakes and I was somewhat naive in thinking that at my level forgeries were not something to be concerned about. Had I had access to this forum my ignorance would soon have been revealed. I have learnt so much in the past week it is extraordinary.

 

I assume you have either his books on Greek or Roman coins. Byzantine coins and their values does have a section on forgeries.

 

+ Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, some from Italy as well..

 

Yes I have the full series on Roman coins and also some copies from many years ago. I have been warned about these countries and am bemused that, given the warnings on the Internet and even published works on Bulgarian forgeries, people still buy them. Even in my Tyro state I didn't consider buying from Bulgaria.

 

I agree, cast. Maybe a coin for Chris Mullens -

 

You've lost me on this, who is Chris Mullens? I sense some humour...

 

Fakes have existed since the beginning of time but the problem has grown since it has become easy to set oneself up in business as a dealer and make a web presence that looks very professional that would be seen by millions of people who knew no better. Certainly we had crooks and fakers when Sear and Seaby were new but your chance of running across one has increased. When I started collecting, I went to a store run by a man who had been in business for decades and spent hours talking to his customers who would come back every time they could. Those were the good old days. Beginners today who start in this same way and buy only from real and trusted dealers have better overall experiences than those who actively seek things too good to be true from every corner of the earth.
https://cngcoins.com/Search.aspx?IS...1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_4=1&VIEW_TYPE=0

The above link shows some coins that you might have been happier with. The ones like yours are out of my price range so I only have the beast slayer.

 

Well that is a fantastic link thank you Doug. When I collected British milled coins decades ago I visited the dealer, drank tea and coffee and formed a relationship. The only problem was later when some dealers would downgrade conditions to improve their deal. I used to buy coins in Toronto at the Eaton Centre department store because British was "foreign" and I could make great finds and no question of fakes as they weren't genuinely interested in them and simply wanted to unload them. Of course the Internet has shrunk the world and I hear what you say, if its too good to be true it usually isn't but the people palming off these things know that and the prices are not so inexpensive to raise concern. Clearly a Nero Denarius in great condition at $150 has a major red flag over it but a well worn coin with a few flaws at $300 changes emphasis somewhat.

 

Hey @Dafydd , I keep a few of your Avatars on my desk too...

 

Hello Alegandron,
The problem is they keep disappearing.....