A Sestertius of Matidia

It is not Paduan. Should get full refund.

 

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Paduans are far more collectable than 19th or 20th century fakes. I think you will come to see it as a mistake if you keep it at any price.

 

Update: The seller agrees that the coin looks like a forgery when seen next to the near identical two other specimen and will cancel the sale .

 

Happy ending!

 

Latest update: The Göttingen Museum has now replied to me and accepted that their Matidia is a fake as well.
Nevertheless, the seller of my coin still does not want to sell it for a lower price now that the auction house has cancelled the sale.

 

huh.. well, good then. plus you've educated the UofB on theirs.. winners all round.

 

It is possible that your seller has recourse against his source so could not offer it to you. He might also be of the opinion that such an item has no place in the market even if sold with a footnote. At some point it would possibly be sold again as something it is not (including a Paduan!) which would do no one any good. What you need to determine is whether that seller was part of the problem or part of the solution. Are you ever going to buy from him again? What did we all learn from this exercise?

 

If it looks too good to be true (for the price), it is too good to be true!

 

According to the auction house, the consigner now understands that the coin is a fake but nevertheless thinks it is valuable enough to offer it to the second highest bidder for not much less and will not even think about selling it for twice the price that I would find acceptable for a good cast.

Would I buy from the seller again?
While I do think that the auction company has not done their "homework" properly in this case (is that not part of what they are paid for?), they nevertheless cancelled the item without problems and I had an interesting talk with them. I did buy two other coins in the same auction (not as rare or expensive though) and I might post those later in their own right.

What did I learn from the exercise?
Probably that it is a good idea to post coins here before you pay the seller .
In any case the whole thing was another educational experience for me (and I hope for some of you, too), because I learned more about forgeries, saved money, enjoyed a die analysis of Matidia´s bronze coinage, and had interesting correspondences with the Göttingen Coin Cabinet and some of the renowned experts in the field (I doubt that Barry Murphy, David Sear, or a museum would have taken their time to help me if I had bought an average Ant or LRB instead).
So I will keep going for the rare and risky once in a while (I still want a Pertinax Sestertius...).

 

Is the consignor going to tell the second highest bidder the coin is a fake before selling? That's something I want to know.

 

I don't see a modern cast fake like that being worth more than $25. It has no historical value and is not an accurate copy. Why would someone want it? You can't study it to learn anything about the real coin.

The seller is delusional. Who cares if the original is rare, I could have 100,000 copies like that cast by a metal working company for $5 each to give away as a promotional item any time.

Don't buy modern fakes for more than the metal is worth or you create a market for them.

 

That's OK just as long as you let me have my #1 item on my want list: I want an as of Pescennius Niger.

As long as we have people willing to spend Matidia money who think 'just a little fake' and 'not quite genuine' are grades rather than deal breakers, why should they? I'm part of the problem because I like Paduans, Beckers, Ready electrotypes any other pedigreed non-ancient ancients.

 

ahahaha! ya killin' me here!><

 

I can understand people collecting Paduans, British Museum electrotypes, etc. I also understand maintaining a black cabinet of known fakes for comparison with future offerings.

I don't think people should pay $1000 (or real coin money) for an anonymous fake that the nefarious can reproduce at will as long as there is demand.

 

I agree. "Genuine" Paduans, Robert Ready electrotypes, etc, have some inherent historical interest in their own right.

 

I would love to get a set of BM Electrotypes because many of them are coins that no normal human being will ever be able to afford. If you want to admire these types in the round this is the only way.

 

huh.. i would rather buy from a known crook. at least i know who i'm dealing with. too bad for the 2nd highest bidder. i would never trust anyone, seller or otherwise, connected in that little deal again.

i concur, i have sought to buy coins made by famous counterfeiters, but not under the guise that they were authentic ancients.

 

I would trade for a Lugdunum As of Clodius Albinus Augustus...

And if you ever want to part with your artistic Pertinax, ask me first