Are these not casting bubbles? And is this not a casting seam? I'd be more than happy to be wrong... All these recent posts about fakes have me paranoid lol
Just curious: Under what circumstances did you buy this coin? It is, as Ken put it, not a very good one. If genuine, a coin with this lack of eye appeal is worth about what has been spent on postage coming and going. On the other hand, I am very happy that you recognized the signs.
I'm pretty new to ancients (3.5 months) and have been lucky so far and hadn't really known the signs of what to look for until the recent fake posts have popped up in the past week, during which these coins were in transit from Germany. And hindsight is 20/20, and now looking at the 2 photos from the listing (below) I see the signs, but 2 weeks ago I didn't really know what to be looking for, I took for granted that it was the result of corrosion. I even questioned the seller and he guaranteed all the coins he sold are authentic, and he came recommended by a fellow CT member. I was looking for some simple inexpensive silver coins that I could pass along/gift to those starting out like me, get them enthralled like me.
Huh, I have bought a few coins from him and had no issues either. A couple was expensive too. Maybe it's just one that slipped by him. Happens to even the best dealers, even good ebay dealers.
Got myself Caracalla denarius from this guy, turned out to be a pressed coin, - refunded with no questions, asked (and told me to keep "the coin") I suggest you do the same...
The OP coin is certainly a fake. I looked at the seller's (cichosgladiator11) other items, of which there are many, and I would not put him on a "fakesellers" list like this one: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/fakesellers.html because the rest of his current listings do not seem obviously false although many are low-grade and "problem" coins. That list is for intentional fakesellers. You should check it before buying on eBay.
[/QUOTE] View attachment 679679 Mat, I also purchased 1 coin from this guy - turned out to be Pressed Caracalla denarius[/QUOTE] I'm curious to know what led you to the determination this coin was pressed too. By just he obverse photo, it looks fine to me. What gave it away?
View attachment 679679 Mat, I also purchased 1 coin from this guy - turned out to be Pressed Caracalla denarius[/QUOTE] I'm curious to know what led you to the determination this coin was pressed too. By just he obverse photo, it looks fine to me. What gave it away?[/QUOTE] not sure, I reached out to Vagi, and he told me it was pressed!
Andre sells a lot of coins on ebay and I've bought a couple from him with no complaints.. i agree with Mat and Val on this one. It's more an exception than a rule to get a phony from him and i'm sure he wasn't aware of it.