Caligula Shoot-out

@Cherd already beat me to the punch but I will second his suggestion. I think you should sell both and put that money into a much better example. You could get a much superior example if you combined the monetary resources of the two and I would imagine you would be happier.

 

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So after a few days, everyone who was inclined to weigh in on this shootout seems to have done so. Honestly, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I got some good suggestions:

A. Sell both and buy a higher grade coin.
B. Keep both.
C. By a 23 to 9 vote, keep the lighter coin (bottom).

Before setting up this poll, C was my plan. But since a couple of respected collectors have raised concerns about authenticity, it’s going to be hard to keep the lighter coin alone. At the very least, I will keep the top coin until the bottom coin is gone or questions about its authenticity are reasonably resolved.

I suppose I could send it back to Numismatica Tintinna since the coin is “guaranteed for life” by the auction house, though I have no proof that it’s a bad coin. Of course, I could pay to have it authenticated, but by the time I pay the authentication fees and return shipping, I would’ve paid an additional 50% over the purchase price of the coin. Paying $70 or so to authenticate a coin makes sense for a $2500 coin; it makes less sense for a $125 coin.

However, if I did decide to sell the bottom coin because some have raised doubts about it, the sales process itself raises the ethical question of how to sell a coin that you yourself doubt. Just put it on eBay with the basics, the provenance, and a photo and let the market decide its value? Is that unethical? But then again, it’s hard to sell a coin while also stating, “Some people think it’s fake. Happy bidding!”

I will probably just give it a couple of days. Or weeks. Or months. I’m in no hurry.

Thanks to everyone for weighing in, even if doing so muddied the waters a bit!

 

Post the possible fake coin over on Forvm messageboard, some more advanced collectors & respected authorities on there who can probably give you a more definite answer.

 

Do you have a local shop that would let you add coins to lot to get certified by NGC. It'd be a little cheaper.

 

That's a great idea, but no. Not in Jackson, TN, to my knowledge. Not even sure if there's an ancients specialist in Nashville. Maybe @Victor_Clark would know.

 

I will start with a disclaimer, I do not collect large Roman Imperial bronze coins and have not studied them.
My thoughts on coin 2 - Whoever cleaned the coin took pains to make VESTA look like modern block letters and that is why they are thin and the letter block is square. The coin had a thick coating (patina) that was removed to different degrees during cleaning. Some of the thick coating is left at 5 on the obverse. The coating at 6 around the O was removed to give the thin letter. My quick look at acsearch.info showed lots of coins I think were smoothed or tooled. I think the cleaner of this coin was a bit less skilled than some of those.
That said, if the coin matches known fakes, the chances of it being genuine are small. I do not know how to search the fake databases for this coin, so others here can take on that task.