New guy hoping to verify (Real or fake)

Hi Everyone,

I just won an EBay auction but I am a little nervous about some red flags I am noticing.

Can someone please tell me if these three denariuses are real or fake.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-3-A...ilia-Plautilla-Faustina-/372526366523?txnId=0

Many thanks

 

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Much appreciated.

 

I’m curious about your « red flags ». What are they ? For me, blurry pictures and « no returns accepted » are very suspicious.....

 

If I may add : when (if) I identify red flags, I simply don't bid

Q

 

He cancelled, but insists they are real. It was after I won that I noticed what looked like air bubble holes on this one.

 

Cucumbor said it best, I could not agree more. I have in past bought a "modern" world gold coin from e-bay, but....I checked sellers record/ which was 100 percent favorable/ also coin in question a AV 10 Franken 1946 Lichtenstein was slabbed by PGGS as MS-67. Sellers (dealer) price was way better the auction archives for this coin.
John

 

I was also concerned by how beads turn into globs of metal.

 

All of the sellers I have bought from have 100% feedback and guarantee authenticity.

 

Here, there is a missing bead, but no distortion of the metal where it would be and the letter next to it is clear.

 

While I am this topic, I would like to share this one, which is coming from Ukraine. I was fine until I started looking at his other auctions.

This seller is coins-rare, he has 100% feedback. I even know the coin this is supposed to be. I believe this is actually completely fake, but maybe some knowledgeable person will tell me that is real.

 

100% feedback with 100% authenticity guarantee on EBay = 100% nothing.

I just invented a new proverb, “Know the coin or know the dealer.”

 

Try vcoins.com for genuine coins.

 

I don't know who coined the phrase, but it's been said many times over. "KCKD"

 

Thanks. I just want a few because they are interesting. I’m not trying to make money, but I don’t want to be that poor soul who spends decades caring for something to find out that it was a fake.

 

There are reputable Ebay sellers. Heck even some of the posters here on CT sell on Ebay. However, as a new Ancients collector, it is better to get to know what you are looking at, and Ebay is not the place to learn (unless you have money to burn on possible fakes). KCKD!

 

I did have luck with a dealer at a Renessance fair decades ago. Those were lost in a burglary and I was just wanting to get a few to have.

I thought it was safe given these sellers have thousands of positive and 100% ratings. That has to mean something, but I’ll check out actual dealers, thanks.

 

Ebay encourages only positive feedback. If a coin is returned, often it's impossible to leave feedback. Besides, many coins are purchased on Ebay from individuals w/o any knowledge of the hobby, and walk around happy as a pig in it's sty thinking they got a great deal (see how I cleaned that up?).

 

As has been often said on this forum, some images enough to be sure coin is fake, but images are not enough to be certain a coin is genuine. However, most fakes can be detected with good images. Looking at a seller's other auctions is a very good idea. If any are fake, the seller is best avoided.

On the other hand, many sellers have genuine coins they wish to sell. If they go through a dealer, the dealer must take a good-sized cut. If the seller wants to avoid that, what option is there besides eBay?

Also, some serious dealers sell on eBay. Some hold back their best coins for major auctions, but sell coins worth up to hundreds of dollars on eBay. So, eBay sales must be considered with caution, but are not always bad.

Getting back to the worn [EDIT: Commodus] coin (of which only the obverse was shown), I see nothing to suggest it is not ancient.