Hello, first post. I have come across a few old Roman denarius and think I’ve ID’d them - Galba, Otho, & Nero. What are the particulars I should know about them? Thanks New guy
You should know that these are some of the most frequently faked coins on the market. I'm not saying that yours are faked, but I want to know more about how you came about them -- where you bought them and so forth. It would be much more helpful if you showed close-ups of each coin individually, including some photos of the edge. Knowing how much each weighs in grams would be helpful, too.
Passed down to me in family. They were mixed in a bag with other coins. Mostly wheat pennies but a lot of US silver and others.
What are the particulars I should know about them? My wife and I will probably have them checked out by a couple of shops local to me to authenticate in the next few days probably
Well, I can’t tell you why they were stored in a bag with other coins but that they are no longer kept that way now. Hopefully will be told real within the next few days.
The style looks about right, so they are not obvious forgeries. But I think a lot of us here are wondering if they are cast copies. If they are, any reputable coin dealer should be able to tell you this pretty easily. But if they do turn out to be genuine, you are 25% of your way to a nice 12 Caesars collection.
Welcome to cointalk! There are many reasonably priced ancients available from reputable dealers like those on vcoins.com. Ancients are a fascinating area to collect. John
Be certain that the "local coin shop" person is an expert on ancient coinage. The vast majority of such local coin shops know little about ancient coinage, let alone authenticating them. A person named David Sear is an expert on authentication, but it is not free. Google "David Sear coin authentication services" and go from there.
Hi SIASL, Unfortunately, Ryro and others are right. These are cast fakes. You can seen the seams on all of the coins (less so on the "Galba"), plus there are other signs of casting.
I saw these early today, but was reluctant to say I felt they looked fake. I hate using the "F" word. However, IMHO they are fakes.
Not that I would know what I’m looking at but I do see some major differences. Thanks to you all for your help.