I'm not really interested in the value of my avatar, it is a 1890. But I am interested in how some old coins (much older than 1900) are authenticated. Like the coins from the 95bc? To me they look like so much mud casting...am I missing something? PP <---new, wanting to get old here
There are a lot of counterfeit ancients, perhaps more than any other type of coin. But they are authenticated just like any coin - by people who know the coins well enough to do so.
Most coins from "95 BC" do not look like "so much mud casting"; http://www.ancient-art.com/images/jb414.jpg
often style is a dead give away...for casting there are definite checks you can make with the naked eye and if its a real good cast one might have to go down to the microscopic level where it is much more difficult to hide signs of casting as compared to coins that are struck. If it is a coin that was struck, made from a casting, again there are signs left behind by the original casting of the die. The more dangerous fakes are struck coin made by original dies made by a person who has mastered the style of the period....these are not at all common. I have always thought it would be a real tough job authenticating cast chinese coins....
Also there are no stupid questions concerning ancients and fakes...IMO when dealing in ancients it is the most important aspect to familiarize yourself with as it is so common to find poor cast fakes and fantasy coins. People are constantly buying commonly known fakes that arent even close to the correct style. If they had just familiarized themselves with JUST the concerns of the style of the period of coins they are buying they could have avoided getting taken. Its difficult to recreate ancient style. To an experienced familiar with style, you can eliminate 20% of the ancients on ebay alone!!
I know we talk about it, but has anyone actually seen a coin with the legend "95 BC" or something like that?
Another stupid question , what is the real definition of BC , & AD or does it really mean befor Christ , & after Death . rzage
AD - Anno Domine, shortened from Anno Domine Iesu Christi (In the Year of Our Lord) BC - Before Christ
