For those who don't know what "overstrikes" means then here is a good intro: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/feac70byz.html Otherwise I just want the opinion of the very experienced coin collectors here and particularly Doug if he sees this. Fake ancient coins are fortunately very rare. Out of 10.000 ancient coins 100 coins will be fake while the rest would be geniune. Out of those 100 fake coins 99 will be detected sooner or later, but 1 fake coin would be so well made that it might never be detected. (Source: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/fake.html) I just want to know: Are overstrikes-coins more difficult to fake than normal coins? Have any of you ever seen fake overstrikes-coins?
This made it to page three before I saw it and I rarely look at page three. I have no overstrikes that I consider to be fakes but that is more a statement of my ignorance than anything about the coins. I have never thought about the difficulty of this. Yes there are well documented fakes overstruck. I believe it was Becker who overstruck some extreme rarities on genuine denarii. I'm sure he was not the last and it is a way of getting a flan that would be correct.
I am not totally sure this is what you are asking. Forgers are pressing on genuine flans (?) to leave traces of overstriking and thus make more convincing forgeries. Have a look at these 2 threads: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/olynthos-a-group-of-highly-suspicious-tetradrachms.361245/ https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-fake-silver-stater-from-paphos.371227/
I wish I could share the op's optimism regarding the rarity of convincing fakes. As the protagonist Jake muses in the closing line of The Sun Also Rises, "Isn't it pretty to think so?" In my opinion, it's a real concern but manageable with self-education and due diligence.
Actually, I was not thinking of fake silver (or gold) coins with transfer die. I’m aware of the transfer-die forgery of silver and gold. Silver and gold are easy to overstrike, but not copper/bronze (i think). Look at this coin: The original coin was of Justin I (518-527) or Justinian (527-565) and most likely from Constantinople. But later it ended in Syracuse and was again struck under the reign of Heraclius (610- 641). Another example is that one: The original coin was struck under Constantine VII (913-959), and then it was re-struck under the reign of Nicephorus II (963-969). I was just wondering whether it is possible to fake such coins like these two above? It is copper/bronze after all. Well, just some thoughts from me.
My source was from Doug's opinion. From the same source: "Over 99% of ancient coins offered on the market are actually ancient. Some are ancient fakes, another subject altogether. I have posted pages on this site discussing some of them and consider them very collectable. Considering the 1% that are not ancient: Experience gained by handling thousands of coins will protect you from 99% of coin fakes. That 1% of the 1% will still fool many of us much of the time." Other might disagree of course. I have no opinion as I am new in this field (4-5 years).
The problem here is that beginners tend to seek out the 1% with great skill and ignore the vast number of genuine coins being sold by honest dealers. I'll also mention that anyone who quotes me on anything is not well advised. That includes my advice not to quote me.
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. Emerson I have been considering requesting my web pages be taken down. I would miss 90% of what I said and still believe but it would be nice to be rid of the errors. I no longer have access to edit the pages.
I hope you reconsider, and rather get back access to the pages. Your site is a classic, and a good example of early internet work that reached far. (At least all the way to Norway.)
The Byzantine emperors, for centuries, have overstruck bronze coinage. I can't imagine faking such coinage. My experience is that modern fakes try to mimic, to varying degree of success, coins that have wide public recognition and appeal or high rarity among collectors. Your typical Byzantine overstruck coin would likely not qualify as a good candidate for faking.
