Hello all, I've just started collecting ancient coins (all are slabbed by NGC), some I bought as raw coins and sent to NGC to be slabbed and some already slabbed on eBAY. I recently purchased an Augustus coin on eBay that has the Caius and Lucius reverse, this coin was described to be the RIC 207 one, but I actually found the same exact coin documented on coinarchives where it is said to be a RIC 210, here is the link https://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotv...&Lot=432&Val=f89dca9c444c6d1594bdfe78ac41cfd4 From that website I realize there are so many variations of the same style of coin, shields position of Caius and Lucius on the reverse, position of the inscriptions and how near they're to each part of the images, Agustus's head/chin shape and his hair design ect. From the photos, can anyone's tell me if this is a genuine coin struct in Lugdunum circa 2 BC - 4 AD or a forgery?? (Things that bother me a little) My concerns are becuase of how crisp the lettering is, the reverse looks pretty linear and flat compared to the many examples online but it may just be my perspective. (Things that may tell me its genuine) I took a look at it with an LED lighted magnifying glass and saw that the coin has many micro scratches on the surface, some of the lettering on the coin is ever so slightly faded along the ends. Here are the flat views of the obv side and reverse side of the coin if it helps.
The coin looks OK to me and it isn't hard to acquire a coin that was sold somewhere else just to end up on ebay a few months or years later. I have many that way.
Id rather have a $30 coin than a slab with a grading system that doesn’t translate well to ancients or offer a guarantee of authenticity...just my two cents
Yeah I realize that, but at least the experts in NGC Ancients do know the common ways to check for obvious fakes and I hope they do have good sources to compare to.
So I guess this is an authentic coin, the reverse just looked a bit dull and flat. Do you think I should have NCC do conservation on this coin? Would this impact the value of the coin whether it has some patina or shiny? Lastly, if you do NOT order conservation from NCC, do they still "clean" or do some preserving before slabbing the coin? I hope they don't just take the same dusty coin you sent them and just slab them like that.
From the photos looks OK to me. All dealers of course can make a mistake, but the fact that it previously passed through Naville is reassuring as they are a very reputable firm. Regarding condition, it looks to have just honest wear of an ancient object so there's no need for any conservation, which I would recommend only if there's a real problem such as active corrosion. NGC will not clean the coin and you should refrain from doing so as well, as that would only harm the value.
Thanks, was just wondering if I could just wash it with maybe soap and water or just warm water and let it air dry before I ship it to NGC haha
Slabbing doesn't really translate that well to ancients - note that very rarely, actually almost never, do you see major auction houses sell slabbed coins, or even a certificate of authenticity. The reputation of the seller is their guarantee of authenticity. The grading on slabbed coins can be absurd as well. I do sometimes end up buying a slabbed coin, and have perfected a technique for breaking the coin out of the slab using two pliers (while shutting my eyes tightly in the event of flying plastic). I do not know a single long time collector of ancients who only collects slabbed coins.
P.S. Forumcoins has an excellent database of phony ancients - I use it whenever I suspect a coin is fake and it has been amazingly useful. I would check out your coin there, but as said above Naville is a very reputable firm, and I would not be concerned about anything sold by them (in fact, I hope to buy a coin from one of their auctions tomorrow).
In my case, I'm only looking to collect a few handful of ancient coins, I just prefer them to be incapsulated in slabs for viewing. Personally, I just don't like handling the coins by hand.
A buddy of mine sold this to me raw. He said he would slab it for free (he had a slew of Modern coins he was going to slab. I reluctantly agreed, since he slabbed it AFTER we agreed on the Ancient coin price, and he is a good friend of mine. When I received it, within 2 days, I freed it from the plastic tomb. I felt wrong putting an Ancient coin, 2000 years old, into a fake plastic box. I handle my coins all the time, and have thousands of them. RI Augustus AR Denarius struck 2 BC-14 AD Caius and Lucius Caesars stdg shield spear Sear 1578 Mine has Left shield in front.
