Back in August 2018 I unknowingly purchased an inexpensive (under $50) fake Vespasian dupondius on eBay. As soon as the coin was in hand I knew I had been duped. It's cast from genuine dies and the picture was convincing enough, however the seller was unknown to me. I took a chance and lost. Here is the fake in all its glory, currently residing in my 'black cabinet'. Later, on asearch.info I located the original coin the cast was made from (sold at a prior Roma auction). Now, at long last, I can add a genuine example of the type. It's not a rare or special coin in any way, but to me it's a personal wrong that was righted. Vespasian Æ Dupondius, 12.85g Rome mint, 74 AD Obv: IMP CAES VESP AVG P M TP COS V CENS; Head of Vespasian, radiate, l. Obv: FELICITAS PVBLICA; S C in field; Felicitas stg. l., with caduceus and cornucopiae RIC 716 (C2). BMC 698. BNC 714. Acquired from London Ancient Coins, May 2021. Felicitas was by far the most common type struck on the dupondius during Vespasian's reign. Here she symbolises the abundance and prosperity the emperor has brought to the empire. Do you have a wrong that was eventually righted? I'd like to know.
This coin that I bought from a flea market years ago described as an ancient Roman coin. After really getting into the ancients last year I came to know it's neither Ancient nor Roman, but a bad fake (not even inspired from a real coin of that dimension) issued under the name Menander! Which prompted me to get the real deal, so I got this actual Bactrian drachm of Menander I Also, the very first American silver dollars I got from an 'American seller' on ebay turned out to be fakes that came in a China Post parcel! My post on this https://www.cointalk.com/threads/fake-morgans.371752/
Very early in my coin collecting "career" when eBay was a new thing and the Celator was still in print, I bought this one from an eBay dealer as a "Caligula and Caesonia": After all, it looked very similar to one posted at an academic website, the Virtual Catalog of Roman Coins, maintained by Austin College: The coin had a "soft" appearance and feel to it and there were traces of a casting seam around the edge -- though I believe most of the flan was filed down -- and the whole coin had an artificial patina applied to age the coin and cover the file work on the edge. I compared the coin to that one posted on the Virtual Catalog of Roman Coins' page and it was identical in flan shape and die and placement of the dies on the flan -- it was a cast copy -- the only differences being the artificial patinas that were applied to each. Both coins are forged. I confronted the dealer with this evidence and demanded (and got) a refund without returning the coin only to be sold to another sucker. I eventually bought another example -- a genuine one -- and also learned that the coin does not actually portray Caesonia at all, but a personification of Salus. Here's the real deal: Caligula AD 37-41. Roman provincial Æ 28 mm, 11.17 gm. Carthago Nova, Spain, AD 37-38. Obv: C. CAESAR AVG. GERMANIC. IMP. P.M. TR.P. COS., laureate head of Caligula, r. Rev: CN. ATEL. FLAC. CN. POM. FLAC. II. VIR. Q.V.I.N.C., head of Salus r., SAL AVG across field. Refs: SGI 419; Heiss 272, 35; Cohen 247, 1; RPC 1, 185; SNG Cop 503.
Why didn't you guys request a refund from eBay? I have been duped twice and both times eBay honored their return policy. Just an opinion, good future luck!
Mine wasn't expensive and I wanted to keep it for my black cabinet. It was a small price to pay for a valuable lesson ... plus I prevented the piece from going back into circulation.
Thanks David for the response and also for keeping the fake out of circulation. A gain for all of us through your action. Good luck
This is a great question. In hand the coin doesn't 'feel' right. What I mean by that is it is light and the fabric is way off. The patina is a shoe polish-like stain and the metal underneath looks like a cheap copper. Plus, the biggest tell is a seam running along the edge which was purposely obscured in spots. 90% of the above info was not discernible from the seller's photo - which is why it is important if you don't know the coin, know the seller. Ebay is English for caveat emptor.
