My modest collection of fakes... Nice uncles, aunts or distant relatives, when they had been visiting Tunisia, Turkey, Jordan and other Mediterranean countries, sometimes brought me old coins. "I know you are interested in ancient coins, I remembered you when a shepherd proposed me this one near the ruins of such and such place ! Do you think it is authentic?" - "Oooh thank you, I said, this is veeery nice!" I usually don't reply it is a tourist fake... Relatives who know me better do not bring me fakes but authentic ones, essentially radiates, LRBs or even small Greek fractions of obols. Or for my birthday I have been offered gorgeous coins from reputed dealers, and which make my pride. The aureus was not a present, I bought it many years ago in a jewellery shop. It's real gold, it is struck, but I think the obv. die was a cast from a real coin and its weight is 7.26 g when Manlia Scantilla authentic aurei have an average weight c. 6.70 g. Fakes, anyone?
Thanks for sharing the video. I have often been to the Baldwin's store at Adelphi Terrace in London. There were real characters working there. I love the plot with the Judas coins
Interesting video. I have a friend who went to Turkey and came back with a handful of coins, about half of which were fakes. He mailed the lot to me so I could attribute them. The "real" coins were a few anonymous folles featuring Christ, fakes included a couple of sestertii and a denarius. He also had some real Ottoman bronze coins, which took awhile to attribute.
