I recently got this follis of Justinian as part of a lot, probably added by the seller as there was no picture of it in the sale. A nice gesture but he/she taped all the coins to a pad (worst way to ship a coin), given it's so thin and brittle that when it arrived it was already broken. I didn't reach out to the seller, (Don't look a gift horse in the mouth) so I just glued them together and it's in a large plastic capsule meant for a silver round! Justinian I, 16g, 45mm. Post your coins that are either in pieces or glued together.
Unfortunately that's a well-known forgery. This NIKO XII has been around since at least 1995 (when Joel Malter published two specimens in his Bibliography of Byzantine Numismatics v 2; I shared the photos in a comment here). The number of these around is unbelievable, they regularly appear in Biddr auctions. Once you see a few, they're very recognizable. There's a whole thread about this particular forgery (even including another specimen that broke in half -- but vertically, not horizontally): https://www.cointalk.com/threads/byzantine-fakes.350625/ There was also a Reddit post today with this same forgery: https://www.reddit.com/r/AncientCoi...st_inherited_these_i_dont_know_what_they_are/ Also: I hate it when sellers tape the coins to something for shipping!
That's a nice bonus in a way. It is very helpful as a new collector to learn what fakes are out there.
Just saw one of these Justinian NIKO XII coins today at the flea market. Didn't ask the price as the guy wanted to tell me how old it was and show me some other junk. Rather beat up and the metal was showing through the patina where it had been roughly rubbed against the other big fake coins he had. Funny how things like this pop out in the wild once you commit them to memory.
Indeed. For this one, I can't believe how many are out there. I've seen photos of dozens, so there must be hundreds, maybe thousands. They provide a great lesson in fake patina & artificial weathering, since each one is done differently (often dramatically so). Even very well established firms & professional dealers are occasionally fooled by it. A couple years ago someone paid 130EUR + fees for this one at R. Fischer 183, lot 245: https://auktion.reinhardfischerauktionen.de/de/catalog/lot/1228864 (Or linked here)
I was fooled. I bought the same type of fake Justinian I coin, 3 years ago. There are multiple examples of this fake type, on Forum Ancient Coins fake coin reports. The flan shape, and the upward diagonal slash on the outside of the right part of the border on the obverse, are dead giveaways. Here's my example, which sits in my black cabinet. FAKE! Maximum Diameter = 45.0 mm Weight = 17.67 grams Here are some close up photos of my fake coin. I like how, the Emperor is sticking out his tongue, as if to say "Nyaah! Nyaah! Ha! Ha! You've been had!".
