I'm nowhere near qualified to appraise your coin but that does not mean I don't have an opinion (assuming it to be genuine). Details: Lets start by searching the link Bart9349 provided for a similar coin. On the first page we find: http://www.acsearch.info/search.htm...m+Tyre&view_mode=1&cac=1&cng=1&fac=1&page=1#2 That coin and your share a small flan with most of the encircling legend lost. Your coin loses a lot of points for the eagle head on the reverse but is better centered on the obverse. I'd give a bonus for that eagle head. Your coin has a lot more wear and surface problems which would make the acsearch coin considerably more valuable. Both show the KP mintmark (the best one price wise) of Jerusalem but their coin is dated P(xi)(theta) or year of their era 169 which translates to 43/44 AD. Yours is P(xi)A or 161 = 35/6 AD. That means both coins miss the door prize since neither was made until after the date of the Judas pay off so could not have been in the bag. (Yes, some people would pay extra for one dated PNE (155 = 29/30) or a little before.) Neither is worth more than the other because of the date. Finally, we need to point out that Gemini Auctions will get more for a coin that a collector selling to a dealer or on eBay. The auction estimated the coin at $1000 which the bidders present that day did not support. On another day they might have. Is your coin worth as much as the $675 listed for the comparison coin? IMHO, No. Is it worth a lot less? That is an opinion question for which we all will answer differently. We each must weigh the value of the wear, the eagle head, the missing legend, the date, the mint, the surfaces etc. etc. etc. I hope this overlong paragraph will point out why it is harder to grade/price ancients than mechanically produced modern coins.
I am VERY happy and would agree with your opinion of my coin. I unfortunately when I bought it, I was unable to see it before I purchased it! :-( I just knew it was PCGS slabbed and "authentic". It's amazing how the world of ancient coins VASTLY different than that of modern coins! Hindsight is 20/20! well if I ever had to sell it, hopefully I could recoupe what I have into it! thank you SO VERY much for your informative critique!
These are obvious fakes....Look it has bubbling on the coin. So it was not struck but molded. Its a no brainier, what's all the fuss about? Traci
I have about as much confidence as they do on their ability to authenticate a coin? I wouldn't guarantee it The thing is, I think most people will send a coin off to NGC because they have grown accustom to doing such a thing and in fact many cant even buy a coin without doing this. Because the slab makes them feel more at ease about its authenticity, the coin is placed into a collection and the owner probably wont bother to get a second opinion. It has been slabbed and the person knows that in many collectors minds, slabbed means authentic so even if it IS fake, its slabbed thus authentic to many who would buy it . The slab gives people a false sense of security so they know they can sell it. After all, for many, it being real or fake is less important than the appearance of authenticity which to many = slab + label. Thus, even if its a fake, he doesn't know it and he isn't coming back to NGC any time soon. IMO the odds are in their favor. Its in their favor because not only do many not even bother to get a second opinion once its been slabbed and graded... EVERYONE has AT LEAST a 50/50 chance of getting it right even if you have never seen an ancient coin before. If a person has ANY real experience with ancients and how to spot fakes, can do even the most rudimentary research of fake databases, then they have far more than 50/50 chance. So they probably aren't gambling that much to go ahead and give a guarantee....but they wont...because even with what I would think is odds in their favor that most will not come back on them...they are not confident enough of their ability to do so (and they don't want to risk anything more than what you paid for them to try and get it right). Now if they dont offer any guarentee because they are afraid people will put their ability to the test and send in fakes just to try to trick them, again, if they are afraid of this, then they must not be confident enough to put their abilities to this test. I see nothing wrong with knowly sending in a fake. The TPG STILL gets the money if they get it right. The only difference between a person doing this and a person who doesnt know what they have is just that...the guy sending the fake in on purpose KNOWS its fake and can catch the mistake...others, once slabbed...will just proceed with the assumtion its real...whether it is or not, they have your money and you have a coin that seem a lot more authentic to people. This doesn't make me confident in their abilities either...I can get non guaranteed opinions from guys who know a lot about coins for free...I don't have to take the time and money, further expenses for an already expensive hobby, and enrich someone for a best guess. Just my view of all that