Authentic Ancient Coins

What's the way to tell if you are getting a real ancient coin and not a replica. I see them for sale all over, and don't want to buy anything unless I know it's real. Many people tell me no because coins like that are for the good of mankind to see and belong in a museum or place like that. Can I get some ideas about your experiences, who to and not to buy from, and where, if possible, you could dig any up? The whole ancient coin thing, could it be fraud?

 

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If you want to be sure that you are getting the real deal, have it slabbed by ICG. I think they are the only ones who slab ancients.

Charlie

 

Depends on what you're looking for. A lot of Roman coins are relatively easy to come by, and there are often Hellenic coins advertised in CW for less than $100.

 

I meant like when you are buying directly from a company that may not have them slabbed. What companies are good? Which ones are not? Who's dishonest?

 

Most ancient reproductions a fairly easy to spot.The vast majority of Roman coins are authentic but if they look too perfectly struck,be careful.Greek silver coins on the other hand are very commonly reproduced and you have to get a feel through experience,which ones don't look quite right.If you see something like these two outside of a museum,there's a good chance they're recently made.
These are repros that I bought as such.The little incuse mintmarks by the dolphin's tail and below the boar probably aren't on the original so someone at least had the decency to try to distiguish them from the real thing.

 

I would buy from any of the dealers on this page.They are among the most reputable in the business.
http://www.coin-gallery.com/cgancientcoins.htm

 

GDJMSP,

Look what I found at CNG


You really know how to inspire a person :bow:

 

These people do not know what they are talking about. Countell millions of ancient coins were made, and milions or hundreds of thousands at least are buried and yet to be discovered. They are collectable like any other coin.

Beware, though, lots of real AND fake are coming out of Eastern Europe.

 

You would have to beat my wife to it !!!!

 

Can I see a comparison photo of two of the same coins next to each other, one a reproduction one a real one, yours are good but can you show me a real one. Thanks for your tip!

 

Coinkids,
There is really no good way to tell reproductions from fakes to the untrained eye.The best bet is to buy from a reputable dealer like the ones we listed.Also,I don't have any repros along with the real thing but here are photos of a couple of mine.The first is from the Isle of Rhodes in Greece with the sun god Helios on the front and a rose (pun on the name Rhodes) plus RO for Rhodes on the reverse.It is from about 387-304 BC.The second is from the Aitolian region of Greece from about 279-168 BC and has the head of a water goddess in a strange hat on front and a charging Kalydoinian Boaron the reverse along with the Greek letters AITO-AON for the state.Look at the toning and wear compared with the pics I posted earlier.Also,most of these coins are dug out of the ground and will show some pitting on the fields around the images.
The picture next to my name is a large silver coin from greece as well with Hercules(Herakles) on the front.

 

OK,now here's where you have to be really careful.This is my favorite Greek coin from about 150BC.This is an often faked silver Tetradrachm and costs over $200-300 so it pays to get it from a dealer that has been in business for many years and guarantees their products,including refunds if necessary.

 

Where do you get your ancient coins from?

 

Some are from the internet but luckily two of my local coin stores sell ancients.At one,all the coins come from a man named Gordon Andreas Singer,one of the best in the biz.The other store buys from a guy named Bernie Musser who is one of the most knowledgeable people I've ever met when it comes to ancient coins as well as medieval and later.
The best way to start is to buy small Roman bronze coins from the 2-4th centuries like in these pictures,They are pretty cheap,about $10-20 some a bit higher,or buy uncleaned lots of them and soak them in olive oil for a coiple of weeks to get the crud off.Bonedigger can give you some tips if he reads this.He's found a lot of great coins on the cheap.:smile

 

I thought you weren't supposed to clean or put stuff on coins.

 

This is not true for ancient coins that often are found in the ground or so encrusted with gunk that they are unrecognizable.For modern coins,it is true that they should never be cleaned except under certain conditions such as PVC damage or verdi gris which threatens them.There have been a lot of discussions about this here on the forum which you should look up and read,They are very informative.:smile
http://www.cointalk.org/showthread.php?t=3645&highlight=cleaning+ancient

http://www.cointalk.org/showthread.php?t=3517&highlight=cleaning+ancient

 

That's gorgeous but decidely not ancient. I'd say 14th century myself, early 15th at a push.

 

Ancient coins (and to a lesser extent medieval coins) are a whole different kettle of fish. The majority are dug up and thus they usually are cleaned at some point, if only for identification.