Nothing screams fake about it. From Ephesus, I know there are contemporary counterfeits but I am not sure how to tell them from official ones. CNG sold a number of them lately.
Here is one on Vcoins, they are not inexpensive. What you paid would be a key part of figuring if a popular coin with a lot of demand is authentic. the dealer and provenance are also important.https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/lo..._ar_tetradrachm_390330_bc/887779/Default.aspx
The one linked on Vcoins is in better condition than yours so I would suspect yours would not be worth as much as that one but my ability to determine grade/quality is very poor. There are people here at CT that are much better at assessing condition. My point is that this coin type is popular enough to bring a pretty hefty price like the one on Vcoins so paying too little might, but not necessarily, but it might be a red flag as to authenticity. You also may have just got a very good deal. You would also need to figure the mass in grams and mm diameter to make a more total assessment.
I paid quite a bit for it, a little late Christmas present to myself! I will post exact weight and diameter when it arrives.
If it's genuine, and I believe so.. Then it could be worth half the price of the coin shown on Vcoins, at least. Good Luck.
This here link makes me suspicious because this looks like your exact same coin on ebay but it is still for sale as buy now. Unless he had it up for both auctions and buy now and did not take this down. If it is another identical one that is a RED FLAG. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ancient-Gr...d=332509800258&_trksid=p2047675.c100012.m1985
It was also up for auction and sold by the same seller. He does not guarantee authenticity and only accepts returns for 14 days. He also does not claim to be a coin dealer. I bought two fakes on ebay and so it is a sensitive issue with me. Not sure but I would ask the guy why one like it is still for sale. Maybe it is a mistake however. @Charles1997 He also claims to deal in heirlooms but says he is not a scientist and so does not really know what anything is!!?
That seller's inventory is loaded with blatant fakes of popular coins which generally carry a high price tag (the real coins, not his fakes). The seller even has carbon-copy duplicates in his current listing which is of course a dead giveaway for fake, even if a person doesn't know anything about the specific ancient coin. Here's a smattering of the current listings: This description for an overtly fake Leontini tet is particularly amusing: "We will update later. Tested 2000 Years Old. labeled first-strike . we not sure what that means . We are not a coin store." ... @Charles1997, best to return the “coin”.
I'm sorry for what you may find a bad attitude but, if you read the listing and still have any desire to 'trade' with the seller, you get what you deserve. Not knowing is perfectly fine but being proud of ignorance and using it to cover your tracks is a bit beyond 'not knowing'. The main reason to buy such items would be hoping to pass them along to someone who knows less than you do or to decorate a life that cares nothing about the difference. Today we have many people who really don't care about things like authenticity and stores that sell items to decorate or homes or lives with shiny baubles. You can buy plaster cameras to set on a shelf for a higher price than you might pay for a real camera that would gather dust with equal skill. This seller makes it perfectly clear that the items being sold are what they are and not what you might wish to imagine them to be. If this is what you seek, this would seem to be a good source.
I generally agree with Doug, but if by chance the OP didn't buy the fake coin from this eBay seller (maybe bought it from someone who bought it from him), and if the OP didn't know where to look for comparisons, then perhaps it's a reasonable beginner's mistake. @Charles1997, if you're interested in buying ancient coins, buy from reputable sellers who offer guarantees of authenticity and who sell from a less risky venue than eBay. Try Vcoins. Look for comparisons to gauge the asking prices. CNG's archives are a good (and free) place to look. Do some searching on CoinTalk and the wider internet to learn about spotting signs of fakes.
I understand what you are saying Doug. I wasn’t sure if the item was real or not. Because of this I posted the coin while there was still time left, and originally a few people said that the coin looked authentic, though they weren’t completely sure. Since a few said that it seemed not to be a obvious fake, I decided to take a chance on it. I didn’t know that it was obviously a fake, and the seller didn’t have negative feedback saying that he sold fakes. I requested that the item be canceled and have money be refunded, and the seller refunding with no issues, so that part is good at least. I appreciate you guys telling me these things, and I want to buy authentic coins and not fakes to ‘decorate’ my home, this is why I post on here to get as many peoples advice before I purchase a item. I respect you all and love to get everyone’s opinions.
