For what it's worth, that one looks OK to me- doesn't appear to be an obvious fake, at any rate- [and that's where I'd be proven wrong, yet again] but since Nepotian is a scarce ruler, one would do right to be cautious. If you're a novice collector of ancients, I'd recommend you stick with VCoins dealers rather than going the eBay route.
Look him up on acsearch.info ... Hammered in the THOUSANDS. Personally, I feel you made the right decision passing. I am not qualified to render a decision, however, I like to do some research and try to use common-sense decision should it be my money. If it is “too-good-to-be-true”, it usually is.
Yes, I should have added that I'm not really qualified to determine whether or not that coin is authentic or fake, though I stand by the rest of my comments. As with any collectible, if it's a supposedly scarcer item (in this case a scarcer emperor), then one must double or triple one's vigilance.
That OP coin of "Nepotian" is certainly a fake. No doubt at all. Also, if it were genuine it would have gone for five or ten times than much. @Del44 , PM the seller's username so I can alert the CoinForgeryDiscussionList: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/CoinForgeryDiscussionList/info
FWIW, I remembered Nepotian being rare, but had forgotten just how rare. I'm glad the OP steered clear.
Del44, My two cents worth, the style looks wrong & the overall softness of details is suspicious. Hence, I agree with Valentinian, FAKE.
It's a really bad fake. It would not fool too many people. On the bright side it looks like it might be made out of a genuine flan.
Pretty weird coin and I'm happy you decided to take a pass rather than get ripped off. I'm no expert but the softness of the portrait is alarming and the lettering is kind of "bubbly" for a late roman bronze.
Thanks All for confirming my suspicions! I agree that the style looked wrong especially the hair when compared to other known examples and the lettering kinda looked "waxy" . Sad someone got suckered. I checked the Notorious Fake Sellers List and the seller was there. So many red flags with this one!
