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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 7384235, member: 85693&quot;]I really hope the OP is genuine, because if it is fake, it looks really good.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>This was an interesting discussion - as somebody who buys most of my coins off eBay I like robust discussions of the ancients fake problem.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>There have been many discussions about this over the past couple years I have been a member and I am beginning to think that condemnations of eBay are based on the high-end high-dollar material.&nbsp; I agree, it is too risky to buy something like, say, a Tiberius &quot;Tribute Penny&quot; on eBay unless it was slabbed or from a very, very reputable dealer.&nbsp; I&#039;d feel the same way about a lot of high-end stuff (including the OP, which may or may not be genuine).&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Junky stuff - low grade or very common - is okay to buy on eBay, I think.&nbsp; Certainly, precautions should be taken, but I have a lot of fun wallowing in the low-end ancients.&nbsp; I&#039;ve been burnt a few times, but most of this low-end stuff is genuine, I think.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>For instance, just yesterday I got this in the mail.&nbsp; The eBay seller always has a lot of auctions going, mostly US and World.&nbsp; When he has ancients, they are often pretty good deals; if he has doubts, he won&#039;t sell them as genuine.&nbsp; This is a big (26 gram) sestertius of Trajan that he listed as a possible &quot;medal&quot; because he didn&#039;t know if it was genuine.&nbsp; I appreciate that kind of seller probity!&nbsp; For $15, I had no hesitation in taking the risk.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1285477[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>It is genuine, I am 99 and 44/100% sure - weight, style, no obvious signs of casting or &quot;pressing.&quot;&nbsp; Furthermore, faking that kind of damage on this kind of coin would be counterproductive and non-remunerative.&nbsp; This being said, several other of this seller&#039;s &quot;medal&quot; auctions were obvious fakes, including one of the ubiquitous <i>Reader&#039;s Digest</i> man-headed bull tokens from Gela.&nbsp; <i>Caveat emptor</i>.&nbsp; &nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>A collector buying from CNG or Heritage is not going to want to fool around on eBay looking for this kind of coin.&nbsp; Which is perfectly understandable.&nbsp; Where eBay becomes a trap is when high-end &quot;eye candy&quot; type listings show up that should be sold by a big auction firm.&nbsp; Many of these are fakes, and some of them dangerous fakes, not just obvious ones pressed in Bulgaria.&nbsp; The OP, if it is a fake, would be, I think, a very tempting and dangerous eBay listing.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>A seller posting &quot;is it fake?&quot; threads on CT does not bother me, if, as [USER=75121]@John Hulgin[/USER] is doing here, the poster is saying that selling is what is he is doing, is making a good-faith effort to do his own research and is not flooding the forum with multiple posts per day.&nbsp; There can be a lot of educational opportunities from such posts.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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