I acquired this elephant denarius several years ago as a new collector from a reputable dealer, and didn't think twice about the possibility of it being a cast fake. As I have been photographing and documenting my old coins recently, however, the many blemishes throughout the fields made me second guess myself. I am not by any means an expert in forgery identification; any thoughts?
Looks like natural pitting - when in doubt look for a die match - I THINK that if you find a die match it means the coin is authentic - but I guess a fake could be made from an impression of an authentic coin. You should also check out the fakes on the Forum database and see if your coin is there. That database has saved me at least half dozen times - most recently a Nero sestertius purchased from an established dealer that was a die match to a fake on the site. Those who have fakes should send photographs to the site - it is an essential tool - it would have saved me considerable time and trouble if I had checked it out BEFORE buying the coin. But I never thought that an established dealer would sell a fake, although to be fair to the auction house it was a pretty good one!
I have never seen an authentic specimen that was so terribly pitted. I don't recall the exact silver percentage offhand; but these were high in silver; which is why the authentic example did not pit so easily. From the pictures, it also looks like there might be a seam on the edge.