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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DonnaML, post: 8154656, member: 110350&quot;]I&#039;m sure others can explain far better and more articulately than I can the flaws in your proposition. But it seems to me that in essence, just because you (and, in many cases, I) can&#039;t tell from examining an ancient coin whether it&#039;s a fake, doesn&#039;t mean that the same thing is true of highly experienced and reputable collectors and dealers. And the older the provenance, the more experienced eyes -- such as, in this case, Jacob Hirsch, Lucien Naville, and at least a couple of other auction houses and dealers -- have scrutinized a coin and authenticated it. </p><p><br /></p><p>Furthermore, fake ancient coins have always existed back to ancient times, but I think it&#039;s fair to say in general that fake coins -- or coins that may be genuine but have been extensively and undetectably repaired --&nbsp; weren&#039;t nearly as skillfully done 80 or 100 years ago. Nor were professional countefeiters as pervasive, whether in Bulgaria or Russia or Ukraine or anywhere else. So again, the older the provenance, the easier it probably is for an experienced eye to detect a fake.</p><p><br /></p><p>Obviously, provenance is also relevant to the separate issue of cultural patrimony, and a long provenance obviates the concern over some country claiming that a coin or artifact was illegally excavated and exported last week or last year or at any other time before the international treaties concerning the return of cultural patrimony became effective about 40 years ago..</p><p><br /></p><p>If you were correct, and provenance meant nothing, then what would be the point of collecting ancient coins in the first place? They could all be fake for all anyone knows! </p><p><br /></p><p>In short, a long provenance signifies far more than an interesting historical storyline, although that&#039;s certainly an appealing aspect.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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