Expert Opinion Needed: Marcus Aurelius Denarius

I bought this coin a few days ago at a local show. The seller, an elderly gentleman from Hungary had quite a few nice denarii in very nice condition. I chose this, even though it is a fairly common type for Marcus Aurelius as Caesar, but the bust type and dark patina appelaed to me.

I posted the coin in 2 Ancient Coin Forums. There, some people pointed out that it is a very rare variety for this particular denarius, with a Draped, instead of the common Naked bust (ancient coin collectors get excited about things like this). Apparently only 2 other examples only ever recorded, both from the famed Deka Revnia hoard found in Bulgaria (?) around 1927. That hoard contained more than 8000 denarii from the 1st and 2nd century.

So far so good. However, some other posters remarked that the coin may be a fake. Being no expert i am not able to judge conclusively other than to say that it appears good to me, and i have seen (and bought!) a few fake ancients in my career. So my interest is definitely piqued, and i would really like to have some more opinions. I may end up taking the coin to a dealer for verification, but maybe one of the local experts here in CT can shed some more light on this.
What do you think: fake or not?

Thanks in advance,

Eduard

 

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Hopefully Bill (Ardatirion) will be along before to long I trust his judgment on these things a lot more than I would trust my own :kewl:

 

I don't see anything that jumps out. I think on this one the only way to tell if you're really worried about it is seek out an expert (like Dr. Martina Dieterle) in Germany to look at it in hand for you.


EDIT: I just saw your thread on Forvm and the comments by Curtis Clay. Curtis is definitely what I would call an expert, it's what he does for a living, I'd trust his opinion.

 

I have to agree with Curtis. Its safe to say its genuine, unless a cast twin shows up.

 

Thank you very much for your comments Guys. I guess I don't post or read enough in FORVM to appreciate who are the real authorities in these matters, like Curtis Clay.

I am very happy about this of course (a bit like finding a rarity 6 large cent, in good condition to boot). Next time i meet the seller i shall let him know. I am surprised it escaped him, since he is a collector too.

Regards,

Eduard