Several days ago I bid on a rare Byzantine solidus, lot 554, from CNG E-Sale 506. I took another look at the photo last night & had an uneasy feeling about the coin . After browsing Byzantine fakes on Forgery Network, CNG lot 554 matched the dies on Item: 14366 from Forgery Network ! I sent CNG an email alert early this morning & got a thank you email from Jeff Rill at CNG, the coin has been with withdrawn . CNG 506, Lot 554 Romanus III, Argyrus, 1028-1034. AV Histamenon Nomisma: 4.40 gm, 22 mm, 6 h. Sear 1820. Pictured below are photos of both coins. This coin type has been counterfeited for a long time & most of the fakes like this one are excellent copies . About two years ago I posted a thread on CT about another fake of this coin type from a ROMA E-sale, that coin was also withdrawn .
I appreciate that they pulled the lot, but why not leave a "lot withdrawn" for the lot instead of just skipping from lot 553-555? Look at lot 829 in the British section - "Lot withdrawn".
The solidus on the left shows the Virgin not nimbate and is the rarer variety. Sear 1820, Berk 294. 4.39 grams. Purchased from Harlan Berk 3/26/1990. Even 30 years ago one had to be on guard against the dangerous counterfeit of this type. The other two solidi are the more common variety.
Those are nice looking coins . I've been hunting for the rare type without nimbus for a decade & have seen more fakes than real ones . The more common type with nimbus has been heavily counterfeited too . Pictured below is a fake of the more common variety I bought at a coin show many years ago. Pictured below is a genuine example for comparison .
