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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TIF, post: 2416909, member: 56859&quot;]Hmm.&nbsp; There&#039;s not one simple answer but here are a few tips in addition to those you already mentioned:</p><p><br /></p><p>1.&nbsp; The presence of a casting seam might indicate a fake.&nbsp; Be aware though that many flans were cast, and you might be seeing that seam.</p><p>2.&nbsp; Casting sprues.&nbsp;&nbsp; Same cautions as above.</p><p>3.&nbsp; &quot;Casting pearls&quot;-- little round bubbles of metal scattered on the coin&#039;s surface.&nbsp; The casting process involves pouring a plaster-like substance around a wax copy of the coin.&nbsp; If there are small air bubbles in the plaster, they&#039;ll cause these &quot;pearls&quot; when such a bubble is against the wax.</p><p>4.&nbsp; Finding an exact duplicate or duplicates of the coin, including flan shape and other irregularities, means that it is fake unless it was the host coin-- and the odds of such a coin being the host are slim.</p><p>5.&nbsp; Check various archives and websites for similar examples to see how they should look (style), keeping in mind that styles for a given coin vary widely since each die was made by hand.&nbsp; <a href="http://coins.com/Coins_sold.aspx" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://coins.com/Coins_sold.aspx" rel="nofollow">CNG&#039;s archives</a>,&nbsp; <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/" rel="nofollow">ACsearch</a>, <a href="http://coinproject.com/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://coinproject.com/" rel="nofollow">CoinProject</a>,&nbsp; etc.</p><p>6.&nbsp; Check forgery databases (on <a href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/search.php" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/search.php" rel="nofollow">Forvm</a>, and <a href="http://www.forgerynetwork.com/default.aspx" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.forgerynetwork.com/default.aspx" rel="nofollow">ForgeryNetwork</a>)</p><p>7.&nbsp; Look for similar currently for sale coins in <a href="https://www.vcoins.com/en/Default.aspx" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.vcoins.com/en/Default.aspx" rel="nofollow">Vcoins</a>, <a href="https://www.numisbids.com/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.numisbids.com/" rel="nofollow">Numisbids</a>, and <a href="https://www.sixbid.com/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.sixbid.com/" rel="nofollow">Sixbid</a>.&nbsp; Fakes are occasionally unknowingly (or even knowingly or through carelessness) seen on those sites so keep that in mind.</p><p>8.&nbsp; Ask ancients collectors here on CoinTalk, but if the coin is currently up for auction it is best to do so by private message rather than with a public post.</p><p><br /></p><p>It is generally not possible to declare a coin authentic or fake with complete certainty based solely on pictures.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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