Fake Gordian III tater roman coin?

Hi everyone. I recently purchased a Gordian III Tater roman coin, however I am not sure if it is real or not. I looked online, and it looks and feels real, but I am new to this sort of thing, and I was wondering if anyone could help me out. Also, I bought this in a coin shop, so I don't actually know if it is a Tater coin. The guy could have been lying. (If I am correct in assuming Tater is a person/dealer...)

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Here are the pictures

 

Sorry dawg => ummm, but you'll need to post better photos than those (cheers)

go to "edit" ... "more options" ... "upload a file" (then search for your photo) ... then hit "full image"

 

After you do it once, you'll see how easy it is. We'll be watching for the images.

 

I know. My phone wouldn't let me upload pictures for some reason. Sorry about that. Working on it now

 

Or just post a link to the auction. I can't say I've seen any fakes among tater's stuff. I've bought a handful of coins from him.

 

Looks good at first glance, but bigger pics, weight, and diameter would be extremely helpful.

 

Ok. The diameter is 2.86 cm or about 1.125 inches. As for the weight, I don't currently have a scale for small weights, so I am not sure. Does this help at all? Also if it helps, the coin feels a little bit like soap. Isn't that a good sign?

 

Diameters are given in millimeters on ancient coins, so 28.6mm makes it a sestertius if it's in the neighborhood of 20 grams. Can you read any of the letters on the reverse? Looks like Fortuna or Concordia to me, maybe Apollo.

 

Well for starters, there is an SC at the bottom of the back, and on the left side possibly an A or a H. At the top left I can only make out a possible D. I am currently working on better pictures.

 

If I squint my eyes I think it's Fortuna.

 

How can you tell? Just out of curiosity. Also does that mean you think its real?

 

Fortuna is often depicted holding a patera in right hand, cornucopia in left. What looks like a D is probably an R. It would be in the right place for the legend FORTVNA REDVX. Yes, I think it's real but this is just a guessing game without large, clear images.

 

Alright. My camera is charging at the moment, so there should be clear images soon. Those other images are from my phone, so they are not the best. Hopefully my camera will be ready soon, so I can post the pictures.

 

If you have a macro setting, be sure to use that and get a close-up.

 

Maybe you could answer another question I have. Why is it that some of the coins have crowns, but others don't? They all have the same back (fortuna), just different fronts. Also, some of the images on Google images don't have the SC at the bottom. I looked at images of fortuna coins and now that I have seen them, my coin looks just like them, only worn. I can make out the F, part of an O, and the R which is just a bit blended to look like a D. Also on the back of mine, there appears to be a little wheel with two lines intersecting inside of it.

 

I think JA is right with the Fortuna call. The rudder in hand and the wheel beside the throne are classic Fortuna, and it's also a common type for Gordian III.

 

Thank You! I'm glad to hear that. How come other pictures of coins don't have those? Same goes for the SC and the crown vs no crown on the front.

 

There is a vast, literally uncountable number of variations on Roman coins. Official variations for starters, then unofficial ones as well. Remember that each die was engraved by hand.

I'm calling it a night, but I'll look at your pics tomorrow.

Peace, J.

 

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "crown vs no crown", but it would help if you have pictures or a link to what you're comparing your coin with. Roman emperors issued coins in many different denominations and with many different reverse designs. The portraits on the obverse (head side) could be bare headed, wearing a laurel wreath (as on your coin), or a radiate crown (as on the silver coins known as antoninianii).

As others have said, better and larger pictures will help identify your coin with certainty, but if you click this link you'll see many examples of the variety your coin seems to be from what can be gathered so far.

I don't know who Tater is, but I think JA has identified him as a coin dealer?