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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 668107, member: 19463&quot;]That is a really good question.&nbsp; Italian craftsmen have been making fake ancient coins for centuries.&nbsp; One 16th century major player in Renaissance art by the name of Giovanni Cavino is credited with beautiful medallions copying ancient coins now called Paduans after the city in which he worked.&nbsp;&nbsp; His originals sell for big money and are, you guessed it, frequently faked.&nbsp; An early aftercast (=fake but a good looing one) of his works sell for $50 to $100.&nbsp; </p><p><a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/medalsbygiovanni00lawriala#page/n3/mode/2up" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.archive.org/stream/medalsbygiovanni00lawriala#page/n3/mode/2up" rel="nofollow">http://www.archive.org/stream/medalsbygiovanni00lawriala#page/n3/mode/2up</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>19th century master fakers like Carl Becker produced wonderful items that are collected by many today but his dies survived him and, again, we have fakes of fakes worth less than original fakes.&nbsp; </p><p><a href="http://www.calgarycoin.com/reference/fakes/fakes.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.calgarycoin.com/reference/fakes/fakes.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.calgarycoin.com/reference/fakes/fakes.htm</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As far as the coin in question goes, I&#039;d say it is a fake of little worth unless you can research it to pin down the pedigree of the faker and discover there is a market for that maker.&nbsp; Just being found in the dirt does not make something old in this game.&nbsp; A fake discovered to be fake in 1850 and thrown out with the garbage could be found in 1950 looking very authentic but actually a bit young compared to the original.&nbsp; I do not know the story behind this coin so I&#039;d say the value of the coin is exactly what you can find someone willing to pay (assuming, of course, that buyer is aware that the coin is not exactly as it seems at first glance.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>This thread covered the question of cleaning and I have a question.&nbsp; If I dipped a silver dollar in 1959 and put it away in a drawer for these last 50 years so it is as toned as any old silver coin, is the coin ruined by cleaning?&nbsp; My answer is that time might heal cleaning but a fake is always a fake unless it becomes a separate piece of art itself in the name of the faker.&nbsp; Does this coin have value as an old reproduction?&nbsp; I&#039;d say yes.&nbsp; How much depends on to whom.&nbsp; Certainly it is over melt value (assuming it is silver).[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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