Help I.D half shekel fake/real

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Gazzman44, Oct 10, 2016.

  1. Gazzman44

    Gazzman44 New Member

    Any help in establishing if these coins are real/fake appreciated.
     

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  3. Paul M.

    Paul M. Well-Known Member

    Clearer and larger pictures would help for sure, but I'm leaning toward fake. These are heavily faked, and tourist replicas are common. The surfaces don't look right to me.
     
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  4. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    My gut said fake. The style just doesn't look ancient.
     
  5. Insider

    Insider Talent on loan from...

    NOTE TO ALL POSTERS:

    Coin authentication is no longer a matter of naked eye or 5X magnification. Many coins now require at least a minute using a stereo microscope at powers near 15-20X! Asking even a professional numismatist or advanced collector to answer a question of authenticity from a photo is difficult at best. Asking them to do the same when they cannot see a highly magnified image of a coin's surface is fruitless. Especially with ancients. :(

    PS Welcome to coin talk, this is not directed especially to you as EVERYBODY does it. :D
     
  6. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I agree with Insider when it comes to authentication but will point out that some fakes can be declared from ten paces with one eye closed. Regulars here will start to recognize certain 'things' that pretend to be ancient coins and are posted here by people who recently have been exposed to coins in general or ancients and are imagining they are beneficiary of the deal of the century. There are experts who are fooled by .01% of fakes. They tend to work for big dealers or authentication services. There are those who would be better served by flipping a coin to determine the answer since their hopes for the best will more often turn out bad than not. It is OK if you ask our opinion on a coin but you will have to realize that relatively few of us are in the 90+% accurate group and are not able to apply Insider's stereo microscope to your cell phone photos. Ask away but understand when the answer you get is rarely as 100% positive as you hoped.
     
  7. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I might also point out that there are some coins that actually look better under a microscope than they do at arm's length. It is hard to evaluate some things when over magnified. We do what we can.
     
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  8. Gazzman44

    Gazzman44 New Member

    I appreciate the difficulties but I've added a few more images that may help, can anyone recommend a reliable expert North of England would be best.
     

    Attached Files:

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  9. Pishpash

    Pishpash Well-Known Member

    Which county are you in?
    Can you check the edges of the coin for signs of a seam?
     
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  10. Gazzman44

    Gazzman44 New Member

    I'm in U.K, cannot see a seam as such
     
  11. Pishpash

    Pishpash Well-Known Member

    Need to narrow it down a bit!
    If you want to keep your privacy, you could PM me.
     
  12. Gazzman44

    Gazzman44 New Member

    I'm in Manchester area
     
  13. Pishpash

    Pishpash Well-Known Member

    I am a little further North. You could google "coins manchester uk" and see if there are any in your area. If you are interested in coins, there are coin shows, monthly, in the York and Birmingham areas. I haven't been (due to a fall) so I can't say how well ancients are represented. It depends how far you are prepared to travel.
     
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  14. stevex6

    stevex6 Random Mayhem

    Welcome Gazzman => I sure hope that they end-up being winners ... cheers

    cheers.gif
     
  15. Mikey Zee

    Mikey Zee Delenda Est Carthago

    I hope they prove to be genuine but I suspect modern replicas. How did you happen to come by them??
     
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  16. Deacon Ray

    Deacon Ray Well-Known Member

    I have avoided purchasing one of these because most of the ones I've see look suspicious. I'm not even close to being an expert however.
     
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  17. Insider

    Insider Talent on loan from...

    From the larger photos...still not enough magnification...I'm 98% counterfeit. Too many perfectly rounded blobs on the surfaces. Little metal flow.
     
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  18. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    I don't collect these, so I am of no help at all. But I wanted to say welcome @Gazzman44
     
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  19. Gazzman44

    Gazzman44 New Member

    Thanks for all your replies, there is a dealer in Blackpool who is interested and waiting a response. If not I can travel within U.K as far as I need.
    The coins were dug up a number of years ago by my late grandfather, that's why I thought they could be genuine, the area although not specific does have Roman history alothough I know most places in U.K were visited at some point by the Romans.
    If they are fake, why would they be buried ?
     
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  20. David@PCC

    David@PCC allcoinage.com

    I can not say anything about your coins as I do not collect Judaen, only point to an instance relating to your question. This is more for general awareness of those not familiar with the lengths forgers can sometimes go through. Excerpt taken from http://snible.org/coins/fakes/dodson.html

     
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  21. Paul M.

    Paul M. Well-Known Member

    I think a better question is: what would Judean coins be doing buried in the UK?
     
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