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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ewomack, post: 2486373, member: 15588&quot;]I fall into the category of &quot;helpless neophyte&quot; or &quot;real bona fide beginner&quot; when it comes to authenticating just about anything, much less ancient coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>Given that status, this thread has so far been extremely helpful in delineating the process that far more experienced people use while authenticating.</p><p><br /></p><p>I currently possess only 5 ancients. Each one cost less than $50. When buying them I considered the low(er) price a factor for authenticity. After all, who would waste their time counterfeiting cheap coins? But that only reflects probability. Cheaper coins <i>should</i> have a smaller chance of fraudulence.</p><p><br /></p><p>Given my limited knowledge in this area - it wouldn&#039;t even fill the surface of a postage stamp - I used what I learned from this extremely helpful forum to guide me when making those 5 purchases. In general I avoid porous surfaces, edge seams and anything that looks intuitively artificial. I may pass up perfectly authentic coins using this criteria, but I will also have a (somewhat) greater chance of not purchasing fakes. I hope. Basically, I&#039;m just trying to decrease my chances of buying phonies.</p><p><br /></p><p>Given the photo of the coin in question and my current knowledge, I would <i>not </i>buy the coin if I saw it in a shop. Why? The edge markings would scare me off, as would the porous-looking surfaces. Also, something ineffable about the surface markings just doesn&#039;t &quot;look right&quot; to me. I&#039;m not saying that it&#039;s fake. I have no idea whether it&#039;s fake or not. It just raises some basic red flags that I carry around in my soggy neurons. My sloppy, internal and doubtlessly flawed probability calculator would say &quot;pass.&quot;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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