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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Herodotus, post: 4995250, member: 111387&quot;]Helpful info here for the OP for some of the starter things to look at for one trying to rule out fakes.</p><p><br /></p><p>Besides the other primary disqualifiers(ie. weight/size/style/fabric etc.), mentioning the &quot;unnatural look&quot; of the broken border is also a good indicator to cause suspicion and aid in one&#039;s confirmation of a coin being a modern fake copy.</p><p><br /></p><p>While this coin&#039;s dies are not ancient, oftentimes copies are made utilizing authentic host coins as a &#039;mother&#039;.&nbsp; The transfer methods applied to make copies may lead to inconsistencies where there ought to be border and/or legends that may appear unnaturally incomplete(ie. not as a result of honest circulation, environmental wear or worn dies).</p><p><br /></p><p>There are a handful of helpful resources online that provide for some good pointers on potential things to look for in spotting (as well as compiled databases of) fake copies of ancient coins.&nbsp; Google is one&#039;s friend.</p><p><br /></p><p>The advice to look at auction archive sites that specialize in numismatics for learning and becoming familiar with ancient coins types is sound.&nbsp; Once one finds themselves having looked at 1000s and even tens of 1000s of different coins, it may eventually become instinctive to recognize when something doesn&#039;t look right about a coin; warranting a closer look.&nbsp; How much of a timespan for this experience to be gleaned may depend on how obsessive one might be about the hobby.<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie54" alt=":hungry:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>It deserves nothing that while the most obvious are pretty easy to identify, there are also some darn good fakes out there that are capable of tricking those that may even be considered as knowledgeable experts.&nbsp; Often a picture alone is not enough to make a determination.</p><p><br /></p><p>From a personal standpoint(as a fairly new collector myself as well as one that peruses eBay), I find it easier to start with the presumption that all coins are fake; until I feel comfortable enough to rule them out as fakes with a reasonable level of certainty.&nbsp; I find that approach better then presuming all coins are authentic until determined to be likely fake.&nbsp; There is a set of criteria that I choose to employ.&nbsp; If I have doubts, I&#039;m fine with passing on a coin.&nbsp; This approach musters increased scrutiny if the coin that I&#039;m interested in is at the higher end of my budget (for any one coin).</p><p><br /></p><p>Buying a $10 or $20 mistake to learn a lesson is a lot easier to stomach than making a 3 figure error.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>YMMV[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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