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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 712890, member: 19463&quot;]I have had the &#039;honor&#039; of handling fakes from this group on two occasions.&nbsp; Most recently, at the coin show in Richmond VA, a friend/dealer had a set (all that were in the pictures) which I could examine at length.&nbsp; I considered the group obviously fake but could well have been fooled by individuals mixed in with other coins.&nbsp; &#039;Repatination&#039; is a strong word for the surfaces.&nbsp; They were toned rather like you get with Deller&#039;s Darkener and heat.&nbsp; Many genuine victims of zapping (electronic cleaning) have a similar look and many dedicated collectors of uncleaned coins are proud of their zapping skills so there is no question that these will be accepted in appearance by many people.&nbsp; I have coins in my collection with similar treatment and am happy to have them.&nbsp; If you collect something a bit on the rare side, you have to decide how picky to be about such matters.&nbsp; If five examples of a rare coin are known and three of them have been poorly cleaned, how many are you willing to consider?</p><p><br /></p><p>Style is another matter.&nbsp; The coins do not all look correct compared to the mints indicated on their reverses.&nbsp; Many LRC&#039;s look strange but Alexandria mint tends to look strange in a different way than Siscia.&nbsp; Specialists take note when they see a believable Siscia obverse paired with an Alexandria mintmark.&nbsp; The coins will fool beginners and non specialists up to and including my level of expertise if we are not taking time to look carefully.&nbsp; I still recommend buying from reputable dealers.&nbsp; That is why the guys that showed me the coins had them.&nbsp; Some dealers have quite a collection of &#039;Black Museum&#039; items which figure in their personal education and maintaining their status as &#039;reputable&#039;.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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