Just FYI -- it looks like the denarius is plated / a "fourrée." I often find fixed price listings at CGB (seller of the denarius, it appears) to be quite high, but it may depend on the type of coin.
Personally, the Augustus portrait is nice but it looks like a fourree. I also would prefer a better portrait on the Tiberius, but I would go with that one if I had to choose. Here is my Augustus of the same type but not a fourree.
No, not fake. If that's what it is, a fourrée is an ancient "contemporary counterfeit," and it's a normal, valid, collectible ancient coin. They just aren't official, solid silver issues, but made by ancient forgers. (It looks like you can see copper core where there plating is broken, but it's hard to be certain from the photo.) The listing may have described it as plated. Do you have a link?
You're right, I don't see any mention of it. The weight (1.85g) seems extremely low for an official, solid silver denarius, though. (Should be like double that.) I could be wrong, hopefully I am. Maybe others can weigh in with their opinions.
I did a quick search on line as I did not know about these and it does seem to be base metal underneath. If it was because it was next to base metal coins I would think that they would have cleaned that off.
My first thought on that Augustus was also that it looked like a fouree, but if it is I'm surprised cgb.fr failed to notice or mention it. 1.85 grams sounds excessively light even for a fouree. It doesn't look particularly crystallized or anything. I wonder if it's a typo?
I just checked this coin over on cgb.fr's own website and they do note that it is a "Monnaie fourrée." AUGUSTUS, CAIUS and LUCIUS Denier brm_808075 Roman coins (cgbfr.com) Strangely, it's not in the main description as they would usually do it. You have to scroll down to the "Commentary" section. And there is nothing mentioned on their VCoins listing. There's nothing wrong with a fourree in and of itself - it's still an authentic ancient coin - but if you were wanting an official issue denarius, you could probably arrange a return or something with cgb.fr, seeing that the coin did not match their description. I've had nothing but excellent customer service from cgb.fr.
I am going to cancel this order. I sent a message through V coin, or should I do it another way? Thanks for the help.
I informed them of the concerns that this is a contemporaneity counterfeit. It will take a bit, I think they are out of France, but could be a french speaking place like parts of Canada. If its France the time gap is 8 hours or so.
They are based in France. But they've always been very quick to reply to me, of course taking into account the time difference from the USA.
I feel it is a fouree in my humble opinion. I have several fourees and enjoy them. My Augustus is not a fouree. Roman Empire AR Denarius, 17.03mm, 3.76g Augustus (27 BCE - 14 CE) Lugdunum mint (2 BCE - 4 CE) REV: C L CAESARES AVGVSTI F COS DESIG PRINC IVVENT, Gaius and Lucius Caesars standing, shields and spears between them. Sear 1578, RIC 206
I and other collectors have had bad luck using the Vcoins internal messaging. Instead, I always send an email directly to the seller. That has always worked. I have always received a reply from the seller, whenever I've done that. Whenever I order a coin from Vcoins, I always receive 1 automatic email from the seller, which says "Thank you for your order!". Then, after I pay via PayPal, I always receive a 2nd automatic email from the seller, which says "We have received your PayPal payment". Both emails always come from the same email address of the form seller@vcoins.com. For example incitatuscoins@vcoins.com. Another example is denofantiquity@vcoins.com. That's the direct email address of the seller.
Thanks. I still have not gotten a reply through V coin, so I did as you suggested and sent a direct email.
I don't want a contemporary counterfeit. I did not know about these clad coins but in my Confederate paper money collection there are a lot of these contemporary counterfeits. I just sell them on as they are as collectible as the real deal. Its just not what I want.
