I've had this coin for a while (over a year ago to be more precise) and never questioned the seller's identification. Today, however, I was doing som house cleaning with my coins, I notice the attribution was totally wrong. The seller identified the reverse legend as "Victoria AVG" when in fact that is not even close. I guess this should teach me to double check the coins I buy, eh? GORDIAN III AR Antoninianus OBVERSE: IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AVG, radiate, draped bust right REVERSE: P M TR P II COS P P, Victory advancing left with wreath & palm Struck at Rome, 239 AD 4.2g, 21mm RIC 19, RSC 199
You know, I haven't any idea. I have not attempted to to find which of the two are more rare, but when I looked on acsearch, there seemed to be much fewer with the actual reverse then with the mis-attributed reverse.
I'm sure I have a few that may not be accurately attributed as well... It's a very nice example and for what it may be worth, I noticed two similar grade examples listed on acsearch for $40-$60 hammer....about 50.00 shipped? Edit: That of the corrected attribution.
When I'm really paying attention, I find numerous misattributed coins-- not only on Vcoins and eBay but in major auctions. Most I notice are from Roman Egypt, but that's because I'm more familiar with them than most areas (and I have Emmett's book ). I also find numerous mistakes on my own website, particularly with the Roman Egyptians! Sometimes rather than typing the details for a new coin, I copy and paste the attribution for a similar coin and then make a few changes as necessary. Except sometimes I miss making some of those changes
I do that too often. Sometimes I'm just plain lazy. But I remember admonishing some of my subordinates for not paying attention to detail. I'll bet it's even worse today because of the internet which was still very young when I retired from the Army.
I suspect 90% of the errors we see are from using copy and past or listing on sites that retain the information from the previous lot when you type in a new one. Time is money and many dealers care more about time than coins. I can't recall many 'special' Gordian ants other than some left facing busts. Catalogs list a slow quadriga reverse and a couple others which I have never seen but 99.9% of the ants I recall are the usual suspects. http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/gordian_III/RIC_0139.jpg
I've ran into many mis-attributed coins since I started focusing on the Roman Republic. I'd say maybe 10-20% of early Republican silver denarii(the Roma/dioscuri types) and maybe 35% of the bronzes I see are misattributed, even the ones with symbols. When a coin is misattributed(and priced accordingly) as a more common one, I usually jump on it and hope no one else notices. When a more common coin is attributed and priced as a scarcer one, I usually write the seller if they're someone I feel is honest and worth my time. For instance, in the Roma auction that closed yesterday(which I of course didn't win a thing in), lot 326, a staff/feather denarius was misattributed as a rarer Sicilian corn-ear denarius. I wrote them regarding the mistake but it was the night before the auction's closing and it doesn't appear that they fixed the listing. It's an easy enough mistake to make unless you're familiar with the series and the style of the various mints, but I certainly wouldn't want to be in the buyer's shoes if he or she didn't realize the mistake.
i copy and past as well, but i usually try and use more than more source to check for errors and to get all the info i want. things still slip by. here's a gordian iii ant i picked recently, the seller didn't have the coin i purchased and gave me this as a replacement. not a bad looking coin. Gordian III, AR Antoninianus, 241 AD O: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG ,Radiate bust right, draped and cuirassed, R: PM TR P IIII COS II PP - Emperor standing right, holding a spear and a globe. Rome mint. 24 mm, 4.1g.
I always double check attributions, regardless of the seller or the coin. Every once in a while a diamond in the rough is discovered! Nice catch Bing!
It was partially my mistake and I let it ride for over a year before I discovered it (by accident). I was replacing 2x2 information cards. I should have caught it when it arrived.
As an outsider in the field, I'm surprised that only 35% of the bronzes are wrong. I picked up two RR AE last month because I though I saw enough to ID them but failed on both even after online posting asking help. Considering the low grade of so many AE, I'd be surprised if half even could be IDed. 4.26g 5.21g
