Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;IdesOfMarch01, post: 2968682, member: 39084&quot;]In a broad sense, I don&#039;t understand your brother&#039;s question about the authenticity of ancient coins any more than he would understand if I asked &quot;How do you know that your Mercury dimes are real?&quot;&nbsp; I&#039;ll wager that no one has ever asked your brother this question, but the same question gets asked about ancient coins almost reflexively.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s just as easy -- maybe even easier -- to counterfeit a modern stamped coin than it is to counterfeit an ancient coin.&nbsp; Well, maybe not (I&#039;m not a counterfeiter so I&#039;ve never tried to counterfeit either type of coin), but you get my point.</p><p><br /></p><p>If slabs and grades make him feel more confident about a coin&#039;s authenticity, that&#039;s his choice.&nbsp; He assumes that the slab itself has not been counterfeited -- a far easier task to accomplish than counterfeiting the coin itself.</p><p><br /></p><p>The answer to your brother&#039;s question is the standard one: most ancient coins are found in archaeological digs and in hoards uncovered by various means (excavation, metal detecting, etc.) and as such can be confidently validated as authentic.&nbsp; Many have long pedigrees, but even those that don&#039;t can be verified by both scientific means as well as expert opinions.&nbsp; Can he say the same about his Mercury dimes?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in