Hey Everyone, I found this coin at the bottom of a plastic storage bin in one of my closets. I received this as a gift and I guess it has been sitting where I found it since then. It was in a velvet bag with a scrap of paper that read "Roman Imperial Trajan Decius 249-251 AD" I'm not familiar with ancient coins and haven't been able to find any images of this coin online. I don't have a scale to weigh it but it is the size of a dime and feels twice as heavy. I don't know if this is the real deal or a reproduction. Any help on it's authenticity and it's history would be appreciated. The images I attached are scans. Thanks everyone.
A fairly decent looking fake as well. It might have fooled many people. It looks fake to me as well, but let others chime in about the coin.
Ummmm, a fairly decent fake is kinda like a cute transvestite!! => I certainly ain't puttin' my money down!!!
thanks for the info everyone, the coin is in very good condition, all the features are high and sharp so I figured it was a copy.
Here is my coin of the real type its imitating. Trajan Decius (249 - 251 A.D.) AR Antoninianus O: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: GENIVS EXERC ILLVRICIANI, Genius of the Army of Illyricum standing left holding patera and corucopia, standard to right. Rome 23mm 4.37g RIC 16c RSC 49
Most of Slavei's fakes copy rare coins. This is a very rare coin. The type is common enough as an antoninianus as shown by Mat but denarii of emperors after Gordian III are rare. I really hope all noticed that this one has no radiate crown so it is a denarius. The Slavei series never struck me as deceptive and he claimed that they were made as replicas rather than to fool people. I bought mine for $4 each which seemed like plenty at the time but as time goes on and the things are toning naturally, some of them seem to be fooling more people. Few of this series copy coins costing less than $1000 and all were issued in mint condition. Now we see them intentionally distressed and sold as low grade rarities. Those buying expensive coins need to be careful; those buying cheap coins at least need to pay attention to the obvious.
Huh, that's very interesting ... I just checked my list and you're absolutely correct (once again) => my last denarius was Maximinus I (Thrax), which was just prior to Gordian III ... and then I only have antoninianii after that ... thanks for that interesting observation
By coincidence, I picked up this one last week among some odds and ends at a local auction. Just for your interest.
Hi Doug, I had some of these Slavey coins in the past (Postumus and so). They are indeed quite impressive, but u have to be a dodo to buy them as genuine roman coins... I found mine for 50 - 300$, and there are specific collectors for these kind of coins (or medals), same as for the famous Paduan medals... I'll check my files to see if I still some Slavey coin pics...
I understand that 3/4 of the coins attributed to Slavey are actually products of others but the name was attached to Bulgarian fakes. I have none that he signed (I believe they are mostly Greek). We still see the same ones over and over making me suspect that there are those out there making fakes of the fakes.
