UH-OH, looks like a fake?

Before I send this coin back to the seller, I should probably run it buy you all here to make sure I'm not wrong. I have a semi-autonomous coin of Tomis I picked up on Ebay for cheap. Pictures were poor, so it was a gamble. No fake coin report on this one at forum.

Size and mass are spot on, style is ok. There isn't an obvious seam or signs of seam removal.

Something looked a tad strange to me. Here is my coin.




Are those casting pearls? Like above the first C on the obverse or by the I and N on the reverse? Sometimes I can't tell if a "dot" is a casting pearl or something that is supposed to be there. So I checked out similar coins, this one has "dots" beside the I on both the obverse and reverse I would be suspicious of, but this coin must be ok.
Maybe these coins were all cast?

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=541460


Then there is this coin I found that is shocking similar to mine...

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4765858

This has got to be cast right?

 

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I agree that cast is the only logical conclusion.

 

Yeah, me too. At first I tried to imagine an elaborate story of how it the recently sold Leu coin might be the very same coin as yours*, but I think it is a just a modern cast.



*I wondered if the owner of the Leu coin tried to clean it (big mistake) and then dumped the blunder on eBay and took the loss.

 

Looks like the same coin minus the patina as @TIF mentioned, and probably authentic but I am unfamiliar with the type.

 

If that is the case, what a big mistake! In February of this year the Leu coin sold for ~$265.

 

I can see some marks and deposits in the surface of the above coin that match the coin below. I think it's the same coin with the patina removed. An awful botched job.

 

Lol I've seen it go both ways. Sometimes cleaning yields a good profit for a quick sale or it can ruin a coin or at least it's resale. At any rate reselling an auction coin (being Leu, CNG, ...) right after an auction on eBay will almost always guarantee a loss, cleaned or not.

 

I don't think they're the same coin... the flan doesn't match at 3:30-4:00.

 

Well then, it's either a die match for obverse and reverse and genuine, or it's a fake. Those are the only two options I can see.

 

I can't say if it is authentic, I don't have the expertise.
Good idea to ask others. I hope you can come to a consensus.

 

Personally I think it's an illustration due to lighting and angle, especially since the cleaned version image has that portion very dark at the edge where It could be jutting out at the middle of the flan. But we'll see what others opinions are.

 

Hmmmm...I hadn't considered the botched cleaned hypothesis. I guess I didn't think someone would buy a coin from an auction house and just decide to do some electrolysis on it or something to see if it would look nicer.

There are some very minor differences in the flan and devices as some have pointed out, but how much of that is photography (as David points) out and what could be the effect of the harsh cleaning...well, I'm not sure now that I think about it.

So the possibilities...

1. Mine is cast fake of the Leu coin.

2. Mine is botched cleaned and resold Leu coin.

3. Obverse and reverse die match. The flan seems to similar for this option?

Thanks for all of your comments on this everyone I appreciate it! More please!

 

There's another possibility: both are fakes.

I really don't know what to think about it, but your #3 is the least likely.

 

If you look closely they most certainly are not the same coin. There are numerous differences. Is it cast? I dont know, not from a photo. Depending on what you paid you might want to send it in for certification. Also, contact the seller and see if you cant hammer out a deal where if it is fake he pays for the cert. costs.

 

Chris, you mentioned picking it up cheaply on eBay so I suspect you aren't interested in paying $50 or whatever to send it to Sear.

Perhaps another strategy might be to contact Leu. Show them your coin. Let them hypothesize. Maybe they'd even be interested in examining it.

 

Oh Chris, i feel the anguish... I hope ALL is well for you, Dude!

I just HATE these RED LETTER reports from Sear! The only good about them is that they are an education for me...

 

What is the weight of your coin?
The weight of Leu is 3.40 g.
Your coin has pimples/knots on reverse and is clearly cast.

 

My scale calls it 3.3 g.

Yeah, it's a 20 buck coin with shippingso, probably not going to worry about the 50 dollar certification. I have contacted the seller with some questions and may contact LEU, I hand't considered that.

Again, that's for the input!

 

LOL! I found an old ebay listing from the guy I purchased the coin off of, but this listing was from March this year. It went unsold for a listed price of 49 dollars. Here is the pic...



Did my coin acquire a different patina between March and May?

Here are the last pics from the seller.

 

The exact coin (your coin) sold from this eBay seller on May 21st (you?) and last month on April 29th. Did the previous winner return the coin or never pay? Does the seller have multiples of the (now presumed to be fake) coin?