VITELLI -Fake or authentic ?

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by PMONNEY, May 19, 2017.

  1. PMONNEY

    PMONNEY Flaminivs

    Vitelli.jpg In the pictures below one of the to Vitelli denarii is a forgery, which one, right or left ?
     

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  3. Ancient Aussie

    Ancient Aussie Well-Known Member

    I would say the right one is a forgery l am no expert but I don't think I have ever seen one that well centered, also the letters on the legend seem a bit soft and to thin.
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2017
  4. Ancient Aussie

    Ancient Aussie Well-Known Member

    Here is my Concordia for a comparison. 2015-01-07 01.07.48-3 (550x264).jpg
     
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  5. ro1974

    ro1974 Well-Known Member

    here is my a spain mind/ used as a broche[​IMG]
     
  6. Eduard

    Eduard Supporter**

    I vote for the one on the right as well. Something 'undefinable' about it does not seem right. Could be the legends, the centering, the size of the flan, also the style and size of the bust. Not quite right.
     
  7. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    Well heck, I'll be contrary. The left coin is the forgery!:blackalien:
     
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  8. PMONNEY

    PMONNEY Flaminivs

    good looks is not always a sign of authenticity !
     
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  9. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    I only have this Vitellius to compare:

    RI Vitellius 69 CE AR Denarius Pont Max Vesta Seated.jpg
    RI Vitellius 69 CE AR Denarius Pont Max Vesta Seated
     
  10. LaCointessa

    LaCointessa Well-Known Member

    I love this game, @PMONNEY.

    The nose is pointier on the left
    as in the example posted
    by @Ancient Aussie;
    the chin and the neck is thicker on the left;
    the profile looks more worn;
    and the asymmetrical legend
    looks comfortable.

    The legend on the right
    is clear, standing high
    and the portrait perfectly centered
    that it looks sort of strange
    after so many years

    But while the one the left looks more real
    and more desirable
    to this uneducated unpracticed ancient eye
    my convoluted thinking is that
    the left is probably forged.

    (A little later)....
    Oh! The reverse of the coins are below. I just saw that. But I'm going to stay with my decision that the left is probably forged.
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2017
  11. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    The one on the right.
     
  12. Theodosius

    Theodosius Fine Style Seeker

    Letters on the left one look softer with flat tops.

    Very hard to tell from the photos.

    Both could be good or both could be good fakes.

    Would have to look for die matches with museum collections but they could still be transfer dies.

    I guess the left one is fake.
     
  13. rrdenarius

    rrdenarius non omnibus dormio

    I see what look like flow lines on the right one. That could indicate it was struck vs none on the left one. I would vote left is fake.
    Do you know one is fake? I assume you will tell us, please.
     
  14. David@PCC

    David@PCC allcoinage.com

    My vote is the Concordia is a fake.
     
  15. Insider

    Insider Talent on loan from...

    I too am no expert. While the surface on the left coin looks pockmarked, the coin on the right with the nice planchet flaw on the rim tells my gut: STRUCK COUNTERFEIT.

    Usually, one side of a counterfeit is better executed (has less bad characteristics and style) than the other. I suspect this is such a coin and that's why the OP did not post the reverse as then our determination would have been easier. :D

    Nevermind, LOL :eggface::facepalm: I see the reverses are posted. Now the coin on the left really looks bad - corrosion, figure; yet I'll stick to my original GUESS.
     
  16. gregarious

    gregarious E Pluribus Unum

    i say the one on the right is counterfeit, i'm not sure about the other vitellius denarius 001.JPG vitellius denarius 003.JPG
     
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  17. stevex6

    stevex6 Random Mayhem

    I'll guess left is a fake (I wanna believe that sweetie on the right is a keeper!)

    :rolleyes:
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2017
  18. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    Given only the images, and no empirical data like weight, I would not spend money on either coin. They both have suspicious diagnostics. I would need to examine them in hand to say for certain either way.
     
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  19. Black Friar

    Black Friar Well-Known Member

    I too would want to examine in hand before purchasing. I am suspicious of the right example. The fields don't look right based upon the image. In hand is the only way to look.

    I once was asked to examine 20+ ancients by a dealer and the whole lot was fake. Well done fakes, but fake modern concoctions. A large group can be deceptive in that they look ok by the sheer number which makes them all look good to the casual collector.
     
  20. PMONNEY

    PMONNEY Flaminivs

    The right one is a forgery, as many noticed, the left one is not in a good condition...mais authenic. Now here is my favourite Vitellius:
     

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  21. IdesOfMarch01

    IdesOfMarch01 Well-Known Member

    My first instinct was that the coin on the right was a counterfeit, but I wasn't sure why I thought so until I had a chance to stare at it for a while.

    The flan looks too flat. The field on the obverse looks so flat that it seems unnatural. I'm told that this flatness can be due to a forgery being pressed in a modern tool-and-die machine, whereas a struck flan is unlikely to have such a uniform flatness. That's what I think I was subconsciously noticing about this coin.
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2017
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