Quote: I have noticed numerous flaws/differences which don't seem to add up
Don't worry about these, coins from matching RIC numbers will more than often look slightly different but have the same things on the coin. Many, many dies will have been used throughout the 'life' or 'run' of a coin (RIC no) and as they are all hand cut they will be different. Hundreds of thousands of coins from thousands of dies in some cases.
Indeed on these later Roman coins finding a die match for a coin can be a worrying thing!
Thank you. I will hopefully bid and win his joblots so fingers crossed they are not hooky. The only problem is I will be unable to inspect them until the 25th as they are being bought by my mother as a Christmas present. Could even pick em up from him as he's about 5 minutes down the road...
Also BTW who was Septimus Herodes, I Googled it however it did not turn anything up?
To be honest I'm not entirely sure myself, that was his auction title, was going to see what I could find out about it today. The auction has ended but I know the reverse was a FIDES MILITVM, I suspected it was a fantasy piece.
Have you nailed your Crispus yet? Wildwinds does have an example of it with a picture.
Not completely yet. I have been looking at two which are both similar however not an exact match. This one is similar however the writing is different, this one reads PROVIDENTAE Whereas mine reads CONSERVATORI.
This one below has the correct writing but a different bust and mint mark; I'm pretty sure mines SMN for Nicomedia not SMANT for Antioch?
Is it really a tricky ID or am I just being stupid?
Quote: Is it really a tricky ID or am I just being stupid?
Must admit it took me a lot longer than usual, so if you are we both are
I think its one of these:
DN FL IVL CRISPVS NOB CAES, bust left. IOVI CONSERVATORI CAES, Jupiter standing left. Wreath in left feild, H in right. SMK mintmark 'Sacra Moneta Kyzicus' Cyzicus being in Turkey.
I'm not certain, not had a chance to check (my books are not available to me atm) but I dont think this coin is in RIC, its attributed as Sear 3920 on wildwinds.
Ah that looks more like it! Thank you. I managed to get 4/5 of that guys coin joblots all for pretty reasonable prices. Four lots for £33, spotted a nice Probus in there and also a few nice Aurelian's in there too. I think the 'K' coin may be my first nice Byzantine too.(other than a very worn cup.) Here are my wins, This is all the info I will be able to provide until the 25th because its meant to be my Christmas present. I just hope they are all legit and I have done reasonably well for the money paid... http://www.ebay.com/itm/COINS-FROM-...p=true&rt=nc
I think you did Good. 30 coins for £33 cant be bad, thats uncleaned money most places. All show detail and all look like they could clean further. Two decent, popular, Probus coins and a pretty nice Aurelian also.
Mostly from 2nd and 3rd century but as you stated a Byzantine and maybe some other later stuff too.
I only wish my own Christmas presents would be as interesting, I'm beginning to find it very difficult to look overjoyed at dressing gowns, slippers and socks, no matter how nice they are
Quote: I only wish my own Christmas presents would be as interesting, I'm beginning to find it very difficult to look overjoyed at dressing gowns, slippers and socks, no matter how nice they are
Haha, 'Christmas' would never be Christmas without receiving at least one pair of socks!
I now must refrain from looking at the images and trying to ID them. It will give me something to do during that awkward time between lunch and the bit where the good TV usually starts(around 5 ish) during then I will retreat to the computer and look at coins...
Quote: If its real its pretty rare, I would probably though consider it guilty by association even before looking at known fakes.
Just had time to double check, it is a deliberately aged fake, here is a better quality version. TBH its a pretty good fake, once aged its even better. It was also correctly IDed by the seller so I'm surprised (but glad) it didn't sell for more.
Haha, out of curiosity, what are the key factors you look for when identifying the fake from the genuine? Do they mirror the genuine roman designs or are there patterns which run through most forms of fakes which a skilled numismatist can pick up upon?
Quote: Please pay it in my bank account. BARCLAYS SORT CODE:XX XX XX ACCOUNT NUMER:XXXXXXX I HAVE limit exceeded PayPal ACCOUNT THANKS (I've amended his details with 'X's)
Looks like I will not be receiving his coins after all as I do not wish to pay him in this way.
Quote: Haha, out of curiosity, what are the key factors you look for when identifying the fake from the genuine?
This is a huge, huge, question, short answer is experience.
Coin wise its possible to pretty quickly weed out poor fakes looking at the coins material, surfaces, evidence of casting (edge seams, spruees etc) and the general 'look' of the coin.
The seller also plays a part, as this seller has in forming our opinions of him. He has done pretty much everything a shady seller does and that in itself is damming of his items for sale.
His latest 'tell' relating to not wanting to accept Paypal means it would be much, much harder for any buyers to return items for refund and get their money back. If and when the buyer of the £220 fake Carausius realises its fake having paid by bank transfer they have little chance of ever seeing their money again.
If coins pass the above hurdles but doubt still remains then historical data can be used, many sites exist showing fakes but this is one of the better ones:
Try clicking the 'Search' button at the top of the page and entering 'Vetranio', you will see other examples of this sellers fake.
These sites are very valuable to the collector and simply surfing them very useful in gaining important experience. Our very own member maridvnvm is heavily involved with the above site and I recently uploaded about 200 fake reports simply to improve my own knowledge and ability to spot them. Not only does it help the database its good for the individual and I'd recommend doing it to anyone, indeed those who use the resource regularly should really see it as a form of 'paying' back for the info they can get for free.
If a coin looks good and the seller looks good and no matches can be found in known fakes then its down to the style of the coins. This only comes from experience and is often an opinion rather than a cast iron promise. Once a person has looked at, bought/sold, handled 000's of coins they can spot things that others cant. This takes a long time unless you intend to specialise in a small area of ancients but its very satisfying when the experience does come.
You could decide, for example, that you only want to collect the coins of Probus. If you spent the next few years studying those coins and viewing them relentlessly you would become an 'expert' and be able to spot things in them that others simply can't. You would also be able to spot most fakes 'a mile off'. This is pretty easy for a single coin or even an Emperor but not many can claim to know even 10% of ancients that well!
This is a lifetime hobby and were all learning until the day we die
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Posted 12/08/2012 5:30 pm
