Macrinus And Diadumenian

Sorry pish try now. Biancasdad I think it might be a die match.

to the community

I would have liked to seen slightly larger pictures, but what I can tell from these I don't see anything wrong with either coin. They are well centered and well struck, with as struck details. While not common in this condition, they do exist. What is he size and weight of each coin?

Yes - I'm afraid the news is not good for these two coins.

Wow, so many answers so quickly! I REALLY appreciate ALL of you! One thing I've noticed is on those fakes you've linked me to, they look (for lack of better word) blotchy. The lettering is not as sharp as the coins I presented. Yes, they very well may be from the same dies, but why would the ones I have be struck so sharp and clear, when the others are so dull and, well, blotchy? (Really, I can't think of a better word, at the moment.) And please don't think I'm questioning your expertise in this matter. I turned to all of you exactly for that reason... your expertise! One of you asked if I bought them together. No, I did not. I bought them well over 5 years ago, many months apart and from two completely unrelated sources. Luckily, that was at a time when the Roman coins weren't as outrageously expensive as they are these days. And, it would appear I got snookered on both. Well, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. You live, you learn, you move on. Anyone interested in a couple really nice forged coins, one Macrinus denarius and one Diadumenian denarius? I have a fantastic Orbiana fake, too, but I knew it was fake from the start. I'm open to offers. If not, then they'll all just get put into storage... CLEARLY labeled so that if anything should happen to me, my heirs won't think they've got a couple real moneymakers on their hands! THANK YOU ALL again for the guidance and input! It truly is appreciated!

You can always spend some money by sending them for authentication to someone like David Sear if you think it would be worth your while.

The coins can easily look different from others produced from the same dies for the mere fact that people will go to some length to rough them up to disguise the 'facts'. A Diadumenian with some rough and tumble nicks and dents. Or maybe even a touch of acid to take off some of the buff newly made looks will make it hard for even an experienced collector to spot. As I was inferring previously the real money comes from making valuable coins. Silver denari of Severus Alexander in F go for $20. A silver denari of someone 'unusual' (Diadumenian or Macrinus) can fetch a few hundred even with some issues (bumps and bruises).

I enlarged the pics a bit and stood back aways (5ft). Macrinus looks very familiar. They list quite a few similar ones to this over in the German ebay. The 'experts' frequently cite Serbia as the source of these. It may be there are several places putting them out.

I often wonder (especially with the shananigans I hear people attributing to SOME of the more notorious coin grading services) Why spend money on advertising for a coin grading service ? Better bang for the buck by sending someones cousin over in someplace in the world the money and equipment to knock out high quality fakes. Then the customers who scare easily will all come running to use that low cost low budget fly by night coin grading service that you set up in the basement !