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 Replies: 12 / Views: 6,473 |
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New Member
Norway
12 Posts |
I really want to bid not this byzantine coin but the seller do not have a lot of feedback so I'm a little bit hesitant to bid. I dont belive it is fake but just to make sure, is it genuine?    Thank you!! |
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Valued Member
Canada
266 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
It purports to be a Byzantine gold tremissis of Aelia Eudocia (wife of Theodosios II), RIC X.335, but it's a really poor quality forgery with mushy or nonexistent details. The real coins are quite scarce and valuable. An authentic XF specimen with reverse graffiti sold for $1600, and some low end VF and VF- for 500-700. An NGC MS example with 5/5 strike and 4/5 surfaces brought in $2800.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
949 Posts |
I'm no authority on gold, but I don't see the problem. Looks like a late tremisses of Eudocia (second wife of Theodosius II) from Constantinople as pictured in Dumbarton Oaks LRC plate 18 as #470. Same arrangement of obverse inscription. Looping wreath decoration with no ball on the ends. Star in mint mark. Looks good to me.
Am I missing something?
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
I don't know enough about these to say for sure. From the fakes that I have seen some are extremely well made and others are not so well made. This coin appears to be the latter. Unless I have a certification from a trusted dealer or grader I would not even consider buying it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1316 Posts |
With the high value of the coin, that this is a highly counterfeited coin in general, and your gut questioning this one, I would pass. I'd wait for a TPG to come around. While it might be a hard to find coin, with the global community and so many places to find coins these days, I don't think this a once in a lifetime type of scenario worth the risk IMO. You'll come across another one soon enough that will agree with you :) |
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New Member
 Norway
12 Posts |
Thank you all for your reply!! These kinds of coins go for a lot of money so my gut feeling to post it here before bidding was a smart thing to do! :-) I reported it to ebay as fake but I dont know how ebay looks at cases like these! The leading bid is now on 92 GBP and probably rising. So hopefully people are smart when bidding and understand the risk! Here is the link if anyone want to have a look; http://www.ebay.com/itm/27200478778...RK:MEBIDX:IT |
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Valued Member
United States
129 Posts |
Thank you for posting. I don't have much experience in gold coins and wouldn't have tabbed this as an outright fake.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
The bust is wrong, the legend on the obverse is mushy, the wreath on the reverse is squished, and it appears to have casting pits/voids especially on the reverse. Compare to RIC (X) 253, 281, 335.1, the lines in the diadem vs OP's coin. The wreath ties on the reverse are curled up on OP's example, in a smooth curve, which matches no known variety that I can find so far. If the coin is real it may be an unattributed variety, perhaps? OP would need to risk his money and then get XRF or some other form of assay done.  Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
629 Posts |
If you want to risk your money...
Letīs go to Las Vegas!
(Itīs more easy to earn money there)
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Pillar of the Community
Belgium
2895 Posts |
I doubt if gold coins were made at 24 karat. That material is to soft for coins. But I can be wrong
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Pillar of the Community
United States
949 Posts |
While I do agree that a high priced coin really should have a cert from a reputable expert, I must also comment that some who are condemning this coin are making a couple of all too common mistakes. 1. in condemning the engraving you are over reacting to the magnification in the image. 2. The claim that this does not match the style of particular coins overlooks the fact that these tremisses were produced over a comparatively long period of time. The style changed a lot. Here is a set of images of coins published in the Dumbarton Oaks catalog I referenced earlier.  What started as an elaborate image was simplified over time. Here is a closer look at this coin next to three of the later versions of this coin.  The condition of this obverse when viewed AT THE SAME SCALE as the coins in the cat shows that it is very much like the others in style, even if it does not show a die match for any. In examining a coin for authenticity, it is important to set aside concern over price/value. While I agree that high value leads to a prevalence of fakes, and that the probability of fakery increases, that is not a data point in evaluating any particular coin. Would I have bought this coin? I don't collect these, but if I did, I would have given this one serious consideration. If I could have gotten the seller to agree to hold the deal open until I could get a professional opinion, (or an escrow option) and that a refund would be issued if determined fake by a competent authority, then I would have pursued it. But I would not have rejected it out of hand on the grounds so far appearing here. Given the limitation to pics alone, for me to be sure it is NOT genuine, I would need to see a matching fake. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
549 Posts |
I don't see the "mushy" aspect another member sees. In fact, to me it looks quite the opposite with sharp lettering. I agree with Irbguy.
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Replies: 12 / Views: 6,473 |
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Posted 10/05/2015 12:30 pm
