I bought this coin several months ago, long before even thinking about joining this forum, but reading through threads, I thought I'd throw it out there. I knew going in it was a fake, although it was advertised as a real denarius, but it seemed to me as if it were a "genuine" ancient fake and that made it interesting enough to me that after watching it for quite a while I decided I had to have it. It was inexpensive anyway (less than $18 US, postage included). The thing is, I've never been able to find anything similar using Google so I hoped I might find help here.
Anyway, on to the coin itself: It purports to be a denarius. I can't 100% identify the ruler, but the closest match I've seen has been a coin of Commodus, at least for the obverse. The reverse is obviously Aequitas, although her attributes of scales and pertica seem to have fallen out of favor by the late 2nd century in favor of the more typical scales and cornucopia. The legends on both sides are gobbledygook, seeming to be a random assortment of Roman as well as Greek letters, forwards, backwards, and upside down, as well as what seem to be completely made-up characters, although on the reverse, the counterfeiter seems possibly to have made a stab at spelling "AEQUITAS." Even so, both the obverse and reverse designs are of a quite attractive design rather than the crude efforts of some fakers.
The surfaces are odd, having an almost "burlap" texture to them, although that may be due to the extensive cleaning the coin has apparently had, though not entirely successfully in removing a dark encrustation, particularly on the reverse. As a fake, I would suspect that to be the heavily oxidized remains of the silvering, but the coin itself appears to still have silver content, though doubtless debased. There are three marks on the obverse that seem as if they might be ancient drill holes checking for authenticity as well as other gouges on the reverse which could be for the same thing, or just normal wear and tear. Also, an oddly straight and precise scrape running across the portrait's neck.
Anyway: pics!
So, I'd love to hear everyone's opinions and thoughts, as well as if anyone is familiar with other coins similar to this.
Posted 03/23/2017 9:40 pm
