Opinions Please: Pupienus Sestertius, Real Or Fake?

I can't say I like it all that much, but aside from the ham-handed cleaning and "strengthening" of the obverse legend, I have seen worse. I don't have any great problem with its authenticity - just that it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.
I tried to post a photo, but I just registered, it's late, and I'll figure out how photo posting works another time - in the meantime, you can view a piece only slightly less heinous - Pupienus is not one of the easier emperors whose nice sestertii are easy to find at bargain prices - you can see the single specimen in my collection (it happens to be the same type, even) here:
OK then, I guess I can post photos, just need to remember the old commands. You can view it in all its glory on my website/gallery here: http://www.stoa.org/gallery/album10..._sest?full=1

Lehmansterms;

Thanks! To its credit, in respect to my coin, the letters at one o'clock of the head have a struck sharp look and the encrustation in them, plus the encrustation in the indent on the edge would be hard to create artificially. Adding your coin really helps strengthen this position as the ore that made the bronze seems to have a consistent green patina it creates across the two coins and the bronze itself that is exposed has the same look to it. So I must thank you for posting that photo. I guess I just did not expect to see this emperor's sestertius in this lot I am going through. Thanks again! (I'll rate the coin "good to fine" by the way.)

"Germy", you're right on with that! - the material I bought from you and your brother, with the exception of a few items which were either considered "supernumerary" at a time I needed money or the very few which have been upgraded, all tend to be the sort of items which, when I look at my collection, I say - "darn! why can't I find stuff of this quality at reasonable prices any longer?" Memories of the SHN meetings are still clear when little else of details from that era sticks.
For that matter, I recall purchases running into the 4 figures - but for multiple line boxes full of goodies - lucky for all involved that I happened to have some disposable income at the time. These days, not so much. But it's also at the point where anything I "need" to fill holes is generally not there because there simply is no possible "bargain" supply - those are the holes which are very likely to remain empty barring unusual happentance. So I pick up what I can find that's at least approaching underpriced, and I do a lot more with 3rd & 4th century material than I do with 12 Caesars, early sestertii, etc. With the exception of non-assertive accumulation, when I run into them, of specimens of the more obscure, seldom-seen Constantinian- and Valentinian/Theodosian-era types and variants, I mostly buy to have stuff to offer for sale on our little Sunday live auctions - and because it's hard to let a bargain go by, even if it's something I already have in depth.
It's good to bump into you from time to time as we seem to manage to do. I know you're only over in Worcester and it's not all that far from Chicopee - just a couple exits away on the Mass Pike and exit 5 is less than a mile from my place - but the present circumstances have their own positives, too, I suppose. I really don't get around all that much anymore and I'm pretty comfortable in my semi-sessile state.
I do wonder, occasionally, what became of a few of the others of the small and motley crew of ancients mavens we used to hang with - egads! that was all 40 years ago now - I suppose not many of them are still around at all.
Ah well, ancients are sort of like astronomy as a pursuit that way - they help keep you humble when you consider their great longevity and vast scope compared to our tiny and fleeting existences.
I suppose I should try to get some sleep at this hour. I will try to drop by this forum occasionally - I am a somewhat infrequent contributor on the Coin Talk forum too these days, but mainly the daily traffic from the half dozen or so active fb groups I follow is plenty to keep me occupied between periodic piecework gigs cataloging for a few customers. Oh, and there's always the grandkids, too.
Happy 2019! We can at least hope things will tend towards less chaos and insanity than that which has marked '16, '17 & '18 - I'm not making any bets, however.