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Help A Novice ID A Roman Silver Coin

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Author Previous TopicReplies: 6 / Views: 880Next Topic  
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United States
24 Posts
 Posted 06/05/2019  2:04 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add Tipton444 to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
Hello all,

I recently picked up this coin at the most random tag sale ever. It was sitting in a pile of junk jewelry, and I picked out just a little bit of silver and this coin. Can someone tell me if it is genuine? At risk of sounding like an idiot because I don't have a lot of knowledge with Roman coins, but it does test as silver. I've seen a few Roman coins with the 4 squares on back but they seemed a little different. How old would it be and where's it from? Thank you all very much for the help.


Help-A-Novice-ID-A-Roman-Silver-Coin
Help-A-Novice-ID-A-Roman-Silver-Coin
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Kamnaskires's Avatar
United States
7066 Posts
 Posted 06/05/2019  2:35 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Kamnaskires to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
From the fake reports:

Help-A-Novice-ID-A-Roman-Silver-Coin
Edited by Kamnaskires
06/05/2019 2:37 pm
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Russian Federation
5174 Posts
 Posted 06/05/2019  3:04 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add january1may to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
...Darn, if that's a fake, it's pretty scary.

That said, if it was real (and I'm not yet convinced that it isn't), it still wouldn't have been Roman; this "quadripartite incuse square" shape is a fairly good indicator of (relatively) early Greek. I'm not aware of any Roman coins with such a design.
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Kamnaskires's Avatar
United States
7066 Posts
 Posted 06/05/2019  3:57 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Kamnaskires to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Should be gold or electrum, I believe. Testing silver (and not a gold/silver alloy), as the OP states, does not help a case for authenticity. Nor do the matching shapes (between his coin and the forgery) of the quadripartite incuse punch and flan.
Edited by Kamnaskires
06/05/2019 4:01 pm
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Kamnaskires's Avatar
United States
7066 Posts
 Posted 06/05/2019  4:16 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Kamnaskires to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
For comparison, the OP coin (outside images) with the documented fake (inside):

Help-A-Novice-ID-A-Roman-Silver-Coin

And a collage of authentic coins:

Help-A-Novice-ID-A-Roman-Silver-Coin
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echizento's Avatar
United States
23731 Posts
 Posted 06/05/2019  4:21 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add echizento to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
It's scary how well made these fake are getting.
New Member
United States
24 Posts
 Posted 06/05/2019  5:09 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Tipton444 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Wow, thank you guys very much. I knew it was too good to be true to randomly find an ancient Greek coin at a tag sale. That comparison you made really helps tremendously, the fakers definitely did a decent job. I actually got another coin at an estate auction a few weeks prior and that one was a fake as well... There's absolutely no relation to the first coin I posted and this one tests as silver as well but definitely looks a little too new.

Help-A-Novice-ID-A-Roman-Silver-Coin
Help-A-Novice-ID-A-Roman-Silver-Coin
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