Judging If A Heraclios And Son Solidus Is Authentic

From the pictures provided by the seller it's difficult to make out much detail. This particular coin is know for many forgeries. Size of the coin is about right but the weight seems a little light. Weight should be around 4.5 grams give or take .03 grams. If you purchased it I would send it off to be graded to be sure, if not you may want to hold off on this one.

If you're thinking of picking up ancients on ebay, an excellent first stop is FORVM's fake sellers list - anyone who repeatedly and knowingly sells fake ancients gets on this list, pretty quick. If the name isn't on the list (and your seller is not), proceed with caution. If the name is on the list, run away. Very fast.

Note that this is just a list of fakesters, not fraudsters - it won't necessarily protect you from the "gross exaggerators" - the people who hype up a common $5 coin as a super-rare $500 coin.

Another good section of the FORVM site, for coins acquired from ebay and elsewhere, is their database of fake coins. It's a bit unwieldy to search through, and it's nowhere near a complete list of all possible fake coins. So again, if a coin doesn't appear there, remain hopeful. If a coin does appear there (and in this case, it does - search the database for "Heraclius" and three very similar coins come up) then be prepared to be disappointed.

If you don't know any ancients experts or don't have any ancients dealers nearby, you can try sending the coin off to David Sear, one of the most respected names in ancient coins. For a fee, he'll provide an opinion on authenticity. He's not infallible, but his opinion is held in the highest esteem among ancients collectors. Unfortunately, it will probably take longer than your 15-day window to obtain this opinion.

Got more information for those wondering about weights of byzantine solidi and are uninitiated... "Lightweight solidi" often averaging around 4.20-4.30 gm were apparently used as coins of trade across regions of North Africa. 4.25 grams later became the average weight of the early Islamic dinar. While imitations were made subsequently (within 1-2 centuries later) to "Islamify" these Christian solidi exactly at a weight of 4.25 gm, the portraits on those ancient forgeries are generally crude and clearly distortions of the originals with an absence of a cross (replaced by a "T" or an "I") on the reverse. One hopefully authentic lightweight, non Islamified solidus with Heraclius (Heraclios) and son such as the one that I acquired apparently is embedded in the famed "Wilton Cross" in the British Museum (can see it on the BM website). All this has nothing to do with the authenticity of my particular acquisition... but is interesting in any case. It is also interesting that one can have an ancient valuable forgery or a modern comparatively worthless one!

Now that you have the coin in hand, can you post a new picture of it? Condition is always be a factor in determining the value. Wear, centering, damage, etc.. will effect the value somewhat.

Verdict: I am pleased to say that my visual instinct worked this time. I took the coin to a very kind expert who spent a lot of time discussing the variations possible in Byzantine coinage. The Solidus is thankfully authentic, minted in Constantinople, and in fact not clipped. The weight was inaccurate on ebay! The actual weight is 4.47 g-- so, on the heavy side. The scale of the seller must not have been balanced, or it was an estimate. The only detracting factor was the off-center reverse-- which I used to reassure myself that it was not likely a forgery. That being said, I paid a fair price for a coin in nice condition, especially because of the exchange rate at the time. Despite the worry about forgeries, the truth is, according to this Byzantine specialist that I consulted, they are increasingly less common because the internet and discussion groups such as this one have so widely alerted and educated amateur collectors... One must remain appropriately vigilant however and ask each other to learn the ropes! Thanks to all for your responses!