![]() In this case, the style is incorrect which shows they are fakes. I have seen many examples from this die pair and while that does not prove they are fakes it warrants further investigation. A forger die striking has not trouble varying his flan shape, die axis, centering, and other striking characteristics. These Macrinus denarii were struck with the same die pair on flans of different shapes. I have seen several dozen of this exact fake all this identical and any time you see two ancient coins this close there is reason for suspicion. Two coins struck moments a part of the same set of die can have different centering, flan shapes and striking quality and two as identical as these fake Corinthian staters made in permanent molds, is next to impossible. It takes both experience and research to understand if a coin needs further investigation because of its size or weight, but this can be useful a useful tool.Īncient minting involved mostly handwork which does not lend itself to minting nearly identical coins. Some ancient coins were struck to specific size and weight standards while others were not. Forgers somtimes cut dies of incorrect size while occasionally using the same dies for more than one denomination so some of them is wrong. The size of the coins vary considerable due to imperfect Roman flan production methods, but Roman die cutting was more careful with the beaded border of the aureus dies 19 to 19.5 mm across and denarii dies 18. For every type it is not difficult to research what the expected range should be, but there are some types with it is much broader and for those this is a less useful gauge of authenticity.Īugustus struck Gaius and Lucius coins as both silver denarii and gold aureii, with specific dies for each denomination. Incorrect with warrants further investigation.Īnother example are tetradrachms of Athens where the typical range is from 16.60 to 17.3 grams. Always remember that many fakes will be of their correct weight, so correct weight does not prove authenticity. ![]() Only rarely will a genuine example be outside that range. A coin too heavy or light relative to the expected standard cannot be automatically condemned but should be investigated further.Ī type with very narrow range is the Persian siglos struck after 485 BC for which specimens are between 5.35 and 5.60 grams and any specimen outside of that should be investigated further. Ancient minting was not exact so there is always some variation between specimens, but in most cases it is limited. The majority of genuine ancient coins were stuck to specific weight standards. If you have not already done so, I suggest you first read the preceding pages on types of fakes, as much of what follows builds on them. Some of the observations do not prove the coin is fake, but show further investigation is needed. It will not make you an expert in spotting fakes but will give you some basic information you can build on. This page is mostly about how new fakes are spotted as they entering the market, usually very quickly.
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