Check the coin against reliable websites. The altering of a Roman coin by a countermark, sometimes referred to as a counterstamp, Unfortunately, thousands of fake coins are sold every month on eBay. Some of the observations do not prove the coin is fake, but show further investigation is needed. Fake Roman Coins A knuckle-headed hand doctor busted for hawking fake ancient Greek drachma must pen an expose on the dirty dealings of the coin collector world to avoid jail time.     This piece: Spanish Republican semis, British Claudian AE   and earlier AE imitations of Augustus, Agrippa, etc.     1) "endemic"  for regularly occurring counterfeits (e.g. We will speak of the "field" of the currency designating the smooth and unregistered part.     This piece: Commodus, Severan and later (AD 193 - 253) fourrés mostly from the Balkans (For scholarly information about how these were produced see these references.). To avoid getting duped by an unscrupulous coin dealer or collector into unknowingly purchasing a counterfeit coin, there are a few basic techniques and tools that can help. 01 of 05. Counterfeits were especially prominent in several periods and places. The specimens shown in this collection were made for various reasons.      This piece:  Domitian. Fourées are even older than coinage itself – plated base metal bars have been found that were made to imitate ingots of precious metal used as currency before the introduction of coins. This piece: Constantine. Obverse: Head of Mars in crested helmet left. Counterfeits made for profit and intended to deceive usually imitate silver coins (denarii) with pieces of much less intrinsic value. Select one or more types of metal. These are often a way for dishonest sellers to "grab the money and run". The Republican denarius was nearly pure silver and valued as silver, so there was profit to be made by wrapping a copper core in a thin silver foil (much like aluminum foil) and striking it with false dies to make a "coin" called a "fourré" (= "stuffed" in French) with most of its weight actually copper. Some are tourist fakes, and usually sold as such and some were made so the common person could have an example of a terribly rare coin that would normally not ever be available. Amazingly, there are counterfeits of even these primitive pieces. ? Even the most obvious fakes can easily fool anyone who is not a trained expert. Counterfeits that served to augment the supply of small change were struck in copper in (usually) crude imitation of official types. but where there is money trading hands, there will always be fakes, frauds, and counterfeits. Note that the images below are only a few samples of the old 2003-2004 fakes. subaerat  (the word for "fourreé" in German, meaning something like "below, AE")         This piece: Gratian AE2, Greek   4)  Types of AD 340-348.   Imitations of coins of emperors Postumus through Tetricus I and Tetricus II The yellowish colour of the coin - they are made of copper and not of bronze The blobs of green (much of which flakes off when you run your nail over it) - it is a fake "patina" or artificially generated verdigris. siliqua, clipped siliqua. asses in Britain under Claudius in the mid-first century AD,  or "barbarous radiates" in Britain and Gaul c. AD 270) This section includes all coins classified as Roman Republican, Roman Imperiatorial, Roman Imperial and Roman Provincial coins, from anonymous coinage from the 4th century BC, all through the end of the Roman Empire. This piece: Claudius as, Other 1st and 2nd century AE imitations     This piece:  Allectus, Fourth Century Coins were regularly counterfeited throughout the entire Roman period. Having said all that, some people collect fakes, so don't despair if you get one or two. Ebay is flooded with fakes lately. (Fourth type down) Now i am not an expert in this field so any advice given here is appreiated. Go there and enter in the identification (for example, the name of the Roman emperor or the name of the Greek city) in the search box. When the copper breaks, the fraud is exposed, but this imitation was struck in such good style and with thick enough silver that it may have been years before the foil detached. Buying coins, especially sight-unseen online, can be harmful to your wallet if you can’t trust the source. A fake coin often looks too clean to be 2,000 years old. Roman Coins: Denarius , fakes? Most fakes are those of Constantine I and II, Licinius I and II, Constans, Constantius I and II, Valens, Jovian, Septimius Severus. You can only differentiate between a fake and real ancient Roman coin with the help of a test kit. If you want to use some of it, please ask. One of the threads on the Forvm Ancient Coins, A huge collection of fakes on the Forvm Ancient Coins, The childish type of "artwork" especially of the bust, The exaggerated "Roman nose" and the overly circular eye, The crest of the helmet on VRBS ROMA coins is too far back, The yellowish colour of the coin - they are made of copper and not of bronze. Counterfeit coins were made for several reasons in the past. 20-19 mm. The silver plate has broken showing the copper core near the rim at 5:30 and on the helmet near the middle. I feel that if I pay ten or twenty bucks for a coin or a lot of coins (that I can't spot as obviously bad fakes), then I don't lose really much if the coin turns out to be fake. We have a wide variety of replica Pirate coins, Viking coins, Roman coins, Greek coins, Scottish coins and Celtic coins. The profit was in the substitution of cheap copper for expensive silver in the core of the coin. The one link to Greek coins is at the end. Some tips:the most faked coins are gold and silver coins because they are the most expensive. Some visible giveaways of some (but not all) of these fakes are: Fake Sellers list on Forum Ancient Coins. Find the Roman coin you're looking for from trusted sellers. Furthermore, Victory looks bored to tears, and there is no "action" in the illustration. Under a plea agreement with Manhattan prosecutors, Ivy League surgeon Arnold-Peter Weiss The Manhattan District Attorney’s office returned $200,000 worth of ancient coins to the Greek government Monday. Terms and links within this site. Others show proof a coin is fake. (One fake seller in Germany was raking in over 12,000 Euros a month selling fakes, until the police caught up with him). A genuine coin is used to create a die that is an exact mirror image of the coin. Some counterfeits were made by casting and some ancient molds are still extant. Replica Coin Set ANCIENT ROMAN COINAGE “TWELVE CAESARS” Romans started the practice of minting silver coins in the same manner as the Greeks, around 270 B.C. If some of those are fakes, the coin you are interested in might well be a fake … Just about every type of common-ish bronze coin is now in circulation as a fake. See here for some molds ("moulds" in Britain) and a description of one way it was done. This site discusses and illustrates imitations of Roman coins from c. 400 BC to c. AD 500 (with a few Greek coins at the end). If you scratch some fake coins with a pin, it scratches very easily because copper is softer than bronze. Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by p91, Oct 29, 2009. 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