contemporary fake
When referring to
ancient coins...
Fake should only be used when referring to modern copies or
ancient coins that have been altered. A
fake patina or modern
patina is an intentionally created chemically induced
patina.
Forgery should only be used when referring to modern
fakes meant to deceive collectors. An ancient
counterfeit may also be called a forgery but I prefer to use the more specific term
counterfeit for
forgeries that were intended to circulate as
money.
Replica refers to modern
fakes that are not meant to deceive collectors.
A "tourist
fake" is a
fake sold by locals at ancient sites, often misrepresented as genuine, but which will not deceive most collectors. Tourist
fakes sometimes do not even remotely resemble a genuine ancient coin
type and are often less realistic than replicas. Before describing a coin as a tourist
fake, consider that your comment may insult the owner because it implies they lack basic knowledge and perhaps should have known better.
Counterfeit refers to ancient
fakes meant to circulate as the genuine original. Many of these are
plated counterfeits, called
fouree (various spellings possible).
Counterfeit is sometimes used to describe modern
fakes made to deceive collectors but I prefer to use the term
counterfeit only for
forgeries intended to circulate as
money (ancient
forgeries). For greater clarity "ancient
counterfeit" is better than just "
counterfeit" and "
modern forgery" is better than "modern
counterfeit."
The term "
contemporary counterfeit" is sometimes used to describe
ancient counterfeits (genuinely
ancient coins but from an illegal or unofficial
mint). "
Contemporary" has multiple meanings, two of which follow: 1) existing, occurring, or living at the same time, 2) of the present time, modern. See the problem? We have received many questions from new collectors confused by the use of the term
contemporary. "
Contemporary" should not be used to describe any coin, modern or ancient, official or unofficial.
To remove any possible confusion, we recommend using the terms "ancient
counterfeit" and "
modern forgery" and avoiding the terms "
contemporary counterfeit," "
contemporary forgery," "ancient forgery" and "modern
counterfeit."
Imitative refers to
ancient coins that copy another
type, but which probably were not meant to circulate as the genuine original. Some
imitative types were used as currency in an
area outside the
area the original coin was issued. Some may have been used as substitutes for the original coin in areas where coinage was in short supply.
Barbaric imitative refers to
imitative coins of a non-Greek or non-Roman
style, usually but not always crude.
Tooled or tooling refers to mechanical alteration of a coin, for example engraving to change the letters of the
legend or to sharpen details of a
portrait. Smoothed or
smoothing refers to a less damaging form of tooling that penetrates beyond the
patina and into the metal but which is limited to
smoothing rough surfaces.
Smoothing does not include strengthening, changing, or creating detail.
Not Recommended Preferred Alternative
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