Fake Roman Imperial Coins: Crisis to Recovery: Maximinus I - Numerian: AD 235 - 284
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Balbinus, Denarius, RIC 08 161 viewsObv: IMP C D CAE L BALBINVS AVG, Laureate, draped bust right
Rev: VICTORIA AVGG, Victory standing, looking left, holding wreath and palm branch.
Date: 238 AD Rome Mint
Ref: RIC 8, BMC 37, Cohen 27
The top coin was Sold on E-bay Dec-2008 to a friend of mine by notorius fake seller caesar_antiques . It is clearly a die match to the Slavey replica below already in the fake reports. Also note that the coin my friend received was not the coin pictured in the auction, so clearly the seller has more than one example of this fake coin. Jerome Holderman
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Balbinus, Denarius, RIC 0882 viewsObv: IMP C D CAE L BALBINVS AVG, Bust: Laureate, draped bust right
Rev: VICTORIA AVGG. Victory standing, looking left, holding wreath and palm branch.
Date: 238 AD Rome Mint
Ref: RIC 8, BMC 37, Cohen 27
Published "Lipanoff Studio" fake. I. Prokopov, Sofia 2004, no.112
Modern fake. Cast.
Sold as original by known fake seller cosii.sp.legv.roma.leg1 on ebay May 2009maridvnvm
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Balbinus, Denarius, RIC 087 viewsObv: IMP C D CAE L BALBINVS AVG, Bust: Laureate, draped bust right
Rev: VICTORIA AVGG. Victory standing, looking left, holding wreath and palm branch.
Date: 238 AD Rome Mint
Ref: RIC 8, BMC 37, Cohen 27
Cast fake.
Sold on ebay by numismatics.888 in October 2021maridvnvm
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Balbinus, Denarius, RIC 318 viewsBalbinus 238 AD AR Denarius Draped & cuirrassed bust r. IMP CD CAE L BALBINVS AVG / LIBERALITAS AVGVSTORVM, Liberalitas standing facing, head left, holding abacus and cornucopiae. VF. Sold on ebay in 2002 by KDL Coins (alias for Toronto Group). RIC 3; RSC 10. Anaximander
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Balbinus, sestertius45 viewsAE Sestertius, (32 mm / 30 grs)
(According the seller refined tin alloy surface in copper)
Obv: IMP CAES D CAE L BALBINVS AVG, Laureate, draped cuirassed bust right
Rev: PROVIDENTIA DEORVM, Emperor standing left, right hand raised with eagle on staff?, mappa? in left hand
Offered as "Replica" on Ebay (Germany)
Dec/2011mdelvalle
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Balbinus, Sestertius, Cohen 13335 viewsObv: CAES D CAE L BALBINVS AVG
Bust: Laureate, draped cuirassed bust right
Rev: LIBERALITAS AVGVSTORVM S C
Balbinus, Pupienus and Gordian III standing left on platform, accompanied by soldier, watching as Liberalitas dispenses coins to a citizen mounting the steps.
Ref: Cohen, vol 5, pag. 10, n°13.
Sold on Ebay as museum quality reproduction.
whitetd49
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Balbinus, Sestertius, Cohen 13127 viewsObv: CAES D CAE L BALBINVS AVG, Laureate, draped cuirassed bust right
Rev: LIBERALITAS AVGVSTORVM S C, Balbinus, Pupienus and Gordian III standing left on platform, accompanied by soldier, watching as Liberalitas dispenses coins to a citizen mounting the steps.
Ref: Cohen, vol 5, pag. 10, n°13.
Sold as a reproduction on eBay February 2008
Submitted by Maridvnvmmaridvnvm
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Balbinus, Sestertius, RIC 1646 viewsBalbinus (238), Sestertius, Rome, April - June AD 238; AE (g 19,27; mm 29; h 1); IMP CAES D CAEL BALBINVS AVG, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. P M TR P COS II P P / S C, Balbinus standing l., holding branch and parazonium. RIC 16
Identical cast clones.Joe Sermarini
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Balbinus, Sestertius, RIC 1635 viewsBalbinus (238), Sestertius, Rome, April - June AD 238; AE (g 19,27; mm 29; h 1); IMP CAES D CAEL BALBINVS AVG, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. P M TR P COS II P P / S C, Balbinus standing l., holding branch and parazonium. RIC 16
Cast. Identical clones known.Joe Sermarini
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Balbinus, Sestertius, RIC 19400 viewsObv: IMP CAES D CAE L BALBINVS AVG
Bust: Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev: PROVIDENTIA DEORVM
Providentia standing left with cornucopia and wand pointed at globe at feet
Ref: RIC 19, Cohen 24, Sear 2404
FAKE, sold on Ebay as genuine.
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Balbinus. 238 AD. 82 viewsAR Denarius, Rome.
Obv: - IMP C D CAEL BALBINVS AVG Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right.
Rev:- VICT ORIA AVGG Victory standing right, head left, holding wreath and palm. BM 37. RIC 8. Cohen 27
Struck.
Ilya Prokopov
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Carausius277 viewsCarausius
Gold Aureus
IMP C CARAVSIVS PF AVG
Laur, cuir bust right
PAX AVG//MVLT X
Pax standing left holding vertical scepter.
Appears to be from the same dies as IAPN Bulletin 17, 1 (1992) specimen 25a.mauseus
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Carausius263 viewsCarausius et fratres svi
Jugate busts of Carausius, Diocletian and Maximianus left
PAX AVGGG
Pax stg left holding branch and vertical sceptre
S/P?//C
A patinated fake from modern dies.
Ebay 25 Jan 2008mauseus
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Carausius171 viewsCarausius
AE antoninianus
IMP CARAVSIVS PF AVG
Radiate, draped & cuirassed bust right
LEG IIII FL
Lion walking right with head turned to viewer
-/-//ML
London mint
Modern cast copy of RIC 69, taken from a genuine specimen. Two have surfaced so far and I have examined this specimen. The casting seam is very small around the edge.
This is the top coin in the compilation photomauseus
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Carausius104 viewsCarausius
Gold Aureus
"CARAVSIVS PF AVG"
Laureate, cuirassed bust right
"CONSERVAT AVG -/-//ML"
Jupiter standing left holding thunderbolt & scepter; eagle at foot
As RIC 1
At 2.3 grams this piece is well under weight for a Carausius aureus, the extant specimens of which are all over 4 grams. Furthermore the shape of this coin replicates exactly the only other known specimen of this type that is in the British Museum.
Ebay, February 2009mauseus
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Carausius53 viewsCarausius
AE antoninianus
IMP CARAVSIVS PF AVG
Radiate, draped & cuirassed bust right
LEG IIII FL
Lion walking right with head turned to viewer
-/-//ML
London mint
Modern cast copy of RIC 69, taken from a genuine specimen. Reference blemishes match the specimen I posted a couplle of years ago, although the flan shape has been doctored. This specimen I have been offered recently.
This is the middle coin in the compilation photo.mauseus
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CARAUSIUS 286-29397 viewsAR Denarius. Cast, “Dimitrovgrad Studio”.
I. ProkopovIlya Prokopov
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Carausius ADVENTVS AVG133 viewsIMP CARAVSIVS PF AVG
Radiate, cuirassed and draped bust right
ADVENTVS AVG
Emperor on horseback riding left
cf RIC 10 (with or without mint mark) or RIC 732
Tooled original flan of a mid third century Adventus antoninianus, something like Philip I or Trajan Decius (or a modern cast of one), with the obverse legend altered to to read IMP CARAVSIVS PF AVG.mauseus
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Carausius RIC 101234 viewsCarausius
IMP CARAVSIVS PF AVG
Radiate, draped & cuirassed bust right
PAX AVG
Pax standing left holding vertical sceptre
F/O//ML
Cast copy of RIC 101
Vendor admits in sales description that this is an unmarked cast of both the Carausius and Allectus coins made by (or for) a metal detectorist who sold the original specimens and wanted to keep a record of what they found.
The Allectus is also a cast fake an is already recorded in FORVM's fake Gallery.
NEITHER COIN IS MARKED COPY. mauseus
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Carausius, Antoninianus, RIC 98595 viewsObv: IMP C CARAVSIVS P F AVG
Bust: Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right
Rev: PAX AVG
Pax standing left, holding olive branch and sceptre
Exe: ML "S" in field left, "P" in right
Ref: RIC 98
Replica sold on eBay. Silver plated pewter.
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Carausius, AR Denarius, RIC 560117 viewsCarausius, Silver Denarius, RIC 560
Obv:- IMP CARAVSIVS P F AVG, laureate draped bust right
Rev:- FELICITA AVG, galley sailing right over waves, with central mast & four rowers, RSR in ex.
London mint, ca 287 AD.
RIC 560
Sold on ebay February 2008 by bulshop555.
Submitted by Maridvnvm maridvnvm
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Carausius, AR Denarius, RIC 560 86 viewsObv:- IMP CARAVSIVS P F AVG, laureate draped bust right
Rev:- FELICITA AVG, galley sailing right over waves, with central mast & four rowers, RSR in ex.
London mint, ca 287 AD.
RIC 560
Published by I. Prokopov , “Dimitrovgrad Studio”.
Sold on ebay September 2008maridvnvm
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Carausius, Aureus, Uncertain mint72 viewsObv:- VIRTVS CARAVSI, Helmeted cuirassed bust left
Rev:- ORIENS AVG, Sol standing left, holding whip and globe; at his feet, kneeling captive
Fig 1a is the false coin - 4.13g.
Fig 1b is genuine - 4.29g Ex-Sothebys 1990 (Hunt III), 98
Clearly copied from the unique specimen in Hunt III though the dies are clearly modern.
Published in the IAPN BOC Vol 23, No. 1 in 1998 - example 1a
Image used with permission of IAPNmaridvnvm
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Carausius, AV Aureus113 viewsCarausius, Gold Aureus
Obv:- CARAVSIVS P F AVG, Laureate, cuirassed bust right
Rev:- CONSERVATORI AVGG, Jupiter standing left holding thunderbolt and staff
ML in exe
Fig 24a is the false coin - 4.49g
Fig 24b is genuine from London - 4.30g
This coin is part of what IAPN/BOC coined as the British Museum Forgers (BMF) production. These are coins based on electrotypes of coins from the British Museum (BM) that have been used to create new dies that have been enhanced in various ways. These coins are considered dangerous counterfeits and caused a lot of embarrassment amongst dealers in the mid-late 1980s when they made it through onto the market.
Whilst being dangerous they all share certain characteristics:-
a) the relief on the coin type is much more rounded and fuller than on the original coin and is often higher
b) many of the coins show no sign of any real wear but lack sharpness giving the impression of being weakly struck
c) the coin is known in an example from the same dies in the BM collection
d) the coin differs in very small ways and these changes are areas of either wear or damage on the BM coin
e) the area of join between the coin type and the flan is never really sharp
f) on gold coins the fields tend to be perfectly flat with some wavyness or convexity on the reverse. The surfaces are so perfect they look like melted chocolate
g) the pattern of wear makes no sense with very clear details on areas which are higher in relief than more flat or worn ones
A very dangerous forgery. A close copy of the BM coin but with too many small differences. The reverse is a complete invention.
Published in the IAPN BOC Vol 17, No. 1 in 1992 - Example 24
Image used with permission of IAPNmaridvnvm
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