While there is no doubt that these are
fakes, this report deserves a little more note. Certainly the true color picture is better but your edge photo is a great example of the edge seam of a
cast and deserves applause. The right coin also shows a characteristic common to tourist grade
fakes (the low of the low). The
obverse shows
Gordian I but not in a
style that would be terribly obvious without the
legend.
Gordian was emperor for a very short period in 238 AD. The
reverse reads
TR POT XI suggesting the issuer was in
his 11th year of rule. That's impossible for
Gordian I but reasonable for
Marcus Aurelius. Your two coins are separated in date by nearly 300 years but the metal of the two looks like it came from the same
pot. The
Brutus should be a little better silver than the
Gordian allowing for the debasement that occured in that time.
Poor style,
cast looking surfaces, obvious edge seam, inappropriate metal and mismatch dies - did I miss something? Yes, I did. Any ancient coin that is alone in the
hands of a dealer that no idea about ancients is a tip to be wary. Being one of two coins when the other is known to be a
fake is quite a
bit of a
red flag. I don't know what you paid for these coins but genuine examples of
Gordian I denarii (with appropriate reverses for him) sell for several hundred dollars. The
Brutus would also be a high dollar item if real even though it is a cheaper variety for him (most
fakes of
his you see are
EID MAR reverses). I
hope you did not pay a
fair price for the pair (four digits?) so that brings up another tip. Coins worth a lot of
money being offered for a small fraction of that
price tend to be
fake. The tip is to buy from a dealer who is worthy of trust (
Forvm Ancients who hosts this list
comes to mind as a
good example). I buy a large percentage of my coins from less desireable sources (bad me) and obviously have made a few mistakes over the last 45 years. Until you feel more certain of your abilities in this
field, I suggest
buying from a 'real' dealer.
