Resources > Fake Coins and Notorious Fake Sellers

What do you look for?

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David Atherton:
Well there certainly are a lot of folks on this board who are pretty good at spotting fakes and I was wondering what tips you off to a coin that it is fake? I know there isn't any hard and fast rules, but what do you look for? They always say that the more coins you handle the easier it is to spot fakes. I would say quite a few folks on this board would qualify then. :)

curtislclay:
Correct style, indicating a mint engraver not a later copier.  Sharpness of the lines where types and legends meet the surface of the coin, indicating struck not cast.  On bronzes, convincing corrosion or patination.
Still, coins struck from transfer dies, or dies cut by talented modern engravers, and sometimes given fake corrosion and patina, can be very deceptive!

David Atherton:
I still consider myself a newbie and any advise I get about spotting fakes is most welcomed. Thanks Curtis!

I've also read that specializing in a certain area of ancients helps you to determine whether a certain style is correct for the type or not. Hopefully I'm getting better at determining the correct style for Flavian silver. :)

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