To believe something is genuine, or dismiss it as
fake, you need more than personal opinion. I am not picking on anyone, this comment applies to all. To express an opinion based on nothing is worth little. Comments from experienced
members can legitimately raise concerns, but should not be taken as gospel or evidence. They can serve as a sign that some tough questions should be asked but not as the final word.
For demonstrating something is genuine you need to associate it to similar items that are known to come from verified finds, respected reference works, etc. For these purposes a sellers assertion of genuineness is worth little alone. The more controversial or questioned the claim, the better the evidence should be.
The design
engraved on this ring has no genuine parallel that I know of. I don't know everything on
Roman rings by any means, but I have looked at a significant numbers of works on
Roman small finds. Maybe someone else will find a genuine example of this design, but until then I am highly skeptical because it is nothing like the
style of the hundreds of genuine ones I have seen.
Furthermore, even the form (overall shape) of the ringed bezel does not match
Roman finds. For example, Annamaria R.
Facsady shows 23 different ring forms in her book
Jewelry in Aquincum. The form of ring from this
thread does not match any of them. Proof it is not a genuine
Roman form? No. But it does raise issues. The Museum at Aquincum (in
Budapest) has a huge
collection of items and is representative of items from
Hungary but also Central Europe and the Balkans more widely. The harder something is to find in relevant and detailed references, the more skeptical I become of its genuineness.
Antiquities are, sadly, more difficult to document and verify. There are few reference works as well organized and documented as are coin books. Fewer dealers understand them or bother to do the necessary research.
If you buy from a dealer who will take the item back if you have a concern then collecting is much safer. Even if a dealer balks at first about a refund, letting them know that several people have raised questions and pointed out concerns and that you would therefore like your
money back unless the dealer can point to a proper reference
work, might
work. Even if no refund is possible it can be a learning experience. I have been collecting
Roman and other ancient
fibula for almost 20 years and have literally dozens of books in more than a half dozen languages. I
still have several
fakes I am struck with. Each has taught me something....
Finally, if the ring is
fake and you are stuck with it, can it be worn? Gifted to a friend?
SC