Hi everybody,
I just finished weeding out every stinkin one of the things from what I
had on hand. Out of approx. 5,000 coins on hand, I ended up with 1,500
fakes. I have
confronted my supplier, who of course begged ignorance and innocence. I can assure you the forgers are running scared and obviously underestimated the ancient coin-buying community. They will certainly NOT circulate any more of these things. But the bad news is, they will probably use it as a learning experience, try to figure out what made them so easily detectable, and keep trying to perfect it. IMO, anyway.
I'll have scans posted soon, but use this primer as your guide to weeding out the
fakes. And if any of you bought them from me, please return them immediately and I will replace them along with a few bonus coins for the hassle. I inadvertently sent out a lot of them, but can guarantee that not a single one will be sent out by me again!
Best,
Ben
HOW TO DETECT THE MODERN
FAKESAs for detecting the
fakes, in the process of culling them all out of my lots I discovered just how obvious they are. I got more and more embarassed as I went. There is really no need to try and compare inscriptions/types, because they are VERY easy to spot, even when completely crusted. You just need to know what to look for. They can be spotted just by their shape, without even having to look at the inscriptions. Out of about 5,000 coins on hand that I "disinfected," I ended up with a staggering 1,500
fakes! Anyone that feels they only found one or two out of a purchase of 20+, PLEASE read the below primer very carefully! I'll
still post scans of every
type I found, but here's the skinny on how to spot them.................
The most important thing to realize is that these
fakes were
CAST, not struck. They have a UNIFORM THICKNESS from middle to edge (genuine ones tend to slope downwards and thin out towards the edges), and the edge is
ROUNDED, THICK and SMOOTH, not jagged, skinny and
sharp like genuine coins. There is
NO CHIPPING on the
flan - they are SMOOTH, PRISTINE, ROUNDED edges. That's the biggest giveaway. Look at the edges to spot them. They also have a greenish tint to most of them, but NOT ALL of them. They are a
good deal thicker than genuine coins. And most (but not all) are in the
AE3 size range. Once you have successfully identified a few of them, they practically jump right out at you. Lay one next to a genuine one and the differences will be very obvious.
I
still plan to post comprehensive scans of every
fake type I found, but remember that THE SHAPE is the best way to
pick them out.