Athens Owl Tetradrachm real or fake?

[slquarters]

I just purchased this coin this week & I am concernd that it is not genuine. I will try to attach both pics, but if it does not work, could anyone tell me for sure, or could anyone tell me how to tell the difference if my pics don't show up? Thanks!!

[slquarters]

Here is the obverse.

[decius]

It is not a fake... It is a Reproduction...

http://www.antiquanova.com/greek3.htm

I believe that these are all stamped with an "F".

Decius

[curtislclay]

    Apparently someone has added wear, patination, and damage on the rev. of the reproduction, in the intent to pass it off as an original.

[slquarters]

Is there anyone who can tell me for sure? I have not seen any reproductions that look identical & there are no genuine ones that I have seen that look like it either. Is it possible that it is real? I would like to know because I paid over 800.00 for the coin. Thanks for all of the imput!

Jerry

[Reid Goldsborough]

Sadly, this is, I believe, $800 you'll never get back. If I'm not mistaken, this is a cast fake of an Antiquanova replica. It's one of the "Toronto Group" fakes. Though the name "Toronto Group" is used, there's no indication that more than one person is behind this ongoing eBay scam, now more than two years running. The seller puts up, with each round of scam auctions (always under a new eBay I.D.), several dozen of the same cast fakes. Almost always, he makes the auctions private, meaning others can't warn bidders. He either keeps his own feedback private, or more often, creates about 12 to 15 positive feedbacks by buying very low-cost items on eBay, stamps for $1, this type of thing. The lesson, for everybody, is to never buy a coin from anybody who creates auctions like these. Don't buy from a seller who creates private auctions unless you know the seller and know he has a good reason for doing this (there's almost never a good reason). Check the seller's feedback. Caveat emptor.