Augustus Denarius

[Charles S]

I have had a denarius in my collection since nearly 20 years, bought in Oxford in 1994 for £50.  I thought it was OK at the time, but I'm more and more worried that it is actually a cast modern fake.  Scans of obverse and reverse are attached.  I tried to compare with the photos from the fake coin reports, but could not find a match. 

AR Denarius (3.6g, 19mm, 5h) Obv. Legend not clearly legible (should be CAESAR AVGVSTVS DIVI F PATER PATRIAE)
Rev. C L CAESARES AVGVST(I F COS DESIG PRIN)C IVVENT, Caius and Lucius Caesars standing, shields and spears between them.

Would appreciate your opinion on this.

Charles

[petier]

this is not a cast

[Hydatius]

That's quite interesting! Here's a denarius I bought in Oxford (from a little shop on the High Street) for £50 in 1987 or 1988. I'm pretty sure this is a fake.

Richard

[Matt Inglima]

this is not a cast

I don't dispute your expertise but I would like to know what you have based your conclusion on.  All of the weights and measurements are OK for this issue but there is a haziness throughout the strike that seems to indicate that it might be cast.  I will be interested to read more opinions.

[areich]

It doesn't look cast to me either.

[Andrew McCabe]

ditto. looks fine. a good buy in 1987.

(edit: confused by two different coins - I was referring to the second coin only. I recognise that there are different views on this thread)

[petier]

this is not a cast

I don't dispute your expertise but I would like to know what you have based your conclusion on.  All of the weights and measurements are OK for this issue but there is a haziness throughout the strike that seems to indicate that it might be cast.  I will be interested to read more opinions.

my conclusion is based on a trained eye, the photos are really nice high resolution and it is very clear that there cannot be any suspicion  of casting.

[Charles S]

this is not a cast

I don't dispute your expertise but I would like to know what you have based your conclusion on.  All of the weights and measurements are OK for this issue but there is a haziness throughout the strike that seems to indicate that it might be cast.  I will be interested to read more opinions.

my conclusion is based on a trained eye, the photos are really nice high resolution and it is very clear that there cannot be any suspicion  of casting.

I'm positively surprised, but happy with your conclusion and I accept it with joy and gratitude.   If possible, I'd like to learn more about how this can be concluded from the scan and photo above, but meanwhile I will add my denarius to my personal gallery without further hesitation.

[Joe Sermarini]

I'm not condeming them, but, personally, can not say with confidence from these photos that either of these coins is genuine. I have seen casts that were near impossible to detect even under a microscope. I cannot confidently authenticate coins like these from pics. 

[petier]

the second one is for sure fake, most likely some kind of pressed type.
but the first one is as genuine as can be , you don't need it in hand the photo is good enough to see it.

[Joe Sermarini]

the second one is for sure fake, most likely some kind of pressed type.
but the first one is as genuine as can be , you don't need it in hand the photo is good enough to see it.

The second coin, if fake is not pressed. The second coin, if fake (and I do suspect it), is certainly cast.  

Your second comment should say, "I don't need it in hand..."  Because if "you" means me, I have already said I do need to see it in hand.

Perhaps you have had more experience handling fakes than I have?  You are on our list of notorious fake sellers, right? Serdico? Alexandriacoins? Imperatorial?

If not, you have a remarkably similar email address.