amiuspius, you might want to ask these questions to the dealer who sold it. If the coin is appealing to you, then engage the dealer in a discussion about the coin, including things you are concerned about, and you may learn a lot more than you would expect. The dealer might be great and informative. Certainly Jay and Joe were able to address your concerns on-line, but that's what you paid the dealer to do.
A lot of new collectors on this board post about authenticity concerns and those new collectors seem to be more
worried about the coins than
excited about the coins. Coin collecting should be enjoyable, not worrisome. (I received 2 coins in the mail today and I was so excited that I opened the envelope while standing at my mailbox! Which is actually pretty dumb to do.
)
One way of changing that feeling is to buy from dealers who have been in business for a while, and who guarantee authenticity, in
writing. (Some, like
Forum, are
members of organizations that require dealer-members to make such guarantees. Then you can put that worry to the
side for a while and concentrate on enjoying the coin and learning about
numismatics.
"Buy the book before the coin" is an old saying, but it really is true. And I would emphasize "book", as basic internet information is often just plain wrong. For example, I have never read any numismatic book talking about the "ring test" -- but people on the internet talk about it. The same way people on the internet talk about a lot of things that are not accurate. There are also great numismatic articles on
Forum, which will lead you to other resources. The coin you purchased is not really a "beginner's" coin, and so you probably feel a
bit of anxiety about the amount you spent for it. A
good dealer could address some of those questions, but looking at a lot of coins, starting with pretty basic coins, is even better.
Every fake coin I ever bought was from the internet, from an on-line only seller, whose name and reputation were only established by the website itself, and the item was something I thought was a great
price. I have since learned my lesson.
Enjoy your coin -- it's pretty nice and commemorates a very specific moment in Augustus's life -- and sometimes banker's marks were put right in the middle of the
face!