Wasted $75 on a fake Roman coin from an online auction

I saw this coin listed as a 'genuine Roman denarius' on a site I use a lot, and the seller had good feedback. I paid $75 plus shipping, thinking I was getting a good deal for my collection. When it arrived, the weight felt wrong and the details looked too sharp, like a modern copy. I took it to a local museum event last week and an expert confirmed it was a fake in about two seconds. Has anyone else been burned by fake artifacts online, and how do you check them before buying?

3 comments

3 Comments

brooket4318d ago

Checking weight is good, but wear can be faked too. You need to look at the style of the lettering and the flow of the metal. Cast fakes often have a bubbly surface under a magnifier that real struck coins don't have.

the_jenny18d ago

Always check weight and wear against known examples.

jake_patel18d ago

Man, that's so true for everything now. It's like you need a second layer of checks for anything of value. Even with stuff like sneakers or concert tickets, the fakes get the easy stuff right first.