masp3392 Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 I know it’s Augustus but I’m not to familiar with gold roman coins. Can anyone advise if this is an authentic coin? It’s similar to a few silver augustus coins but I cannot find anything on it. Thank you for any help or if you can point me to any information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 Not my area of expertise, but it looks a little too perfect to be real. I could be mistaken, though. It appears to be a (gold plated?) copy of a gold aureus, but it actually resembles a silver denarius more, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWB Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 Personally, I don't like the "looks" of the OP's item and suggest it might be one of thousands of European fakes and imitations made to fill holes in collections. Unless the item is being offered by a reputable seller, and has a guarantee of authenticity, my thought would be to pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoghead515 Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 Id love to get a few ancients to add to my collection but I don't know enough about them. Afraid of getting ripped off. Some are absolutely stunning. Probably one of my favorites is Athenian Owl coins. They made some real pieces of art back in those days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex in PA. Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 There have been thousands of ancient coin fakes showing up lately. Possibly the counterfeiters were not having much luck with the US market and decided to change markets. Hoghead515 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex in PA. Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 10 minutes ago, Hoghead515 said: Id love to get a few ancients to add to my collection If you do I recommend any in NGC or PCGS slabs. As I said, the market is being flooded with counterfeits. Have a good day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKK Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 Looks suspect. If you want me to dig into it, need weight and diameter (g and mm). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 7 minutes ago, JKK said: Looks suspect. If you want me to dig into it, need weight and diameter (g and mm). Why do some denarii say "AVGVSTVS," and others say "AVGVSTO?" Henri Charriere 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masp3392 Posted January 12, 2021 Author Share Posted January 12, 2021 22 minutes ago, JKK said: Looks suspect. If you want me to dig into it, need weight and diameter (g and mm). According to the seller, 18mm diameter, 7-8g in weight according to the seller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKK Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 2 minutes ago, Just Bob said: Why do some denarii say "AVGVSTVS," and others say "AVGVSTO?" If you look closely, those that say AVGVSTO say CAESARI first. Aorta lists two known obverse legends that use AVGVSTVO and both have CAESARI. It also lists a reverse legend for CAESARI AVGVSTO. I took a look and can't give you a precise answer, except that CAESARI is the dative in the singular, rather than the nominative plural as some might guess (as I first guessed before deciding to get some good out of this whole library behind me). My guess is that this means Caesar receives the action (as in he is augusted; that is, elevated to majesty). Since the number must agree, the singular augusto is the dative and the ablative; clear as mud. Before I get too far out of my understanding, I'll just guess that this variation of the legend refers to him receiving the honorific of Augustus, and caution loudly that I could be totally wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKK Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 1 hour ago, masp3392 said: According to the seller, 18mm diameter, 7-8g in weight according to the seller Sounds like he copied that rather than weighing the coin. If I were marketing an authentic aureus of Augustus, I'd for sure weigh it out to two decimal places. If you were thinking of buying this, my suggestion is don't. The color looks brassy; the lettering is rather mushy for the era. No like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWB Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 (edited) When the ablative rubs against the nominative some of it rubs off and it becomes the Latin dative. One means reception of the title, and the other means this is his title. (I.e..: honorific vs divine name.) OR.....it might mean you can buy a pizza at Augusto's Rapid Food stall next to the Circus Maximus. Edited January 13, 2021 by RWB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masp3392 Posted January 13, 2021 Author Share Posted January 13, 2021 2 hours ago, JKK said: Sounds like he copied that rather than weighing the coin. If I were marketing an authentic aureus of Augustus, I'd for sure weigh it out to two decimal places. If you were thinking of buying this, my suggestion is don't. The color looks brassy; the lettering is rather mushy for the era. No like. 7.8g that is my fault. Added more pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoghead515 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 7 hours ago, Alex in PA. said: If you do I recommend any in NGC or PCGS slabs. As I said, the market is being flooded with counterfeits. Have a good day. I looked at some on Ebay and there is this one guy on there that all his stuff looks way to good for some reason. No flaws on any of them. And he hasn't sold very many neither as you would think someone that has been dealing in them a long time. Looking at some I know is real that are reputable dealers, their coins have certain little flaws here and there. All his are to perfect. Ray, USMC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKK Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 According to my references, such aurei are known. I don't think this one is authentic, though. Looks skeevy. My suggestion is don't buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex in PA. Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 5 hours ago, JKK said: According to my references, such aurei are known. I don't think this one is authentic, though. Looks skeevy. My suggestion is don't buy it. Agree. I'm no expert but it looks 'too good' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masp3392 Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share Posted January 14, 2021 Found this on CNG coins. Can anyone comment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWB Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 Those are some excellent coins.... https://www.cngcoins.com/Lots.aspx?IS_ADVANCED=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_1=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_3=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_2=1&SEARCH_IN_ITEM_ADD_DATE=1&mm_ITEM_ADD_DATE=5&dd_ITEM_ADD_DATE=19&yyyy_ITEM_ADD_DATE=2020&PAGE_NUM=20&PAGE=5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
