Theodosius II Miliarense

[Gary]

here is another one.

weight 4.11g and Dia. 22-23mm

a nice looking coin but is it a fake?

How do I find out?

[TomGoodheart]

Not my area Gary but it looks too perfect. Here's what came up in my search.

http://www.cngcoins.com/Search.aspx?PAGE_NUM=&PAGE=1&TABS_TYPE=3&CONTAINER_TYPE_ID=2&IS_ADVANCED=1&ITEM_DESC=Theodosius+II+Miliarense&ITEM_IS_SOLD=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_1=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_3=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_2=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_4=1

Compare it to this one for example:

.

Edited August 23, 2015 by TomGoodheart

[Gary]

Thanks for the input and the link Tom.

I agree it looks too perfect but apparently its from a good source.

I think I'll have it looked at by someone with knowledge of ancient coins.

[VickySilver]

I have a fake by possibly the slavei (??) but can't seem to find it that looks between these. The reverse figure a bit suspect but a very nice looking coin. These types of fakes - if this is one, and I'm not saying it is - are very, very deceptive and can imagine them possibly fooling an expert every now and then....

[Coinery]

If it IS a fake, then someone is certainly knocking out some awesome dies, as this coin is clearly hammered.

Is it a rare and valuable type? If not I just can't imagine anyone making that kind of effort, especially when they could instead be faking the comparatively simple Anglo-Saxon coins?

[VickySilver]

The quality of fakes coming out of ?Bulgaria can be truly outstanding as they use "original" methods to strike their coins. I have heard that occasionally original poor quality or worn silver is melted down and used for blanks - these coins then would pass metallurgy tests for metal content...