G'day guys
just browsing E-Bay and i came across these, the auctioner has stacks, and they are so bloody cheap, the price is what makes me question their authenticity, as they look real enough, what do you all think?

Ancient Roman Coins

and these

Roman Artifacts

Cheers

I'd question it too. My golden rule on ebay is bid no more than you're willing to lose.

I mean they look real to my eyes,but im not expert on the currencies of Ancient civilizations.
If they are real, for 4 bucks a pop then thats incredible, but if they are fake, i wont bother, even if they would make a good conversation piece and fool guests, i wouldnt be happy knowing they weren't the real deal.
If anyone knows, i'd appreciate your input.
Cheers

Well, given the number of sales and the positive feedback these traders have, looks pretty promising to me.

Speaking as an archaeologist, selling of antiquities is not something I like to see.

The identification of the second coin is very strange - a Republican coin with a king on it

I have bought Roman coins on eBay before and such sales do exist. The first coins I actually bought were from a coin collector company. You recieved about 15 coins and a brush and you got to scrub all the dirt from them. Some are just worn and have little detail, but a couple I was able to identify.
I know it seems amazing that you could buy Roman coins so cheaply but its just a fact. Romans had millions, if not billions of these coins in use--no paper money. Second, alot of soldiers/people buried their money for safe keeping and often forgot where it was or died before they retrieved it. A big thing as well--most coins that you can buy cheaply are copper/bronze etc, basically a cheap metal. The gold Roman coins are ones that are sought after more because they are so rare.

I assure you that it is possible, I have quite a few coins at home. Maybe some of our European pals can add their 2 cents. I know alot of people hunt around Europe digging up lots of coins with their metal detectors.

Let me know if you have any more questions that I can help with!

Sean

P.S. I'll try to post some pictures of my coins when I get home from work.

The seller of the second coin has managed to write rubbish about the coin too. Q TITI is an abbreviation of the name of the moneyer who issued the coin. And the head is not his either.... See the top one here:

http://www.franic.info/coins/mycoins.html

4th century coins like the first one are very common.

I would point out here, that both sellers combined feedback of over 4500 sales is still 99.9% Thats a pretty good indicator.

FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE!!! Don't you think if they were real museums from around the world would want to buy them?

I was watching the Antiques Road Show the other night and they discussed the fakes sold as real on Ebay. They used an example of a Confederate Sword a guy bought on ebay, the Road Show guy said that there's a dude making these swords in India by the gross and praying on the people that don't know. I personally suspect these coins are rare and as valuable as they SHOULD be wouldn't be showing up on Ebay unless the person that stole them are stupid enough to sell them on ebay.

Just my two cents... get it? Two cents. (rolls eyes)

David,
You can also ask any coin shop owner about Roman coins--they will probally have some there--and they can give you more info. Easyoff--these coins are in museums-- the Art Institute here in Chicago has a few--a few GOLD ones with major emporers and such, even one from Alexander the Greats time. Most coins that can be bought easier are coins for the 4th century like Drader mentioned-- there was huge inflation in the Empire during this time. I am not supporting this seller--and there ARE fake coins out there, I acknowledge that, but its just a fact--although it may seem strange and unbelievable.

Sean

They would make great decorative pieces.

I wouldn't trust them. I would rather be face to face with a coin dealer than off of ebay. This is speaking from my experience with militaria from ebay. Ebay is well known as the dumping ground of all fakes, from very good ones, to the shoddiest crap imaginable.

G'day guys
thanks for the input.
Although i myself are as sceptical as most of you were, i honestly want to believe what Sean has stated, that there were simply so many of these, that they are infact not rare artifacts at all, especially considering they are not made of gold or anything, if what you say is correct Sean, then i can totally understand that being the case.
Maybe you can check your coins and compare to the ones i lined to, and tell me your final verdict, are they the real deal like yours, or fakes?
Cheers

I went through the first guys store...
seems pretty upright, since when you get to the last pages he has clearly listed the reproductions as reproductions.

For the price, they look like a nice addition to a Roman figure base.
The $2.50AU for the Indian heads are a pretty good price, especially if they are in as good condition as the photos.....

:-) Ok dave, bloody hell, i was holding back my urges to get a Roman figure but youve triggered it now!
Glad to hear they seem legit, i think i'll get one, what a fantastic thing, to think these things are over 2000 years old.
Cheers!

David,
I actually have a Constinitne coin in my collection very similar to the one shown on the site. I pretty sure I bought mine for about a buck a piece--and these were uncleaned. Once you get the crud off--which you do by soaking the coins in olive oil for a few months or more...some coins show enough detail that you can identify them, others are completly lackign in detail, some have a faint bust visable.

The only thing I would suggest is be more careful if you are looking to buy silver coins. Often some people would dip common copper coins in silver to give them a thin coating of silver and try to pass them off as silver--I'm talking about Romans and modern collectors.

Also--all my coins have a patina on them--a green or brown looking coating--like the coating statues get. Believe it or not this coating is what actually gives the coin value, because it takes so long to develop. Silver coins do not have the same kind of patina.

Figures--my mom goes out of state to a teacher meeting and takes the camera, so pix will have to wait.

To sum up, yes these look simliar to the coins I have. Lemme know if you have any other questions.

Sean :-)

Bah! They're remakes of authentic coins. I just can't see anything that old selling online for less than a couple grand a piece. Geeze, have you tried to buy a REAL civil war button lately? They'd get a couple grand for ONE wooden tooth from the 17th century. Hahahaha... I live near Brimfield Ma, one of the largest antique shows in the US, twice a year! If their real, not real remakes, but authentic roman coins from that period, carbon dated certified, I'd say buy them for what ever you can get for them under a grand, then come to Brimfield and sell them for 1,600.00 each.

(walks away mumbling to self)

Im sure if they were worth 1,600 bucks somebody would have caught on a long time ago and Brimfield would be BRIMMING with them get it? ahaha brimming...? :-)

Brimming :-)

so, when did the romans invade australia?
"i told you it was a LEFT turn at gaul, centurian!"

I would imagine David (Drader) shares the same opinion as me about people who go onto (known) Archaelogical sites with metal detectors ...

Anyone who is doing that is causing irreperable damage to valuable scientific sites. They are simply vandalistic treasure hunters who have nothing to do with Archaeology whatsoever - don't be tempted!!!...Jim

I'm not gonna dig em up mate i'm contemplating buying them. :-) alot easier this way!