Welcoming Thoughts On Possible Roman Counterfeit/Fake (2)

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 285
jdsstrat New Member United States 41 Posts	Posted 02/15/2025 10:55 am In a collection I inherited from my grandfather I came across a couple of old Roman coins (that is, I think they're Roman but of course would defer to the collective wisdom of this forum's users). As I understand it, the seam that I tried to capture in the photos below may or may not indicate a forgery. Any guidance on these - and I will post them separately - is greatly appreciated. Edited by jdsstrat 02/15/2025 1:14 pm Report this Post to the Staff

Spence Moderator United States 32709 Posts	Posted 02/15/2025 6:51 pm @jds, can you please add the weight and diameter of this piece? Thx. "If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb "The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz Report this Post to the Staff
Albert Pillar of the Community United States 1805 Posts	Posted 02/15/2025 10:53 pm It does look like a seam Edited by Albert 02/15/2025 10:54 pm Report this Post to the Staff
jdsstrat New Member United States 41 Posts	Posted 02/15/2025 11:02 pm The weight is approximately 8 grams, the diameter 21mm... Upon further review, I have been able to determine that this coin is not in fact Roman. Rather, it is a George II copper farthing, a coin that was minted by striking. This one has the seam and one of the George's has pitting, as if it has been cast. Is it possible my two headed farthing was made by (or for) a magician? Edited by jdsstrat 02/15/2025 11:55 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Spence Moderator United States 32709 Posts	Posted 02/16/2025 02:49 am @jds, perhaps, but even more likely is that someone slightly ground down two farthings and then bonded them together. We see this sort manufacturing of Magician's coins with some frequency and generally it is for older coins. Modern ones are made on a lathe and have one coin hollowed out to slide the second one into the first. I'm not sure how robust the market is for this item, but it is definitely worth putting into a 2x2 for safekeeping. "If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb "The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz Report this Post to the Staff
jdsstrat New Member United States 41 Posts	Posted 02/16/2025 09:54 am Fascinating! Thanks, Spence! Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16181 Posts	Posted 02/16/2025 9:34 pm A two-headed coin from the mid-1700s, probably wasn't technically a " Magician's coin", as stage magicians weren't much of a thing back then though you did sometimes see magic tricks performed at town fairs. It was probably a coin made by a confidence trickster so they could always win a "heads or tails" flip. As for its age, it probably does actually date from some time around or shortly after the reign of George II, because using a hundred-year-old coin in a confidence trick would defeat the purpose of it pretending to be an ordinary, everyday coin. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
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Welcoming Thoughts On Possible Roman Fake (2)