Fake Balbinus Sestertius
Enlargement This is a modern sand cast fake of a Balbinus sestertius. WEIGHT:27.72 grams SIZE: 28.2 x 30.4 mm STYLE: Good ( but surfaces bad) MANUFACTURE: Sand cast in bronze FIRST IMPRESSION: bad CHARACTERISTICS: This is a very poor quality fake exhibiting all the classic features of a sand casting made for the tourist maket. The surfaces show show impressions of the sand grains, the edges show a classic filed edge for this type of fake. RELATIVE DANGERDEALERVery low COLLECTOR EXPERIENCED Very low NOVICE low The style is actually good because it is molded directly from a genuine worn sestertius of Balbinus, but the surfaces and edges are so bad that it would not fool any even remotely experienced collectors who sees it in the hand. This type of fake might become slightly more dangerous if the surfaces were artificially worn to remove some of the casting signs, and if it were artificially patinated. It is also a little more dangerous if being sold from only a poor quality image, especially if an image of the edges were not available. This specimen was provided to me by Paco, more commonly known in the business as Melqart (his seller ID on ebay). Back to examples of fakes.Top of Page
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