Finally found a way to spot fake Roman coins without a loupe

I kept getting burned at local shows until I tried wetting the surface with a drop of water - real patina beads up while modern coatings just smear. Has anyone else tested this trick on provincial bronze issues from the 3rd century?

2 comments

2 Comments

barbara_taylor8316d ago

That wetting trick works surprisingly well on 3rd century bronzes, but I once had a guy at a show try it on a worn sestertius and the drop just sat there like a dome before rolling off. Ended up being a genuine Trajan piece he'd cleaned with dish soap.

barbara27816d ago

I see that a little differently actually. That dome test is one of those things that gets passed around but I've had too many clean bronzes hold a droplet just fine, especially if the patina is even a little waxy. The real give away for me on those worn sestertii is always the edge and the weight, not how water beads up. Plus dish soap can leave a weird residue that messes with surface tension, so the test might not even be reliable in that case.