/biz/ - Business & Finance

>>56210075
>got them at a local flea market for $100 a piece

I've gotten unbelievable deals myself at flea markets so it's not always correct that "if it looks too good to be true it it probably is", but since the Philip Ernest and Saxony thalers would be ~$500 coins if genuine and are very rarely available in the USA you need to be very suspicious. When at a market you need to use much discernment and pay attention to the race and attitude of the seller, Turks/gypsies etc should never be trusted for example, and obvious pros at haggling and making deals with all the boxes and display cases necessary for efficient set-up and transportation to markets (versus insecure disorganized noobs) are more likely to both know what they have and also knowingly salt their cheaper genuine offerings with convincing fakes as "wow what a great deal!" bait. Noobs sell fakes too, but it's more often out of innocent ignorance than a calculated scam. You should always pay attention to the other items they have for sale for additional context, if someone is obviously selling off an inherited collection and doesn't know anything you're in luck, but that isn't typical. Since you have them in hand and can measure, weigh, magnet test and study the edges etc. you should search online for documented matching reproductions and compare. They're probably not genuine, but I wasn't there to take in the whole picture so there's a chance you got lucky. Whatever the case, you should be much more careful and observant in the future, and if intuition suggests that something smells fishy you should pay attention to that instinct. Every collector of medieval-ancient items has gotten burned by fakes myself included, but it's a valuable hands-on lesson that can make you much more discerning and savvy after you've learned from the mistake.

Picrel are all forgeries/reproductions, a few I knowingly bought as such cheap but I was less knowledgeable about the coins back then and got fooled. Live & learn fren.