A word of warning about "ancient" counterfeit coins

The first question buyers should consider when shopping for any coin advertised as “ancient” should be: Is the coin authentic? Counterfeit coins have been circulating since the first coins were hand struck two millennia ago and continue to surface in the marketplace, especially online.

Even today, with all the modern technology and sophisticated minting methods, fake coins still surface. Fortunately, in the United States, very strict laws exist concerning counterfeit U.S. coins, however, counterfeit foreign coins, especially ancient coins are a different challenge.  

Knowledgeable ancient coin numismatists (coin experts) estimate as many as 80-90% of all coins being advertised as “ancient” are in fact forgeries. Some fakes are obvious; others require a professional with years of experience to discover. For an in-depth analysis of the extent of counterfeits in the ancient coin market visit Forum Ancient Coins.

Unfortunately, the ancient Widow’s Mite prutah/lepton type coins are no exception to the problem of fake vs. real. Even though the Widow’s Mite coins are one of the more common and inexpensive ancient coins available at reasonable prices, fakes are proliferated, especially online.

Just perform a simple search for widow’s mite necklaces for sale and you will quickly find a wide range of prices anywhere from $50-500 for many pieces that look very similar, so what gives?

A Word of Wisdom

A general rule of thumb concerning any purchase is that “you get what you pay for” and secondly, “if it looks too good to be true, it probably is”.  

Recently, I seen an offer of “100 Genuine Widow’s Mite Coins for Only $30." For buyers who really don’t care if the coin is real or fake, then this sounds like a great deal. However, I’ve discovered that most buyers looking for a coin that has a direct connection to one of the most beloved stories in the Bible are rightfully much more discreet.

My Experience in China

Being in the rare coin business for over 40 years and having handled and sold millions of dollars’ worth of U.S. coins has given me an edge over the average coin buyer, but I also realize I am no expert when it comes to being fooled.  

Several years ago, while visiting China my family took a cruise down the Yangtze river to see the world’s largest manmade dam. Along the river route we made several stops at special tourist attractions and nearby were small bazaars with merchants selling a wide range of items. I noticed one booth selling U.S. Morgan silver dollars for $6-7 each.  

Knowing the history of trade with China and the U.S. over a hundred years ago, I was aware that millions of U.S. silver dollars were traded for exports. I also knew that Morgan silver dollars of similar quality to the one I had seen in the booth could easily be sold in America for at least $20 each. Therefore, I gladly purchased every silver dollar he had, which only amounted to about 30 coins.

Following my return to my office in Colorado I showed the silver dollars that I had purchased in China to our companies’ numismatist, a 30-year veteran and expert in U.S. silver dollars. It took all about two minutes for him to examine the 30 coins, look me in the eye and ask, “How much did you pay for these?” Boastfully, I replied that I only paid about six bucks each. His response was “Well, I’m glad you didn’t pay more; every single coin was a counterfeit."  

I still have the 30 counterfeit silver dollars as a reminder that “you get what you pay for."

Israeli Antiquities Law

The nation of Israel has some of the most restrictive laws in the world regarding the sale or export of native antiquities. Every genuine ancient artifact is required to be recorded and approved for export by the Israeli Antiquities Authority. Furthermore, only fully approved, and licensed Israeli Antiquities dealers can sell or export authentic antiquities.  

One hundred percent of all the coins offered by Ancient Bible Coins have been hand examined, certified, and duly recorded by one of Israel’s most respected antiquities dealers, L. Alexander Wolfe, dealer #23. For more information on Wolfe, please visit here. 

Real vs. Fake

One of the biggest challenges that ABC faces in marketing our authentic Widow’s Mite coin product line is competing against the myriad of online dealers offering fake coins. Most of the fake ancient coins are imported from Jordan, Lebanon, and Cyprus, countries that have very lax export laws concerning antiquities. I’m sure many companies are not aware their coins are counterfeit; others simply don’t care. 

The bottom line is that unless you are an ancient coin expert and you want the real deal, then I would recommend only consider purchasing ancient coins from sellers who will freely identify who certified the coins and be willing to supply documented proof they came from a licensed Israeli antiquities dealer.