Roman Coin Certification
A certificate of authenticity provides peace of mind in your ancient coin purchase. While no ancient coin found on the market can be said to be 100% certainly genuine, and professional numismatists can sometimes disagree, a high probability of authenticity can be demonstrated using a number of tools starting with the numismatist's own expertise. With my service each coin submitted will receive close scrutiny and a report with a detailed analysis provided. In addition, a glossy high resolution color photograph of the obverse and reverse of the coin becomes an integral part of the certificate. At your request a custom CD can be provided that includes a copy of the certificate and the image of the coin.
I cannot certify all Roman and Byzantine coins. If this should happen in your case this does not necessarily mean that I question the piece as inauthentic but may simply reveal an area wherein I feel unable to provide full conviction in my opinion regarding the specimen. While this should account for only a small minority of the coins I come across I prefer to work under full disclosure. To this end I request that any client considering submitting their coins please review them with me by email to minimize any chances of rejection. Naturally, there is no charge for a coin I do not certify. In the unlikely event that a coin I do certify is later deemed by an expert to be false I will upon your request make the coin description available to the community and refund all fees, including shipping.
The cost for this service is $50 not including the cost of mailing them to and from my location. You are welcome to use the form below to send any initial questions you may have about this service or general questions about your coins. I am also more than happy to give informal opinions on whether a given coin may or may not be fake - for free - by sending me an email using the form on the contact tab.
Coin Photography
From tiny eraser-sized coins up to monster medallions no coin is too challenging to capture using a Nikon D850 digital camera mated with a Nikkor 105mm macro lens, widely regarded as among the finest specialty lenses ever made. Each coin is custom photographed depending on a number of factors including metal, surface type, relief, thickness, etc. The raw image is then processed in PhotoShop on a professional-grade 40" monitor to match the image as closely as possible to the appearance of the actual coin. This means no phony patinas, assembly-line batch work or any other digital tricks to cut corners. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Coins photographed will usually be available for download within a couple days. The cost per coin is only $5.00. Both sides of the coin will be stitched onto a single image and sized to your desired resolution (1000 pixels wide default). In addition you will need to cover shipping expenses to and from my location including any insurance desired. I strongly recommend sending coins via UPS, FedEx, DHL or USPS Registered mail with sufficient insurance to cover loss during transit as I cannot be held responsible for coins that never reach me. Please contact me prior to shipping your coins for more details.
The slideshow below shows samples of my work for different coin periods. Sorry, I suck at photographing artifacts or group lots.
Dirty Old Coins is happy to announce the availability of X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) as a fee-based service to our customers. This technology can analyze the metallic ingredients in your coin (or other metallic sample) without causing any harm to the object. XRF has proved an invaluable tool in ancient numismatics as a means to trace the fineness of precious metal coinage across time and geography. It has also proven a needed tool in discovering clever forgeries as the unique signature of the coin in question can be compared to reference coins known to be genuine.
XRF analysis is available with the purchase of coins we sell or as a standalone service whereby you send in the coin or other sample after which it will be analyzed and returned to you. The cost for a summary analysis giving the percentage of each element in the sample to be tested is only $10. A more detailed study is available for $75 which will include a fuller analysis along with a printout of the spectral lines of the sample and calibration data useful for referencing with independent testing.