Roman coins » Copies
Copies and Imitations
Broadly speaking there are two classes of copies:
Contemporary copies
Contemporary copies are those that were made at the same time as, or shortly after, the official coins that they imitate. Some are convincing and were probably intended to pass as official coins, while others are so badly copied that they would not have fooled anyone. The latter must have been produced by a local community when the amount of official Roman coinage was insufficient to meet their daily needs.
Modern copies
Modern copies are those that were made in relatively recent times, roughly speaking from the 16th century until the present day. These coins are either replicas (such as those you can buy in a museum shop) or fakes produced with the intention of deceiving collectors.
Generally speaking copies are given away by one or more of the following things:
- Fabric. They are made from a different metal alloy, plated or show evidence that they were not produced in the correct way.
- Style. The person producing the copy has made mistakes in copying the designs and/or the inscriptions on the coin.
- Size. They are smaller and lighter than genuine coins of the same type.
