Printed Books
About Modern Fakes of Ancient Coins

There are many printed books that list a selection of known modern forgeries of ancient coins. The following is a list of the ones we are aware of that it may be possible for the average collector to locate. We would be happy to hear about any that we have missed. Many of these books are out of print and difficult to find, but a search of some of the dealers that specialize in second hand and rare numismatic books should eventually turn them up. Later, we will add information on how to contact such dealers.

"CLASSICAL DECEPTIONS" - by Wayne Sayles. An excellent introduction to the subject with illustrations of many of the types of fake ancient coins commonly encountered today. This book should be in the library of every collector of ancient coins. Currently Mr. Sayles still has copies of the book available, and they can be ordered directly from him. His website can be found at: Wayne G. Sayles, Antiquarian

"NOT KOSHER: Forgeries of Ancient Jewish and Biblical Coins" - by David Hendin. Listing 125 fakes of ancient Jewish coins. For more information check out David Hendin's own website where this and other books about ancient Jewish coins are available.

"COUNTERFEIT STUDIOS AND THEIR COINS" - by I.Prokopov and R.Manov . Listing 109 fakes, with information on their diagnostics and where known, who may have made them. For more information check out the SP-P Publishing House website

"CAST FORGERIES OF CLASSICAL COINS FROM BULGARIA" - by I.Prokopov and E.Paunov . Listing 112 fakes, with some information on their diagnostics although sometimes a little vague to be informative. Still, a very good book to include in your library. For more information check out the SP-P Publishing House website

"Contemporary Coin Engravers and Coin Masters from Bulgaria" - by I.Prokopov. Listing 152 fake coins plus 2 steel dies specifically by the the Lipanoff Studio of forgers. For more information check out the SP-P Publishing House website

"Modern Counterfeits and Replicas of Ancient Greek and Roman Coins from Bulgaria" - by I.Prokopov, K. Kissyov and E. Paunov. Listing 192 fake coins by various modern Bulgarian forgers. For more information check out the SP-P Publishing House website

"BECKER THE COUNTERFEITER" by Sir George F. Hill, originally published in 1924 but our copy is a 1979 reprint by Obol International. This is an excellent book on the die-struck fakes by Carl Wilhem Becker, who worked in the 1820's and is considered by many to be the most talented forger of classical Greek and Roman coins that ever lived. His forgeries still fool the occasional collector and dealer, and are collected and have considerable value in their own right. All the 360 types he is known to have forged are illustrated well enough to make die matching possible, making this an invaluable reference.

"THE CAPRARA FORGERIES" by Philip Kinns, 1984 (the Royal Numimatic Society Special Publication #16, International Association of Professional Numismatists Special Publication #10). Like Becker, Caprara worked in the 1820's, but specialized only in ancient Greek coins. Ninety-one types are illustrated, although a few only by drawings.

"IMITATIONS AND INVENTIONS OF ROMAN COINS" by Zander H. Klawans,1977 (published by the Society for International Numismatics). This is a book about the 16th century Paduan forgeries who started the whole problem, and for the most part it is specifically about the work of Giovanni da Cavino, illustrating many of his die varieties. Most Paduan forgeries are fairly obvious today, and some are fantasies of coins that never actually existed, but some of the types are fairly deceptive and occasionally appear in the market as genuine today. Genuine Paduan forgeries are collected in their own right, and have considerable value, and one occasionally even sees 18th, 19th and 20th century fakes of Paduan fakes.

"CHRISTODOULOS THE COUNTERFEITER" by J. Svornonos, originally published in 1922, our copy was published by Ares Publishers Inc, in 1974. Constantine Christodoulos worked around the year 1900, and was a prolific forger specializing in ancient Greek coins, and known to have produced over 500 types, all of which are illustrated in this book. They were good fakes for their day, but seldom really captured the correct artistic style.

"BYZANTINE COINS AND THEIR VALUES" by David Sear, B.A. Seaby Ltd. 2nd edition, 1987 (we believe the rights to this publication may now reside with Spink and Son). Not only an excellent reference on genuine Byzantine coins, but pages 487 to 519 illustrate and discuss 93 known fakes of Byzantine coins, some of which are very deceptive. Many of the fakes illustrated in this book are the work of Lebanese forgers who worked in the 1950's and 60's, and recently we have seen a significant number of these coins appearing on the market, suggesting to me that the dies still exist and are again being used by someone.

"THE GENEVA FORGERIES" by R. A. G. Carson. First published by the Royal Numismatic Society in the Numismatic Chronicle, and reprinted in 1977 by Attic Books, Ltd. A 16 page pamphlet (including 2 plates with 24 illustrations) about a group of fake rare Roman coins of Nigrinian, Julian of Pannonia, Domitius Alexander, Valerius Valens and Martinian. The average collector will not encounter many of these coins, but one should be aware they are out there, as some of these are fairly dangerous fakes.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of the books on this subject, and we would appreciate hearing from anyone that can recommend others that we have overlooked (our contact information is on the contact page, to which a link can be found in the top navigation bar).

Dealers who specialize in second hand numismatic goods, and who regularly handle some of these titles, should contact us, and we will add their contact information to this page.

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