Potential Fakes

harasha

So, I have this inherent distrust of auctions. Some experiences really disappointing, to put it mildly, but all too often, auctions are the only way to acquire something important for a collection. Recently, I participated in one, held by a very respected vendor which relatively recently, has turned to auctions. Since I am putting together what I call a Discovery of America collection, I bid upon two items and won.
The first was a 4 reales of Ferdinand & Isabella, described as lightly oxidized, gram weight provided. Upon receipt, it did not appear right. So-called oxidation appeared to be something else. The weight was within parameters, but the diameter was questionable. Most alarming, the planchet was thicker than expected for a hammered piece.
The second item was a Joao IV 200 reis piece from Portugal, counterstamped 250. It had a different appearance than one I already had, but I was not too concerned at first. Size and weight were under, but that could have been due to clipping. The style of rim was not the same and in light of the 4 reales, I now was concerned.
I emailed, tactfully, my concerns to the vendor and received a quick courteous response. Vendor cited its combined decadees of experience (it does have that) and advised me that it would forward photos of the lots to the cataloguers. I asked that they consider my observations. 8 minutes later, I received a response. They saw nothing wrong with the Portugese coin. (They may be correct; but for the 4 reales, I would not have suspected anything). As for the 4 reales, they simply said that some planchets are thicker than other and wrote, "Notice how portions of the legends are off the flan." I did not know that this was a sign of authenticity. Anyway, I am going to post my photos seperately, along with coins that I am confident are genuine. Sorry for the lengthy post, but need to vent.