Dropped $80 on a 'restored' Roman spearhead off eBay - turned out to be a modern fake

I've been into ancient Roman artifacts for a few years now. Last month I saw this spearhead listed as a genuine 2nd century find from a British field. It had good weathering and patina in the photos so I pulled the trigger for $80. When it arrived the metal had weird tool marks and the patina rubbed off with acetone. I tested it with a magnet and it stuck - real iron from that era wouldn't be that magnetic. Lesson learned: always ask for provenance papers before paying for metal artifacts. Anybody else get burned by a dodgy online relic dealer?

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1 Comment

wyatt_chen866h ago

Wait, the patina came off with acetone? That's insane. Real patina is chemically bonded to the metal, it doesn't just dissolve like cheap paint. That fake must have been painted on with some craft store acrylic. You're telling me they actually shipped it and it stuck to a magnet? That's embarrassingly bad faking - even a halfway decent forgery would use a non-magnetic alloy. I'd be demanding a refund immediately and blasting that seller's name everywhere.