I bought 4 old Roman coins from an Ebay seller a couple years ago before I knew anything about ancient coins. They were listed as "18mm AE <ruler's name>". Now that I've read up and looked at others, I am wondering about the authenticity of these.

They are all in similar condition (quite good detail, too good perhaps?) without any dirt or other junk on them, but the surfaces look kind of porous. From what I have read, many cast fakes have surfaces like this. I can't imagine much of a market for making fake bronze coins to sell for $4-10 each, so could this just mean that they were corroded then cleaned, leaving some pock marks?

I have provided pics of a coin listed as Constantine the Great (207-337 AD) and Constantine II (337-340 AD).

Also, what is the denomination of these coins? I looked around but "AE" didn't seem to refer to anything that I could find. Thanks.

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I'm not sure about the coins but "AE" refers to the composition (copper and its alloys).

Most denomination names for 4th century Roman bronze are unknown, so they are usually just referred to as AE2, AE3, and AE4, AE2 being about quarter sized, AE3 cent/nickel size, and AE4 dime sized and smaller. (roughly)

Your pieces look genuine to me. The price was very fair, and as you noted, it appears that there is some evident corrosion, though both pieces do show a lot of detail and are still quite nice!

BTW, there have been fakes made of common Roman bronze coins. But they're pretty easy to spot once you're used to handling the real stuff, which is probably 99.99% of the stuff out there. Do be aware of copies of earlier pieces.

I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong but these are fairly common and the photos are good enough to attribute:

1. Constantine I "Campgate" AE3 Obv: CONSTAN-TINVS AVG - Diademed bust right, draped and cuirassed. Rev: PROVIDEN-TIAE AVGG - Campgate with two turrets and one star. Exe: SMTS / (epsilon) | Thessalonica RIC VII 169.1

I think the second one is:

2. Constantine II "soldier and standard" AE4 Obv: CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C, laureate, cuirassed bust right. Rev: GLORI-A EXER-CITVS, two soldiers holding spears and shields with two standards between them. Exe: SMTSB | Thessalonica RIC VII 199

The ones you picture look real to me but I am not the end all on that, certainly there are not a huge glut of 4 dollar constantines but as mentioned before, there are some all the same. As for value they are very low and without doubt, they have probably been crusted with corrosion, cleaned, and probably retoned, certainly that will expose corrosion pits and marks. Cheap coins but many like these are attractive and interesting as well. They show how sophisticated (if not completely debased) the monetary system had become with complex mint marks, iconogaphy that had become standard, etc...all int he hopes of keeping the millions who used the system in coinage. Many mints, many different coinage being produced in each mint...it was more complex than most monetary systems today.

Here is an example of what I feel to be an exception example of a late constantine coin:

Thanks a bunch for the replies guys. Much appreciated.

The reason I asked is because I am interested in getting into more Roman/Greek coins, and really have no experience at all with ancients. Some of the silver denari I have seen on Ebay have been very tempting... But before I drop $35-50 on a piece I would like to have at least a little knowledge and experience.

The 4th century bronze is probably the best place to start a collection since most pieces are inexpensive, and the risk of counterfeits is low.

With denarii, I would recommend you look for dealers who seem to have a good reputation and avoid those outside of the U.S. / Canada and Western Europe.

Probably the best site for buying ancients is vcoins.com, where there is a strict code of conduct, and some sellers are also well known authors.

I'd check out Vcoins first. A lot more consisten than ebay. Not that you can't find deals on ebay, but you will find a lot fewer hassles on vcoins.