Modern Forgeries:
Alexander the Great
Fakes - Part 3

All of the fakes on this page are "Bulgarian School" Alexander-style tetradrachms. Most, perhaps all, of the Bulgarian School forgeries illustrated here originated with the Lipanoff Studio, an active workshop in Bulgaria where coin replicas/forgeries are produced. I believe that the Lipanoff Studio is comprised of students of Slavey Petrov, the Bulgarian replica maker who began making replicas in 1966 at the age of 15 and who admitted in a 2000 interview with Bill Puetz that his apprentices are responsible for the rash of forgeries coming out of Bulgaria. There are distinct similarities in the die work of Slavey replicas and Lipanoff fakes, the same genuine artistry, the same expressive/excessive flamboyance that goes beyond what the ancient celators did. As with Slavey's work, some Lipanoff pieces are more attractively rendered than others. Some of the fakes on this page may be casts of Lipanoff Studio pieces; some may be struck copies made with cast dies.

The above Lipanoff fake is a copy of both the obverse and reverse of a Slavey replica, an example of which is illustrated on the Modern Replicas page of this site.

The best sources documenting Lipanoff fakes are three of the five recent books on forgeries from Bulgaria authored or coauthored by Ilya Prokopov, former director of Bulgaria's National Museum of History: the 1997 book Modern Forgeries of Greek and Roman Coins, the 2004 book Contemporary Coin Engravers and Coin Masters from Bulgaria, and the 2005 book Counterfeit Studios and Their Coins. The first book illustrates the most Lipanoff fakes of Alexander coinage, though some of the Bulgarian School/Lipanoff fakes on this site aren't documented in any of these books.

I've learned from other sources that the Lipanoff Studio is also known as Lipanoff, Todoroff & Co. or Todoroff & Co. Presumably persons with the names Lipanoff and Todoroff are the principals behind this effort. Prokopov didn't identify these persons in his book and in fact wrote that the Lipanoff Studio doesn't itself try to deceive with these pieces, which he says are die struck rather than pressed or cast, though they're not marked as replicas, but that other people have "profiteered" by selling them as authentic ancient coins.

Some of the Lipanoff pieces are silver-plated and without toning -- perhaps these are the official ones intended as replicas and sanctioned by the Bulgarian government (none of the pieces on this page appear to be of this type). Some are solid silver and convincingly toned -- perhaps these are pieces that are supplied or otherwise make their way to those who sell them as authentic ancient coins.

I've tried to contact Lipanoff or Todoroff to hear their side, but without success, using the following sources:

• Todoroff & Co., which indicates that Lipanoff and Todoroff have the "legal right" in Bulgaria to make reproductions of ancient coins
• Mr. Todoroff
• Dimitar Shakadanov, a seller from Bulgaria who auctioned large lots of Lipanoff pieces, as replicas, on eBay in 2002 and 2003

Lipanoff fakes have been sold as authentic coins on eBay, in significant quantity, primarily by one or more sellers from Germany. Lipanoff fakes have also been sold by an antiquities shop in Manhattan.

These Bulgarian School/Lipanoff fakes typically sell on eBay for $75 to $150, which is less than what they would sell for if authentic coins from a legitimate dealer but about four to eight times what they would sell for if sold as replicas or forgeries.

Forgeries sell as forgeries for about the same price as replicas, generally $10 to $25, unless they're an original Becker, other provenanced fake, or other old fake. When sellers sell fakes and indicate uncertainty about the authenticity of them, they create the impression in some buyers' minds that they may get a deal, and these fakes typically sell for somewhere between the going price of an authentic coin and a fake. eBay prohibits the sale of coins or other items this way, though it doesn't read complaints it receives from people when this happens and doesn't enforce its own rules. If a seller indicates uncertainty about a coin's authenticity, unless you're a specialist in that area, it's best to stay clear.