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19th Jan 07

These are not uncommon unfortunately.

And sometimes they are deliberately broken into several fragments and disposed of on the market separately.

Fortunately, the engraving skill of the forgers is not good and their Latin and understanding of history is rather limited.

Here is one for sale on eBay

http://www.tiny.cc/ifD8w

300070628354

Complete Roman silver four page Legionary diploma

 

 



 

 

I'm not aware that there are any silver diplomas!

 

  From Jnr

19the Jan 07

.....and a bad copy too!

The authentic ones do include other details (not always)such as the wife's name.Also the names of witnesses.This one is wrong in style and containsquite a few errors that show it has been engraved bysomeone on the basis of real diplomas but who does'nt know latin.If it had been authentic it should be dated 133-134 AD.

PS. In the past months there has been a flood of fake diplomas and fake fragments coming to the art markets. Beware.

 

 

 

From Ittai

19th Jan 07

This is a bizarre fake of a diploma purporting to date from AD 133-4, Hadrian's reign. Diplomas are on bronze, not silver, and the letter forms here are very odd-looking; lastly, and decisively, the Latin is quite garbled: not merely minor 'typos' (which can happen), but written by someone who knew no Latin at all. Now, diplomas were written by engravers by the hundreds, and it is therefore quite impossible that a version so faulty would ever have been produced, or left the issuing office in Rome.

 

 

Note e. g. the bungled imperial titulature (which was of course totally standard and thus unlikely to go that much wrong): 'f(ilius)' left out after 'part(ichi)' in line 1, 'neros' in line 2: presumably garbled from 'Nerva' (under influence from the name of the emperor Nero who of course had no place here!) which was no part of Hadrian's titulature, but of Trajan's. At a time when Hadrian had been emperor for many years (reigned 117-38), it is impossible that his correct titulature - well known by then - could have been so unknown or so messed up.

 

 

I am amazed that forgers, when they go to the trouble of making these diplomas, do not copy a correct text (if too busy to learn Latin...), readily available online, but I have seen time and again that these gross textual errors reveal them immediately. 

 




 

 

Thanks!

Please draw my attention to any fake diplomas you come across on the internet. Or if you get one into your possession.