ome claim that counterfeits began appearing shortly after the first Lydian Lion coins were issued. If we were to use a 12-inch ruler to represent the history of coinage from its beginning to 2023, the existence of professional coin authentication services would be found somewhere after the 11-31/32-inch mark on the ruler! Before then, the task of detecting counterfeit coins was left up to the merchants, banks, money lenders and knowledgeable collectors. As coin collecting evolved from a pastime of the rich, the numbers of professional dealers must have increased exponentially to serve
