Modern fakes are a nuisance for everybody, dealers and collectors alike, and can tarnish an otherwise totally enjoyable hobby. That's why we publish fakes when we come across them. And that's why we offer collectors a double-your-money-back guarantee of authenticity. Here is what Dr Philip de Jersey says about some spurious Trophy Type quarters that are currently circulating: "A number of near-identical trophy type quarter staters have appeared on the market in recent months. All are from the same pair of dies and I am sure that they are modern forgeries. They are unusually competent for modern fakes – they are clearly struck from dies, for example, rather than cast – but there are several problems with them. The quality and style of the engraving is good, although the upturned crescent above the trophy is far thinner than on any genuine specimen (compare for example BMC 437).

The dies (certainly the reverse, and the obverse as far as it is possible to tell) cannot be linked to any genuine example of this coinage. This in itself is not enough to condemn them as fakes, but in addition the coins have a highly uncharacteristic smoothness to the edge of the flan which is quite unlike any genuine specimen. Indeed nearly all of the fifty or so genuine coins have quite ragged flans, with the edge cracks – sometimes quite large – typical of struck Celtic coinage.

The three examples which I have been able to examine in hand, rather than simply from photographs, are in a very uniform yellowish gold; I would expect a rather more coppery colour if they were genuine. Finally, it is worth adding that none of these coins have any secure findspot; as far as I know, no detectorist has reported finding one, but they seem to have sprung fully-formed into the trade. I have no doubt that they are modern forgeries."

These 5 fakes have been shown to Chris Rudd over the past year and recorded with the Celtic Coin Index.