Old Egyptian/Mesopotamian Gold coin?

Any thoughts on this little guy? Egyptian? Any help would be much appreciated. The reverse appears to have a deer or antelope. Clearly this piece has been filed down at some point to fit into some jewelry. It is currently the diameter of a US silver 3 cent piece. Thanks!

 

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Are you sure it's gold? The portrait has the look of Claudius II or Quintillus, but the reverse looks barbaric.

 

Yes, its definitely gold. Had it checked out to be sure.

 

I am with Bing on this one. I believe it might be a gold plated antoninuous. Look at the reverse at 4 o clock. Looks like the gold plating is missing there.

 

Wow, you are 100% correct. I did not see that, and just looked at it under my 60x loop and see the plating now. Wow you guys are amazing. What a resource you all are! Thanks so much.

 

Good eye medman. I thought that might be a shadow.

 

I've seen a couple of gold-plated antoniniani on the market in the last few months. The question is always whether the plating is ancient or recent. I'm inclined to think most of it belongs to the category of recent jewelry-making, and by "recent" I mean within the last 200 years.

There are a few sellers on eBay now that offer gold-plated LRB culls. Why anyone should want such a thing is beyond my comprehension, but then I collect Nabataeans so I shouldn't go pointing fingers.

 

Ain't that the truth

 

Ancient coins were not corroded 'back then' and the gold is over the corrosion. Edge grinding on this was done before the gold was applied making this something produced for the jewelry market.

 

ok yeah...they were going to put it in a charm or necklace thingy

 

Might be just the pics, but it look quite thick for a late [gold plated and grinded :scratch:] Claudius II antoninianus. Would be curious to see it up close and personnal... from the pics, doesn't look like much :rollling:

 

The rim is reworked too (to fit for jewelry)...

 

Okay, after further inspection and retesting, this coin is actually 22K solid gold, not plated silver. I forgot to mention, this coin (and several others I now have) had a note with it, that it was purchased from the daughter of a Syrian royal (1-2 years ago) in the DC area. So the likelihood that this is a copy are slightly less I would think. Did the Romans issue gold Marcus Antoninus of this variety?

 

The image above showing where the coin was scratched/tested for gold content looks dark (indicative of silver), but it was actually the poor lighting and flash. My mistake. Any thoughts?

 

I'm no expert on aurei, but I'm 99.99% certain that's not an aureus. How would you know if it was solid gold without drilling a hole into it anyway?

 

After scratching it 2x and dropping 22K acid on the front it tested positive. Yes...the acid left a residue, and yes I am kicking myself.

 

Just an opinion: If the coin is 22K gold, then it is not ancient. It could be a modern cast made from a mold fashioned from an impression of a Claudius II antoninianus but the surfaces don't look right for solid gold of that era. I'm not rereading this whole thread to be sure but I doubt anyone suggested the coin was gold plated silver. The face on the item looks like a ruler who did not issue silver coins. He issued silver washed copper coins with minor amounts of silver. If the item is solid, I strongly suspect it was made for the jewelry use from the start and is probably worth melt in this condition. If the diagnosis of 22k was based on a simple surface test (touchstone), there is no reason to believe the core is also gold. In any event, this now appears to be an off topic discussion until someone can establish that the round is or ever was a coin.

 

This type does NOT exist in gold... Whatever paper u might have from royal who-knows-who, it i's a gold plated antoninianus, fitted to be used in modern jewelry ! These are easy to find on eBay for $1 or 2 each... Don't get offended... It's not a treasure, nor is it massive gold (if it is, it's totally modern fabric then, so fake all over the line !)

 

Points well-taken. Thanks.

 

I dont doubt you, but I just want to be absolutely sure its not legit before I sell it for a couple bucks (if at all). Is it not possible that this is a 'unique' piece that was butchered by someone not knowing what they had?