Hi, I had a couple questions, does this coin look authentic? and I was told this coin is S#1655 in Sear's Greek Coins And Their Values, Volume I, does anyone have that book? It weighs 3.2 g Thanks
I don't see anything about the coin that screams fake. Weight is ok, style and fabric appear ok, I don't see any telltale signs of casting. There's some porosity on the reverse, but that's common on ancient coins. I have Sear somewhere, but the better attribution is CNG BM Black Sea 160-1.
I'm with JA on this one. Looks good to me. However, be aware these are highly faked and it's most difficult to say much from images
Welcome, Tracerm16 ... good luck with your coin mystery (I admit that it has the correct look to it, plus it is quite off-center which is not too good for your coin's worth, but it ups your chances of it being authentic) ... I hope that it ends-up being determined a winner Cheers
Thanks everyone, I know these are highly faked, but I just love how these look! I only buy from sellers with 100% feedback, so hopefully that helps some
So what is the best thing I can look for to tell if it is authentic? someone told me to look for crystallization with a loop on the side of the coin?
T16 (I like that) ... Yah, when I first purchased the following two "Black Sea Coast" coins, I started hearing many rumours that both of these coin-types were heavily faked, so I sent both of them to David Sear's California ranch for authentication ... ... thankfully they both passed with flying-colours ... but unfortunately, it cost me just as much to get them authenticated as it did to purchase them!! ... so, probably "not" money well spent, eh? => "but" perhaps it was, for I can now look at both of them and breathe a sigh of relief! ... but hopefully you'll get enough positive coin-praise to give you a sweet feeling about your new addition (very cool type ... yours is nicer than mine) Apollonia Pontica, Thrace, AR Diobol "Black Sea Coast" circa 400-350 BC Diameter: 11.29 mm Weight: 1.24 grams Obverse: laureate head of Apollo facing Reverse: anchor upwards, A in field to left, crayfish to right References: SNG Copenhagen 459; Sear (Greek Coins & Their I) 1657; BMC (Mysia) p. 9, 15 and pl. ii 8 - misattributed to Apollonia ad Rhyndacum Mesembria, Thrace, AR Diobol "Black Sea Coast" late 5th-4th century, BC Diameter: 10.14 mm Weight: 1.14 grams Obverse: crested Corinthian helmet facing Reverse: M-E-T-A in the four quarters of a radiate wheel Reference: cf.Karayotov (The Coinage of Mesambria) 26-36 and pl. II.
Thanks Stevex6, I like your helmet coin!! I want one, but I'm hesitant to buy one because of the fakes. I just don't know enough about spotting fake coins, but I'm trying to learn all that I can.
In the case of coins like this one, that get extensively faked, I would rely on a reputable dealer, like CNG, or insist that the coin comes validated by NGC or David Sear. I just don't have the time to compare a potential acquisition against the databases of known forgeries for die matches. Here a three pages worth at Forgery Network. Some are obvious fakes, some less so. There are just as many recorded at FORVM. CNG frequently offers these types in their store and auctions, for example. That's where I would buy one, just to save time. A CNG stamp of approval is as good as it gets, in my opinion. And btw, a 100% approval rating on eBay means exactly zero when it comes to fakes.
Thanks for the info, I guess I need to stop buying on ebay, I just checked out the CNG website and I like it!! lots of coins on there
The people more knowledgeable than I am have already weighed in, but here's my 2c: I've checked the S#1655 and your coin is a bit different: what looks like hair coming from under the diadem(?) on your coin isn't there on S#1655, or mine: Just a variation probably? PS. I really need to work on my lighting: the coin is actually silver despite the color in the photos.
fomovore => hey, I found both of our examples in Sear's Greek Coins and their Values, Volume I Yours looks to be #1655 => Gorgoneion on the reverse My example is listed as #1657 => Head of Apollo facing ... ... both of our examples have anchors with crayfish
Looking through the known forgeries on both Dr. Ilya Prokopov's Fake Ancient Coin Reports and Forgery Network, I did not find anything close to your coin. This doesn't mean anything other than it's not on those lists (which is a good thing).
You're right, but I was actually referring to the OP's coin. He mentioned S#1655, which is like mine, but a bit different from his.
oh yah, sorry => I lost track of who was who (you're both brand new faces!!) Welcome again, to both of you!!
