I recently picked up this Hemidrachm in a lot of 40 greek coins from a reputable German auction house. Both silver and bronze coins were included, but upon opening the envelope, this coin immediately caught my attention. While I am definitely not an expert (not even close, I dabble in them just slightly more than a bit), I am familiar enough with Greek coinage to immediately recognise the type: a hemidrachm from Cherronesos. That also means I am familiar with the fact that these are more than frequently forged. No idea how to recognise these fakes however, hence this question. What do you guys think? Is it genuine? A couple of things strike me as interesting. Firstly, the double struck obverse, where you can clearly see the face of the first lion in a slightly different position. The second thing is the reverse test-cut. They appear quite often on this series apparently and there seems to be some wear over the edges, as if it would have circulated after being tested. Could this be faked? And what is that thing in the bottom right quadrant? The yellow/goldish toning looks a bit raised on the picture here, but it most definitely isn’t on the coin itself. 2.37 grams by the way . I’ve looked at the fake reports on Forvm, but don’t seem to be able to find a die- or style- match. Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance, Mika
Just looks like a double struck hemidrachm with a test cut. I'm certain it's real, nice find though! Always like double struck coins!
Neat looking coin. Is that copper peeking through the test cuts or just a shadow? Could it be a fourree? John
Interesting coin. The weight sounds good but the lack of relief between the sections of the incuse is a factor in assessing fakes. Not sure. This shows distinct relief between sections and it is a real one.
If you go to Forums page on these you will see that they always mention the alternating shallow and deep relief on the incuse: iehttp://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=1735&pos=0&sold=1 as here:GS76108. Silver hemidrachm, SNG Fitzwilliam 463, BMC Thrace -, McClean -, Weber -, Dewing -, SNG Cop -, SNG Fitzwilliam -, SNG Berry -, SNG Milan -, SNG Lockett-, SNG Dreer -, Choice VF, attractive style, nice toning, tight flan, light marks, weight 2.299 g, maximum diameter 13.0 mm, Cherronesos mint, c. 400 - 338 B.C.; obverselion forepart right, head turned back left, tongue protruding; reverse quadripartite incuse with alternating shallow and deeper sunken quarters; pellet in one sunken quarter, star of eight rays around a central pellet in the opposite sunken quarter, A in one of the raised quarters; scarce; SOLD
Barry Murphy calls the thing a "ladle(?)". See http://bpmurphy.ancients.info/chersonese/page1.htm for examples and references. I think this is a genuine coin or a Celtic contemporary imitation. It is double struck. I suspect the second blow wasn't that hard and the lion's face survived by being where the body was. Or perhaps where a die break was. I am more concerned with the wreath-looking thing on the obverse at 9 o'clock.
