Hello, one seller offers me these 7 tetradrachms of Alexander III, weights of 17 grams. I do not know enough about Greek coins, so help me if they are genuine and if they are what would be a good choice. 150eur 170eur 150eur 130 eur 120eur 80eur 90eur Thanks
they look fine. last four has even test cuts (fakes can also have but still...) If you are in doubt you can also ask for the photos of the edges.
I think photos of the edges are necessary. They may look fine, but for a few seconds I felt that I don't really like what I see. Please Take this from an absolutely no-expert.
My advice is if you are willing to spend 170 euro/$200 then spend a little more and buy one with better detail.
I am far from an expert, however I've done a lot of casting. A couple of them just look more like cast metal than struck. Especially the last one with the dimples under the seat.
It might be above the budget but still something to appreciate, the best specimen that I have ever seen.
I'm not sure how I missed this thread, but some how I did. While I agree with the others on coins 2-7, the first coin looks to be an early Seleucid from Laodicea ad Mare (modern day Latakia). Its certainly from Seleukos I thru Antiochos II Theos so circa 300 BC to 246 BC. I don't have access to my copy of Houghton & Lorber so this is just a guess, but I think it is probably a posthumous issue in the name of Seleukos I struck under Antiochos II Theos based on the control marks and style of bust. If the seller is willing to come down from 150eur it would be a decent pick-up as Laodicea ad Mare is a lot less common than some other Seleucid mints.
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=alexander tetradrachms I found this very informative about identifying Lifetime tets.
Thank you TheRed, this seller usually accepted my offers for coins, which is 15% lower than the original price. So the price of this tetradrachm would be around 125 eur, would it be a good price-quality ratio?
Well, I was close, but guessed the wrong Antiochos. With the Seleucids all it takes is the name Antiochos and you cover around 1/3 of their rulers. Have you ever read Houghton's article on the mint of Laodiciea ad Mare? I've never seen it available and am wondering where it can be found. @gogili1977 I would really want to see it in hand, if possible. The coin has a nice flan, but I would want to see how much detail is visible in person vs the photo. Only going on the photos, I would ask for a lower price. If the dealer wasnt willing to come down lower than 125eur I would probably buy it since I collect Seleucid tets and it is a less common mint of theirs. If you don't care about those factors and just want an Alexander III tet than I would say save your money and pass on the coin.