My father owned this coin since I can remember. After he died my mom tried researching it (this was pre-internet) the best she could. She brought it to a local coin dealer who told her it was a fake Greek coin that depicted Philip the Great. I did a little research myself recently and I think the dealer might have been right, but I want to make sure. Can anyone here tell me if this coin is an authentic ancient Greek coin? Also, real nor not, what is its value?
Wonder if one of the mods could scoot this over to the ancients section where those folks could give this a look?
Well.... The folks over in the ancients section are some of the smartest folks on the planet. But they tend to stay pretty tight knit over in their section. Maybe one will sneak over here and comment.
This is a known cast fake of a tetradrachm minted for the Macedonian king Philip II. Several examples of this fake are published here. Since your coin is a forgery, it is of no great value. It still is quite pretty, and if it reminds you of your parents, its immaterial value far exceeds whatever money it's worth anyways. If I were you, I'd just keep it for that sake.
Die Match to this known fake Philip II, Tetradrachm Obv:- Laureate head of Zeus right Rev:- King, wearing causia, riding horse pracing left; right hand raised; head of Helios beneath Fig 2c is the false coin - 16.82g !!! Older cast counterfets of the type. Published in the IAPN BOC Vol 22, No. 1 in 1997 - example 2c Image used with permission of IAPN Image/info Source (will need an account to view) https://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/displayimage.php?album=search&cat=0&pos=140
Bummer. It's a pretty good looking fake. Not like some of the crude tourist stuff. Ah, well. An attractive replica, anyway. I guess this means it is worth only a few bucks for novelty value, and nothing else, monetarily or numismatically. But the sentimental value, however, with it having belonged to your late father... My suggestion? Get a "floating frame" display stand- something like this- and display it as a keepsake. It would make a handsome display and family memento. *eBay item randomly selected as an example- I have no connection to the seller.
