I have this large, nearly blank coin I would like some direction on. It is 29 mm X 2.8 mm and weighs 13.24 grams. I need an idea of where to start and if I should attempt to get it cleaned. And, thanks to @thomas mozzillo for pushing me in the right direction. Thanks in advance for any help.
We have some really great experts on Ancient coins here at Coin Talk. Ask @lordmarcovan; @Bing; @furryfrog02; @johnmilton; @Roman Collector; @Collect89; et al. My apologies to those I didn't mention as there's so many of you.
If you don't mind I'll add you to the list the next time I reference Ancient coin experts. The OP's photo looks familiar but I don't collect Ancients and I know you guys are really knowledgeable and can identify a coin from the tiniest details.
I'm certainly not deserving to be listed with the experts on ancients- not even remotely. I will say, however, that whatever that is looks mighty round to be ancient. How thick is it? Can we see a side-on view of the edge? While it could be ancient, it could also be a machine made (milled) coin only a few centuries old. Certainly it's old. I'm just not sure it's ancient.
At first glance it looked like the sphinx issues from Castulo but the second picture doesn't really look like a bust. A soak in distilled water and brushing with a toothbrush wouldn't hurt but I dunno how much more detail you're going to get out of it.
I'm no expert, just a guy who has been collecting for a few years. But thanks @thomas mozzillo for the compliment. That looks like a horse prancing or advancing right, but I can't make out the other side. It may be too far gone to make a positive ID.
At that size and weight, it could be a bronze drachm from 1st-2nd century A.D. Alexandria. It think it's too worn to discern anything else about it, though. There just isn't enough detail left, and cleaning is unlikely to uncover much, although it this point it can't hurt it.
I, like the others, appreciate the vote of confidence but I certainly am no expert. I see what @Bing sees - possibly a horse on one side. No idea what the other side is.
It weighs 13.24 and is 29 mm X 2.8 mm. I will dig it out and send an edge on. Thanks to all for assistance.
Quite right! And looking at that edge, it doesn't look like an Alexandrian drachm. I agree that the hindquarters look like a horse in stride, but the head doesn't look equine. Maybe lion? And in the other side, if you rotate so that 9 o'clock is at 12 o'clock, it too looks like a horse middle/rear.
Tantalizing. An inkblot test in metallic form. I've had sessions like this over a few coins I've dug while detecting. I once tentatively identified a French colonial copper I found on a Rev War-era site based on only the faintest whisper of a head in profile. It's fun and frustrating at the same time, if you know what i mean.
Yeah, I've been looking at that coin off and on all day. I know what I see, but am thinking it's just the "inkblot". I see a horse advancing right on the one side and a youth/woman next to a bull on the other. I've turned the coin several times, but always come back to that inkblot I see. Frustrating is not the word I've used all day long.
Any idea where I should go from here? Does anyone think it is an actual ancient? Should I try cleaning it? Should I drop it in a coin star and let someone else think about it? And, thanks for all the help.
I've been thinking about Spanish 8-maravedis coins from the early 19th century. They range around 28-30 mm but are a bit lighter- mostly around 10g or so. I think they're also not quite so thick. So that's not it, but I do still find myself thinking more in terms of an 18th or 19th century European milled copper coin rather than an ancient bronze. But that could of course be totally wrong.
I got it many years ago in a lot of uncleaned ancient. All the other coins in the lot were, unmistakably, ancient. But, the merchant could have dropped it in to make the weight if they were sold by weight. It seems like it could be OK to clean them.
I was wanting it to be Carthage, with a Horse on reverse. But, the obverse does not look like remnants of Tanit... CARTHAGE TriShekels Carthage AE Trishekel Tanit Horse 220-215 BCE 2nd Punic War 30mm 17.6g Lot 35 Carthage AE Trishekel Tanit Horse 220-215 BCE 2nd Punic War 30mm 19.7g Lot 36