Hello everyone! I just purchased this Philip II tetradrachm from a new dealer, and I think that it's real, but I wanted to double check with the experts. The following are things in its favor: - I purchased it from a vcoins dealer - I believe I've attributed it to this one. - I didn't find this copy on any of the known fakes - It's roughly in the size and weight ranges The following are things that give me concern: - The vcoins dealer is a smaller one and I couldn't find any discussions on them. I couldn't ask here before I bought the coin because I figured someone would've bought it. - The weight is below the standard, though I have found copies online in its range - It looks a little funky - I'm still a beginner, but the price seemed very reasonable. Lately Philip II lifetime tetras have gone for around 1k and up, but this one was well below that. Maybe it could be the condition and the fact that it's a common issue, but I'm a bit wary (especially now) when things are cheap. The below photos are mine. I'm still working on my photo setup. Size: 24mm Weight: 13.68g Amphipolis mint 357-348 BCE (the listing said Pella, but I believe it's Amphipolis) Thank you so much for your help!
Sure. N&N Collection. I admit that I gave them the benefit of the doubt since they have a Luxembourg address and I’m Luxembourgish.
I assume the deal was due to it being crystalized (is that horn silver?) and how it affected the obverse... though, it has a cool reptilian effect on the reverse. The weight doesn't bother me.
The funky looks is due to crystal. Never seen it that rough before, but it does look cool. Probably fragile though, so don’t drop it
I've never bought from them but I've never heard anything negative about them. I see their coins all the time -- they seem to have a lot of nice Roman Imperial coins at reasonable prices. I'm afraid I don't know enough to comment on the coin you bought, although I agree with others that it looks like there's been a lot of crytallization.
Thanks! The coin will go into my album this weekend, and since I now have some photos of it I'll likely never remove it. The coin looks more sparkly than reptilian in the hand (so probably crystallization), but I don't mind that since I'm mainly interested in the historical aspect.
Have you considered submitting it to PCGS or NGC? I’m not sure if you have enough money in the coin to make the grading & shipping fees with it but if you do it would be a good idea.
Nice coin. It’s crystallised, which (in my opinion) guarantees authenticity. see: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/what-is-the-cause-of-this-texture.355448/
It looks genuine to me, I suppose due to corrosion and cleaning of the coin the weight dropped a bit.
absolutely guenuine. The crystallization is due to the disappearance of the copper in the alloy and it takes hundreds of years. It also explains the low weight.
I explained it here just now as well: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/what-is-the-cause-of-this-texture.355448/#post-7461229 Crystallization stays an odd term but I guess it is normal in the coin world. Atoms at the boundaries of crystalline grains and bounderies will be in locally higher energy states. It is not just impurities such as copper, silver atoms at the grain bounderies can also easily react forming silveroxide and salts such as silverchloride, revealing the grain boundaries after diffusion or cleaning. Even relatively corrosive-resistant metals can have intergranular corrosion. Pretty Rhodian coin by the way.
