I have two coins that I have been searching for with zero results. They are far apart in origins. The first is a Greek?, Roman? Byzantine? coin and the second is an Ancient Chinese coin? Does anyone have information on either?
The second is a Japanese Tempo Tsuho, which had the face value of 100 mon. Looks like these were manufactured from 1835-1870.
Gao; Wow was I off. I was looking in a whole different time frame and country of origin for it. Thanks for clearing that up. My guesses on the other coin are probably just as bad as well.
The top/first coin: Bar Kochba AD 133 Shekel From the second Jewish Revolt The obverse shows the Ark of the Covenant. (The coin pictured might be a reproduction) Here is a website with a picture of one: http://historicconnections.webs.com/ancientcoins.htm
It certainly doesn't surprise me if this is a fake. Probably was selling in a souvenir stand some where in Israel or in the Holy Land. You were both quick to pick up on it, what were the tell tale signs? Or was it like finding a 1974 Flowing Hair uncirculated dollar in MS67? Just to good to be true.
First off, shekels were silver. So its like finding a copper Flowing Hair dollar. Plus, I've seen this particular counterfeit a couple of times before.
It could be counterfeit. But its just as likely for it to be genuine. Since its not a rare or valuable coin, I'm happy to assume its real. Is there anything in particular bothering you about it? Or just a general phobia of Asian cast coins?
Compared to ones I have seen, the casting seemed a little rough. There are many reasons for something like this but when a coin appears in a post with an obvious fake, one wonders if it came from the same questionable source.
