A couple years ago I bought a bag of foreign coins and some were said to be ancient. I found one that looked "ancient." The coin is very worn out and I'm not sure if it's an authentic coin from ancient Greece or Rome or if it is just a fake. I am sending you four pictures of the coin two of which are up close shots of the back and front, the other two are shots from further away. I would appreciate it very much if anyone would be able to identify the coin. thanks
To be Frank...You're pics are horrid, you'll have to do a lot better, try using the macro setting on your cam.
No problem, I understand, I'm not the greatest photographer either....I have to buy expensive cams to even have a semi-focused pic,lol. Please do try to use your other Camera.........
If you are using an iPod, try focussing on the coin then touching the coin on the screen(assuming an iPod touch)
Looks Roman to me B-rad Based on what little can be discerned from your images, your coin looks like a Bronze coin from the Roman Empire. It would be helpful if your next pictures included a ruler or even a US quarter next to it in order to get an idea as to the size of the coin. The good news is that it looks like you may have enough detail left on the coin to accurately determine its origin and age. I doubt that its fake since there is little financial incentive to forge ancient bronze coins in such poor condition. That doesn't mean your coin is worthless either, just that it probably won't win any beauty contests. I can't wait to see your next pics of this coin. I love a good mystery.
Put a gun to my head and make me guess, I would guess its a Contantius II or a brother Fel Temp Raparatio issue of a Roman soldier dragging a captive from a hut. That is what I see while it looks like I am squinting with that picture. Then again, maybe its a rorschack(sp?) test and it tells me I think about coins too much! Chris
Everybody, thank you so much for all of your help, I still have not yet been able to id the coin. I am making another thread with the same topic because this one is malfunctioning.
B-rad, I removed your other thread on same subject. Please just keep all on one thread. If you have new photos, add to this thread, for continuity Thanks Jim
Looks like a third century coin from Nicaea. The emperor looks younger, so I'm thinking that it's Severus Alexander or Gordian III. Compare it to something like this. If I'm right, this was minted in Nicaea while it was under Roman control. During this period, while the empire did have a centralized coinage system, they still allowed many, many cities to mint coins specifically for local use. These are usually called Roman Provicial coins, though older sources often use Greek Imperial (since most of them were in Greek speaking areas and had Greek writing on them), and some academic sources call them Roman Civic coins. These coins were made in local denominations, and we often don't have much of an understanding of their worth relative to the centralized coinage. Nicaean coins with 3 standards on the reverse are probably the most common examples of this type of coinage.
omg that is extremely similar. Is the picture you sent me a coin with Gordian III on it? also is this coin the same? (refer to picture)
That picture is of Severus Alexander, actually. If you can make out much of the writing on the obverse, you can probably identify the emperor. Here's a site listing quite a few coins minted in Nicaea along with images that might help you with identification. Your coin has a radiate crown on it, so you may want to search for the term "radiate" to help narrow down the choices a bit.
