Can anyone give me some idea about these coins? The origin and value? The coins are in same position in face and reverse photos.
The two on the left are Greek, second to right is Sassanian. I'm not sure about authenticity, but I would be willing to bet that at least some of them are fake.
Have to support the previous speakers. Sorry about that. First two are definite cast fakes. Last three are all supposed to be Sassanian. Would need detailed photo's to be sure, but are also very likely modern copies.
Thank you for your time, Here are some detailed photos of the middle one and the last one on the left: Top photo: middle face second from top: last face 3rd: middle back last: last back
Looking at the soft contours and the fact that these two seem to be made from an identical die these indeed likely are also fake.
None of them look right to me, but pics can be deceiving. The first step in determining the authenticity of a coin is to measure it: weight and diameter.
Why the fact that these seem to be made from an identical die shows that they are fake? Are they not supposed to be made from same die?
Thank you for your post. In case of ancient coins like these are measurements such as weight or diameter good ways of testing authenticity?
It does not show that they are fake, but makes it more likely. Coins found from a hoard of ancients are usually drawn from general circulation. Only a limited number of coins is made from a single die. The total amount produced was very large over several years. So many different dies were used. The chance that you pick two coins coming from the same die, out of the general circulation and stored together, is very small. Therefore, die idential specimen are usually a bad sign. The exception are the very expensive ones of which we know that only a very limited amount was made.
It is not just the dies that match but the two have harder to explain similarities. Notice that the flans are not perfectly round and even. This is correct for ancients. Notice that both coins have extra metal outside the obverse at the same places and are close in at the same places. That is not good. Look at pits and flaws on the surface of the face. A couple of them are the same on both coins. A pit in a die would be raised on the coin but matching recessed flaws suggests the two were made from a common ancestor that had that flaw. These coins to not match perfectly in all these ways so I suspect that individuals were filed on the edges and beat up a bit so they would look different. There are many things to consider when evaluating a possible fake. If a coin fails one or two points we might be able to explain the problem away with some other answer that allows the coin to be real. That is not the case here. The holed Syracuse dekadrachm is about as poor quality fake as we get. The Alexander is not much better. The two Sasanians that match condemn each other but are too soft or mushy to be convincing even alone. The remaining Sasanian is a better job and I could be convinced that it should be seen in hand by someone who knows the series before saying 100% it is bad. There are some things I don't like about it but I could explain them away judging just from the photo. I still think it is a fake but it crosses into the group that needs to be seen in hand or at least a much better photo. It also suffers from the company it keeps. It appears to have damage on the reverse rear as if it once did time as a tie tack but had the pin removed. That might be the best use for it again.
"welcome Laura" => it is always nice to attract new members ... ... ummm, but it sounds as though the collection shown above contains some or maybe all fakes ... I hope that you learn a lot hangin' out with the gang on this forum ... Cheers
#3 and #5 are Ardashir, the founder of the Sassanid dynasty. #4 I believe is Peroz. I would agree with the others that the Ardashir coins are cast fakes. However, the Peroz could be authentic. Nothing in the style is telling me its fake, and it is one of the more common Sassanid coins. Of the five, I would want pics of #4 since its the only one I believe has a chance of being real.
For now i would say imitation of Varhan V. For one thing because i don't think the characters in front of the bust really spell out any name but are just lines.
Yeah, but Vahran V types, (the famous Bahram Gur), are very close to early Peroz types. So its a fine point. I assumed Peroz since they are 20 times more common than Vahran V. I did see the legends as well, but would need a closer pic to comment more.
I said Vahran mainly because of the crown shape and the absent sun and moon next to the flames of the fire altar. The common Peroz types usually have these. But just checked my facts, the early Peroz issues would also be a possibility. Name legend remains a problem. Better pictures would be nice. But i don't think we will get these after this time.
