I am attempting to get information on this Alexander the Great coin. It weighs about 20 grams with the silver cage around it. It is made of 94% silver, 5% gold and 1% something else. It measures about 31mm (size of a half dollar) and fairly thick. Is it real or a restrike?
If it is the size of a half dollar and only weighs 20 grams, I don't think it is real, although it looks good. Wait for someone more knowledgeable.
You sound like my wife. lol I do not own this coin yet. I have been given the task of identifying it, then allowed first dibs if I want it. So I need to figure out a fair price.
Nice coin. Judging by what I've seen on the market the last few years I'd say the coin is worth maybe $250 - $300. Usually, coins that are or have been mounted as jewelry are worth less, because the coin's edge and/or surfaces often have to be altered somewhat to make it fit.
@5150rider707 Are you interesting in buying the coin, for your collection? If you buy the coin, will you keep the coin within the jewelry bezel? Or will you remove the coin from the jewelry bezel? Often, I've seen that, an ancient coin, that is within a jewelry bezel, will cost more at retail, than if the coin is not within a jewelry bezel, but it seems like it would be a smaller market, because it seems like, most ancient coin collectors would prefer an example that is not within a jewelry bezel, unless they wanted to wear it as jewelry. Also, is the jewelry bezel bent? If the coin were removed from the jewelry bezel, then, as @The Meat man said, the edge of the coin, and perhaps the obverse and reverse of the coin near the edge, have probably been damaged, in the process of installing the coin within the jewelry bezel, which would make the coin have less value on the market, than if the coin had never been in the jewelry bezel. I'm not an expert in the prices of Alexander The Great tetradrachms, even though I own 1, which I bought in 2019, when prices were probably lower. If the coin had never been in a jewelry bezel, and if the coin is authentic (I'm not expert enough to know), then the coin would have been a pretty nice example, with nice portrait style, and would perhaps sell retail at auction or at Vcoins.com for $300 to $600, which is my wild guess. And, a dealer would pay less than that, because the dealer has to sell the coin, to make a profit. You can search Vcoins.com for keywords Alexander tetradrachm, to compare retail prices. And, as @JohnnyC said, you can search CNG Research for keywords Alexander tetradrachm, for past CNG auction retail prices. Here's my Alexander The Great tetradrachm, which I bought from a very reputable dealer in 2019 for $349 including $4 for shipping. It is a posthumous issue. Alexander III The Great. Posthumous Issue. AR Tetradrachm. Minted 280 BC to 200 BC. Odessos Mint. Price 1163. Maximum Diameter 28.0 mm. Weight 16.74 grams. Obverse : Heracles In Lion Skin. Reverse : Zeus On Throne. Minted in Odessos, which is now called "Varna" in Bulgaria, on the western coast of the Black Sea.
While yes there is the bezel around it, it is not connected to the coin. There is going to be a little rubbing under the brackets, but nothing too bad. It appears that the bezel was designed around the coin, so not altering has taken place.