We received these coins as part of a large collection and believe one of these might be fake. I cannot seem to identify what these are, how old they are and where they came from? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
The one with the dolphins is really more Greek looking. Put it on the ancients forum along with diameter and weight.
The God Save the King coin is actually a 1902 Medal for the Coronation of the new British King which was King Edward VII. So its not actually a coin but still is a rare medal with real value. I hope that helps !
I found a few other copies of the King Edward coronation medal online, and I came across this in The British Trade Journal, Volume 40, Page 28:
A quick google search found this for the other coin: Silver decadrachm from Syracuse, Sicily, c. 400 BCE. O: Quadriga with Nike crowning a charioteer. R: Head of Arethousa with dolphins.
For the ancient, it should be around 43.33g, 43.42g, 42.71g, 41.86g, 42.40g, 42.37g, 41.58g in weight (weights of several others I found info on with various amounts of wear). One was listed as 34mm diameter. It is silver composition.
Syracusan dekadrachms are some of the costliest ancient coins around. The tetradrachms are quite expensive as well. For that reason alone, be very, very wary of that piece you have. Where's the other side? You need to put that one on the scale as well, and provide the diameter in millimeters.
The style of the Greek coin looks reasonably good (Syracuse dekadrachm, unsigned but in the style of the artist/engraver Kimon) but there is a casting seam (or it could be the soldered seam of an electrotype). You can see it in the lower part of the reverse: There are other problems as well. On the plus side, it is a very attractive fake. ***Please note the tag line under my avatar ***
Thank you all! I am skeptical of the authenticity but it is a beautiful coin. The 'God Save the King' coin is historically interesting!
I thought that as well. Definitely fake, but a high-quality, attractive fake, which could have some modest value in its own right - as a counterfeit or electrotype. There are people who collect those. And for all I know, this could be an older electrotype? I will add that I overlooked the seam @TIF picked up on, but I was on a small screen when I first looked at this post, and not really paying attention. I did suspect something like that, though. The coin had that "way too good to be true" appearance. I will also add that I overlooked the reverse picture entirely, as it was posted as a thumbnail and not full size like the others. (Again, I was on a small screen.)
