I recently came across a beautiful ancient Shahis coin from what is today Afghanistan (attached). What do the experts think? Is this original or a replica? It sells for around $30 which is cheaper than what I’ve seen on vcoins or ma-shops. Also how can you tel if these type of coins are fake or genuine? Any advice is highly appreciated!
Looks OK to me, I think $30 is a bit much, they're pretty common. Samanta Deva (800 - 1000 A.D.) India, Medieval Shahis AR Jital O: Recumbent zebu left; star, pellet, and upside-down crescent to left. R: Horseman right, holding banner. Kabul Mint 3.3g 18mm Tye 14
VCoins and MA-Shops list coins still for sale. Meaning no one yet wants them at the offered price (plus shipping). If you search eBay for "shahi bull" and select Sold Listings you will find 71 examples selling for $0.99 to $25. Plus shipping. The quality of these varies greatly as does the price. I bought mine for $12.50 from Harlan Berk's junk box in 2001 and believe I got a great deal.
For the experts there is quite some variation in these, ranging from very common to very rare and expensive. The opening coin post is a nice, fairly common, representative of the series (it's a Tye#28 type). It should not cost you more than 15 dollars including shipping though. Below a scarcer type, issued under one of the Hindu Rajas of Delhi:
There are a lot of varieties including some that are downright rare. The one THCoins posted is nice because it is so off center that you can read the legends right of the horse. I have a page showing a couple dozen varieties that I had when I did the page. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/bh.html
