These coins where in a collection that my father in law has, that where given to him by an old friend of the family that passed away several years ago. Many of the coins in the collection of vaious types have a detailed description of them and some are worth quite a bit. These however where in a bag by themselves and I have no clue as to what type they are or where they are from. If anyone has any clues or suggestions or knows anything it would be greatly appreciated. The links below will take you to the pictures of the coins on photobucket: http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x247/cowbynit/Unknown Coins/DSC00192.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x247/cowbynit/Unknown Coins/DSC00191.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x247/cowbynit/Unknown Coins/DSC00189.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x247/cowbynit/Unknown Coins/DSC00188.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x247/cowbynit/Unknown Coins/DSC00185.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x247/cowbynit/Unknown Coins/DSC00184.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x247/cowbynit/Unknown Coins/DSC00183.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x247/cowbynit/Unknown Coins/DSC00181.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x247/cowbynit/Unknown Coins/DSC00179.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x247/cowbynit/Unknown Coins/DSC00178.jpg
The ones with an owl and the ones with letters of the Greek alphabet are definitely either Greek, or fantasies based on Greek coins. The others are probably the same, but I don't know enough about ancients to rule out Roman origins for some.
It looks something like the ancient Greek coin named Syracusan Dekadrachm. http://www.money.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=5649 The Owl coin is depicted on this site as a pendant coin. http://www.ancientassets.com/athenian-owl.html The other coin with the seated reverse looks something like ancient Milan coins that i've seen(Could be Greek also?). One ancient coin site stated that the majority of ancient coins are authenic(So make sure you get a number of opinions before declaring them fake).
The collection has 2 other coins that where dated around 90 -89 BC and where Roman, those where in there own packaging with there info on it. and where real coins. how would i know if these are real or copys?
I imagine that you find some ancient coin dealers to have them appraised. Either in your area, or take them to a large coin show. Online dealers may be able to tell from photos.
All appear to be cast fakes to me. Although it is hard to tell with the low quality pictures, I'm fairly sure. The Syracusan tetradrachm in particularly is a rare, valuable, and commonly faked coin. (That'd be the one with the woman on the front and the horse & chariot on the back). The style on the Athenian tetradrachm (the owl coin) also appears to be off. The one with the man on the front is a drachm of Alexander the Great and looks rather fuzzy (a common symptom of casting). The other one is also appears to be Syracusan, but I cannot make out the reverse.
I don't know anything about ancient coins, but suggest that you get multiple appraisals on them. From what i've read, many ancient originals frequently are cast off as fakes. But they easily can be replicas, and sometimes the shear rarity alone sort of points to a coin being a fake.
no this is what was written down on the coins pocket that it was in by the lady that used to own it and they had said that they asked a coin dealer/collector a few years ago and he said it as authentic. whether he was telling the truth or not i don't no but i checked the coins origin online and thats when it was supposedly from 90 to 89BC... i am far from an expert though...
None of the coins shown are Roman and none of them are from 90 or 89 BC. All of the coins you showed, if they were genuine, would be from either the 400's BC or the 300's BC, the youngest being the Alexander drachm. While, as earlier mentioned, the majority of ancient coins are genuine, the majority of rare pieces (such as your Syracusan piece) are not. I stand by my earlier opinion that they are cast fakes.
yeah the coins that where from 89-90Bc where not in the pictures... i only included the ones that i found loose in a bag that i was unsure of the origin... however, i will more than likely have to take those to someone to verify whether they are real or not. i have done alot of research online though and am pretty certain a few are fakes but others are unclear. thank you all for your help.
