A friend brought in this bronze weight he bought at an estate sale. He wondered if it was ancient. I told him I thought it was 20th c., but imitating ancient and medieval motifs. I could be wrong. One side shows a Crucifixion scene in the Byzantine tradition. The other shows a pastoral scene (pigs? sheep?) with the legend "BASIΛCA CEΛEYKOY." I have no Greek, but a form of the latter word seems to show up on provincial coinage such as this one from Markianopolis, so I assume it is some civic or regional designation: http://www.coinproject.com/coin_detail.php?coin=299993 Is BASIΛCA related to the Greek word for king? The object is heavy and is nearly square, at about 2.5 inches per side. Any thoughts on what this is?
Strange piece, it looks like a crudely cast copy of an Orthodox Icon (rough surface and patina are rather unusual) that may have been some sort of souvenir piece, so I agree with the age assessment. I'd assume that the words are in some sort of Cyrillic-alphabet language, maybe referencing St Basil? Hopefully you can get some Eastern European insight on the piece.
Victor Clark helped out with the identification of this item. Its motifs resemble a fantasy coin allegedly made by “gypsies” in the late 19th or early 20th centuries. (The term “gypsy” is offensive in some circles today; the preferred term is “Romani.”) This link << https://en.numista.com/forum/topic57315.html >> contains a photo and the following discussion: “The coin was made by gypsies during the period 1895-1905. With a great story that they had come up with they started spreading the word that an ancient coin exists of king βασιλιά Σελβύρου [Vasyly Selvrou] as seen on one side of the coin, and the other showed a pig with its babies, I will try to find the image of the back side. They were sold to naive victims who had heard of the story and thought that they were buying the real thing. They were usually made of brass and any cheap metal they had, they were not roma that made them but gypsies. At that period gypsies were usually the blacksmiths that made them. They came in different styles and sizes and of course have no value. The king they use Βασιλεως Σελβυρου is a misprint of Βασιλεως Σελευκου [Vasyleo Seleukou], they change the last three letters ΠΘΥ to ΚΟΥ. As said they come in many variations, and usually the variation has to do with how many baby pigs they could fit on the coin they made!! And in very rare ones they you can see an image of a pig shepherd.” Victor suggested that in the king’s depiction there may be some resemblance to rulers on Aksumite coins, but the Romani connection seems dispositive. So this paperweight or weight is probably of Romani origin, with some kind of fantasy allusion to a Seleucid King. It’s probably a product of the (early?) twentieth century. Its value seems mainly as a conversation piece. It is not ancient.
