Alexander the Great Tetradrachm

Dear Friends,

I have no experience about ancient Greek coins yet, and I do not know what signs of originality should I look for on them, and what should be considered in case of any doubt.

What do you think about this coin? Does it seem to be original or could it be an excellent copy? Can you see any suspicious signs?

Thank you very much for any comments and help.
Best wishes,
G.

 

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Hi Gabor, welcome to CoinTalk .

I'm not an expert and it is generally not possible to say if a coin is authentic based only photos, although it is sometimes possible to say with certainty that a coin is a fake based solely on images. That said, I see nothing alarming about the coin you showed. It looks like a civic issue struck in Miletos several decades after the death of Alexander III.

If you're new to ancient coins you will find helpful information in this thread:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancient-coins-beginners’-faq-thread.324858/

 

The weight of the coin is appreciated to help you further. As @TIF said it is not possible to say something is authentic or not just by pictures, but I agree that there is nothing alarming about your coin (expect if the weight is completely off).

 

Thank you very much!
Its weight is 15,77 g.

 

That's worrisome news. It should be ~17 gm. Looking through archives I do see one which weighs less than 16 gm, sold by a reputable auction house. Maybe the weight consistency in these posthumous issues was more variable?

 

Your coin is from Miletos (210-190 B.C.) with reference: Price 2172
Considering that it is a late issue and your coin is slightly corroded, I would say 15.77g is an okay weight for your coin.


Example of another coin from the same type, also similar corrosion as your coin, with a weight of 15.75g.
Sold by Auktionshaus H. D. Rauch GmbH

EDIT: It is the same coin, I just realized seeing the bigger image below.

 

Same dies. Same strike. Same flan shape. Same flaws. If not the same coin then one or both are cast fakes.

 

Pavlos, look closely at the photos. That's not a similar coin, it's the same coin.

 

Yep you are right, I only had the small picture but it is clearly visible on the big one.
But worrisome, since it is sold by a reputable seller.

@Gabor Papp Where did you get the coin from?

 

Welcome Gabor!
How did you come across this coin?

 

Wow, it is the same coin. I have not bought it yet. Can you post a link for this auction of Auktionshaus H. D. Rauch GmbH?

 

That becomes like a riddle or an anecdote.

 

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1678868

 

https://www.sixbid.com/browse.html?auction=902&category=18673&lot=858465

It was unsold... hmm

Where did you see the coin for sale @Gabor Papp ?

 

How did you come across this coin?

 

I used to think that I was pretty good at spotting fakes, even when I had the coin in hand. I might have bought this coin, myself. Even from reputable sellers I have wound up with spurious coins. I try to learn as much as I can to avoid this but I no longer feel confident about my ability to do this. The current technology of counterfeiting ancients is so good as to be scary. I have to wonder what percentage of my collection is not what it was purported to be.

 

Ladies and gentlemen this is not only the same coin I think it is the same photograph that has been pulled apart and oversaturated to make it look like a different photo. This can be easily done with even cell phone software as I just did to reverse the process. See below.

OP photos


Here is the original photos from the OP that I stitched back together.

Here is the same image desaturated.


Here is the auction house photo posted by @Pavlos


This is absolutely absurd. Someone is clearly trying to prey on the tendency of our members to be helpful and kind. Enough is enough!

@Gabor Papp , where did you see this coin?

Edit to add: I jumped the gun with my assumption that the OP doctored the photos to fool the forum. See me eat crow here sorry all.

 

I thought you had already purchased this coin.

Who is currently selling this coin?

 

I find it weird that now he suddenly does not respond anymore and he doesn't tells us where he have seen the coin as well. I also start to get my doubt that he is actually testing our knowledge to see if we can spot that fake or not. Disgusting.

 

Maybe it's much later where he is. Hopefully we'll hear more from him within the day?