I got a gorgon!

Hi All

I am so so sooo new to ancients but have been wanting a Gorgon coin since I found out they were actually a "thing" here in this forum. I really wanted one with good snake hair, and preferably fangs... then I got the chance!

Picked this up on ebay - No clue if it was a good price or not (68$) but the cool factor was so worth it to me I dont really care about that! So excited to own this!

 

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That's intense!

 

That face...uh.....I'm going to have nightmares

 

Nice coin and you got it for a fair price.

 

Im going to crack it out of the case as it being graded was sort of a side effect of the auction - It came in a wood case with documentation from PCS Coin (?)

 

that would be a personal choice..

 

Looks like a very nice example @TylerH. Here is my only one in my collection which I got cheap compared to yours. I paid $67:

 

Great choice!

Ancients are awesome.

John

 

That is not just any Gorgon... it is particularly creepy!!!
Congrats on a great find!!!

 

These forums have been overrun with Gorgons of late, so much so that I worry about openig the wrong thread and being turned to stone!

 

Not to hijack a thread, but I got these and am not sure of their authenticity

 

Looks fine. I have pictures of the fake diobols at http://snible.org/coins/black_sea_hoard.html . Yours doesn't look like those.

 

Thanks @Ed Snible I'll check out the link.

 

Drachm 5.-4.Jh. v.Chr. Thrace - Danubian Region Apollonia Pontika very fine

 

I'm turning to stone as I type this...great coins alllll......Aarghhh!

 

This thread seems to ignore the fact there wee two separate fake groups with similar reverses. The link Ed gave included the line below:
"This page only discusses diobols. In 1999 a huge hoard of fake Apollonia Pontika drachms appeared, which has been discussed by Reid Goldsborough."

When researching these coins, start by deciding which denomination you have. You can not always trust every seller to separate the drachms and the diobols correctly. Diobols tend to weigh more or less 1g. Drachms weigh more or less 3g.

I stopped buying anything from this region simply because I had a representative and did not feel like I wanted to put in the effort to stay ahead of the fakers. You never know what they will make next.

 

So, at 1.32 g mine are closer to diobols rather than drachms?

 

The face on this one is epic!!!!!

 

Is that link broken for anyone else?

Sure makes me wonder too. I got my example from a German dealer thru Ma-shops who assume is trustworthy, but if the fakers can fool the dealers what hope do the rest of us have - particularly purchasing online..

 

Until Reid's web page is repaired you can find a copy at https://web.archive.org/web/20180423012536/http://medusacoins.reidgold.com:80/newyork.html

I still see Bulgarian fakes of Apollonia Pontika appearing in the auctions of mid-level dealers. Some of them are quite deceptive. Some dealers have developed a good eye for the ancient style of left and right-facing portraits but are still deceived by facing head coins struck from modern dies.

I haven't seen any published fakes on this thread.