I was recently given as a gift a very tiny 7.5 mm or so bronze Athenian owl. It was already set in a silver bezel. I like it whether or not it is modern or old, but I would love to know. I can't quite figure out how to post a picture on here. I don't have a link to a picture because the picture is on my phone not on the web. If anyone can tell me how to post a picture, and if they would be willing to look at it if I can figure that out, I would be grateful.
You should be able to click the 'Upload a file' button on this thread. When I clicked the button, on an Android phone, I had to give Chrome permission to take pictures and record video. Then I had to tell it to complete the action using 'Files'. If you have a computer it can be handy to just share the picture with your own email address so that you get a copy on your computer.
I would call it modern and wearable. If ancient, I would hate to see it mounted so I can say, "Enjoy it."
thank you! what aspects of it show it to be modern? I love it either way but am very curious about it. i'd be grateful for whatever you can tell me!
My beliefs regarding this coin are based on having seen and handled only a few dozen obols of Athens. They come in several styles over the centuries but none of those styles remind me of this one. In addition to style, coins have a characteristic we call fabric. This is a set of characteristics caused by the way coins were struck. Your coin being mounted in a frame makes this hard to address but again the flan for the coin strikes me as too flat, too round and not like the coins in my experience. The photo makes the coin look silver but you say it is bronze. Athens made bronze coins but the ones I have seen were not easily confused with silver. I have no idea where it was made and do not make a study of fakes that would enable me to guess. I would encourage you to show the item to a few specialty dealers in ancient coins and see if any of them try to buy it from you.
Thank you! I am not a coin person at all. Have you any recommendations as to how one finds a reputable specialist dealer in coins? I am in the Boston area. Do you just Google it and hope that you get someone reputable? Also, I said it was bronze because I was told it was bronze, but that doesn't mean it is bronze. It could be silver for all I know. It is really teeny tiny. The only thing I know positively for sure about it is that it is about 7.5 millimeters across. I know that because I measured it myself. And that it has the owl on one side and Athena on the other. And the owl has the Olive Branch to its left and the Greek writing to its right. Well to my left and my right if I'm looking at it. And I know that it looks like something is wrong with Athena's nose, and that the owl looks like it has been rubbed down until it is almost imperceptible that it is an owl unless you look at it with a magnifying glass. I know from reading on another thread, which I could not find any more once I registered so that I could post, that in later Athens, after they were no longer a big Power, that tiny silver coins with the owl and Athena were made. But since I had been told this was bronze, I figured mine couldn't be one of those. But from all that I've been reading about fakes, which again I don't mind if mine is a fake because I really like it anyway, people don't seem to bother to fake the teensie ones. Most of the fakes that I read about were the bigger ones. Which of course does not mean that mine is not a modern replica. I just would love to be able to learn about it. If bringing it to a specialty dealer is the best way, then I would like to do that if I can find a way to find someone who is reputable and knowledgeable in both forgeries and in ancient Greek coins. If they offer to buy it from me, which I would refuse as it was a gift and I really like it, is that an indication that it might be real even if they are telling me it is fake? Because why would they want to buy a fake anyhow? Thank you so much again for all the information. Sorry if my questions are extremely basic. But like I said I am not a coin aficionado, I know nothing about coins at all except for what I have recently read about the various possibilities for this one. The reason the person gave this to me was because of the owl and Athena, not because it was a coin.
Are there ever any coin shows in your area? If so, bring it to one and look for a dealer who is selling mostly ancient coins and ask for an opinion. If it is a modern fake, it is unlikely that anyone will be able to tell you where it was manufactured, but Bulgaria and China are the two most likely possibilities.
Thank you so much! that is a great idea. I will look around for coin shows. Being it's boston i bet we have some.
I wish i could get some but these are as good as it gets with my phone. I will try the coin show idea and see what i find.
