I was told that this is a gold coin from the times of the romans, can anybody confirm this or tell me exactly what the coin is? Other side will be on next post.
instead of going through all the work of inserting the pic into a word file and THEN posting the word doc... why not just post the picture, you might get more viewers? I dont know ancients much at all, ok not at all... but hopefully somone will be aorund who does.
Pitcures to big The pictures I want to attatch are larger that 250KB. Is there a way to reduce their size? I am not an expert on computers, so I was just copying and pasting until I got a picture under 250KB. Appreciate any tips you can give me, because it is kind of a pain doing it the way I am.
something is "off" about your coin. i hope i'm wrong, but... at first glance, it looks as though it's byzantine-esque in style. the problem is, the coin looks far too detailed and fresh. but since i can't read the legends, get a close look at the flan, etc., i withhold judgement until i can see better pics. may i ask how you came by your coin? v.
Other side of the coin Maybe this will give a better idea as to the identity of the coin. This coin belongs to a friend who asked if I could find the value. He said that he had picked it up while he was in the middle east somewhere.
It is similar to this Byzantine gold histamenon of Romanus III. http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sb/sb1819.html However, these coins are commonly faked and can be difficult to authenticate. (ESPECIALLY from pictures like yours.) Buying this coin in the middle east is like buying a trade dollar in China - sure, it circulated there and could be real, but the odds are its faked. Try to get better pictures or scans if you can.
I believe that you are right. I found one in the list of pictures on that sight that matches it exactly. What means are used for determining authenticity? Is it by flaws in the design or the size or weight? Appreciate the help.
ahoss79 .. i tried to take the word file and export the image for resizing in both MS Paint for simplicity and then in Photoshop. Neither time was the image very clear. I might suggest posting the image in CoinTalks gallery and posting the link to that in this thread. Or, MS Paint is install on all computers, and resizing images there is pretty easy. Sorry i couldn't be of more help.
heck, your coin also reminds me of venetian gold from the middle ages. weight is useful, if you have a decent scale (grams, tenths of grams even better). from a picture like the one you've given us, though, it's just a recognition factor -- once you've seen enough of the real deal, and enough fakes, you start to pick up on things even if you can't put your finger on it. in this instance, your coin has a sort of matte effect, which doesn't strike me as right. also, the flan is nice and regular, and the coin is nicely detailed -- a bit too nice for something picked up at some souk in iraq. but i'm prepared to retract everything, if you can provide a better pic. as for images, try to take a nice pic using the macro setting on your digital camera, on a nice, light backgroun (nix the quarter, since we've got relative size down) and then resize using this tool: http://www.shrinkpictures.com/ it may not be the best, but it's worked for me before. v.
OK, I finally figured out how to resize the pictures. I am will follow up this with another of the other side of the coin. As far as the weight of the coin, I don't have a scale that is very accurate for that small of stuff, but I have it as about 4 1/2 grams. For these pictures I did use the macro setting, I believe it was probably because I pasted it on a word doc that it wasn't very good quality. I guess let me know if these other pictures are not very good quality. I am new at chat room stuff so be patient with me. Appreciate all the replies, you all have been very helpful.
Messed up and sent the same picture. I'm not sure if it is my computer or my connection, but I can't get in to delete this picture and add the correct one.
yes, but I thought that if I got the originals posted that they might be a little better quality than the pasted ones you worked with, therefore allowing better scrutiny. Are they still not good enough?
I thought the other one's were good enough, you just needed to know how to enlarge them. My opinion hasn't changed - still think it's a modern reproduction.
agreed -- she's fake. you could always post over on ancients.info for a second opinion; they're a sharp bunch. if your friend is so inclined, he could also take the coin to a dealer (or better yet, a coin show) for an in-person inspection. v.
Fake to me, as well. Be sure that if you take it to a dealer, you take it to a dealer who specializes in ancient coins.
well I hate to be the messanger of bad news, but I'll let him know or tell him to get it looked at. I appreciate all the input from you all.
