I was offered a coin over the weekend at a good price, but I know so little about the issue other than they are commonly faked. I could not find an exact match anywhere so I decided to pass on it. But out of curiosity, I would like to know what each of you think about this coin. Authentic? Value? Rarity? Thrace , Scarse Silver Drachma Apollonia Pontika Ca. 450 BC Obv. Four Dolphins separated by 4 baffles , each Baffle consists of 3 Stripes Rev. Anchor , Crayfish It's extremely very rare ancient coin with sharp details struck on a good flan of Silver Weight : 3.90 grams Size : Approximately 13.5 mm
Looks like an archaic coin of Apollonia. I guess the description is from the seller? The coin is not "extremely very rare", but rare compared to the later issues from Apolonia with the gorgoneion on the obverse. Weight is perfectly right for the issue, style looks fine, but ofcourse I am not an expert regarding authenticity. I do have to say the coin is preserved very well compared to similar examples that are sold, but that ofcourse does not automatically has to mean it is an indicator it is a fake, but does make it a bit more suspicious. https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=6764860 https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=6113817
I thought it was the gorgon issues that were commonly faked. I haven't read this issue was that faked, though it doesn't mean this particular one wasn't. I don't see anything myself.
I see your dilemma. The coin looks good but any coin from this region of the world is automatically suspect in my eye to the point I only buy if dealing with a trusted and knowledgeable dealer - not a flea market - since I KNOW I do not know enough to play in that particular pool without a lifeguard. I like the coin enough that I might risk buying it but I would not be able to sell it to a collector and guarantee its authenticity. If I tired of the coin I would only sell it to a dealer 'old enough to know better' and would always wonder about the coin. If you sent it to NGC would it come back as 'ineligible type'? If not, would I be curious enough to pay $50 to find out what they thought? Do I have enough coins already in this category? This time of year we are forced to make decisions like "Do I need more dessert?" and "Should I go out in public?". Do I need a coin with drama? I have enough drama in my life right now. "Your mileage may differ."
If you could have the silver content tested, it might help. I bought five coins in a lot that were supposed to be silver. The weights were all in the correct range, but a couple of them looked a little thicker than the others. I took them to my local coin shop which has an x-ray machine and had the five checked. Sure enough, the two that were a little thicker were under 70% silver whereas the other three were over 95%. The weight of the fake coins was brought up by making the coins thicker.
James, It would be good to know what price the coin was offered to you for purchase ? I'm not qualified to offer a sound opinion on the coins authenticity, however, on gut feeling I think you made the right decision . The dolphins are engraved deep enough into the die to escape wear, yet they appear weak on the coin, otherwise I sense nothing suspicious about the coin.
The offer was for $160 shipped. The price seemed fine to me, but too many questions w/o answers made me pass on this example.
Exactly this coins is and was for sale (100% identical pictures), by NFS artefacts-ltd this is a new alias of " ancient-artifacts777" who is on nfs listin forvm with his old alias ancient-artifacts777 https://www.ebay.de/itm/383569852985 https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=18502.0 It seems like he is offering now some Bulgarian fakes, including this fake from modern hand cut dies. In the past he had only Beirut forgeries. A very small number of his coins mainly Bronze is possibly authentic, although some of his Bronze coins are of course fake, too. This Paulina is a bda Bulgarian fake https://www.ebay.de/itm/Scarce-Larg...828144?hash=item595dfb1ff0:g:zUUAAOSwXS5fdOin https://www.etsy.com/de/listing/178..._search_query=paulina&ref=shop_items_search_2 His trajan is a Bulgarian cast fake https://www.ebay.de/itm/Scarce-Impo...260972?hash=item595b9f60ac:g:axEAAOSwW8VfniwJ http://forgerynetwork.com/asset.aspx?id=jF6SqZWSjss= http://forgerynetwork.com/asset.aspx?id=FH5I4jgsa5w= http://forgerynetwork.com/asset.aspx?id=tBQbhKhvIvM= http://forgerynetwork.com/asset.aspx?id=9J0kaZsMTcM= He is offering so many fakes I can not post all , would be very time consuming Here is another one of these fakes, not sure if it as an orginal pressed one or a cast fake of a fake https://www.ebay.de/itm/174500718804
@Bing, without having gotten past more than the first few other replies, I'm getting some of where your worries are coming from. The granularity of the surfaces and edges puts me in Cast Land. Other people here might easily have a more benign, chemical explanation for how that could have happened. ...Just saying, I'm reading you, loud and clear.
