I'd love some help on this one please?....It's 28mm/15.27 grams. The Mad looking portrait really appeals! But I can't seem to find anything similar?.. I've checked all the fake lists and have come up blank!..Unless of course I've missed something? I assume it's Hadrian, Radiate and slightly draped the portrait looking very Eastern!? The obverse legend has a retrograde 'G' in AVGVSTVS...The reverse legend has the 'AE' of FORTVAE REDVCI back to front?....The VN and CI being oddly placed close together... Any thoughts would be really appreciated...
Without any research, my gut instinct says modern reproduction. The fabric in that image doesn't feel ancient at all. But possibly an ancient unofficial issue...
This must be the same coin offered on VCoins: https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/ma...ci__rare_barbarous_issue/1363304/Default.aspx
The seller calls it barbarous but I'm skeptical. The lettering looks too modern. I'd love for someone like @curtislclay to chime in.
I’ll give a gut impression. Ancient but not Rome. Portrait quite distinct from Rome as are the letters. So eastern, imitative or something else. I would be ok to buy if I was interested. However, I wouldn’t be interested in something like this unless I knew more about what I was looking at (I don’t as it is outside my interest area). @Okidoki must be around here somewhere? I’ll add that upon looking again the Latin seems to be off. I read FORTUNE… rather than FORTUNAE?!
....Yes completely agree but there's something about it???????...I can't see the point of faking something like this unless you cause this kind of thread, as I cannot find anything similar? The lettering seems ok to me but obviously innacurate.
I love the grumpy looking character. But something doesn't seem right with either the style, even barbaric, and the ridge of the "strike" is strange. I'm surprised it's on v coins. But also glad. If you bought it you can return it if my suspicions are right.
You don't have to convince me - I'm very attracted to imitative and unofficial issues. The coin is indeed very alluring. But I would want the opinion of more experienced eyes before I bought it.
...John I'm not trying to convince you!....I'm just saying the overall fabric of the coin doesn't seem modern to me but I'm not experienced enough to judge it's authentisity?....It could well be a modern fake but there's something that tells me it isn't!.........Why produce a legend that isn't compatible?
Also, the seller says it has a dark green patina, so the image is not color-correct. It's probably better not make any judgment on the fabric from that image.
John the seller lives 45 mins up the road from me...I'll go and see it in person. He has dealt with the larger Bronzes for many years and this one has him baffled!?
@Ryro... I haven't bought it but it was a coin that pulled my eye and wanted to get some unbiased feedback..
Why doesn’t he show the green to prospective buyers? Something funny here….for a supposedly competent vcoins dealer?
OK.....The last time I bought from him was the middle of last year....In answer to your question I don't know!.....I can always ask for different photos or just go up and see it in person,,,probably the best bet....But that really wasn't the question...Do you know of a coin that looks similar?
There are some very fine dealers on vcoins that wouldn't be able to take a good photo of a coin if you held a gun to their head, lol.
Why produce a legend that isn't compatible? To make people think it's a barbarous imitation? Hadrian's nose, forehead and ear look nothing like any portrait of Hadrian I've ever seen, whether Imperial or Provincial. I am skeptical.
If you look closely, there appears to be part of an "A" barely visible at around 11 o'clock on the reverse. The coin does have character, legit or not!
Old or new, I would not pay the price. That makes my opinion on it being old without value. Coins should belong to people who value them and this seller ranks it higher than I do. In his defense, green patinas often defeat photographers who set their color balance on Auto rather than setting it manually. Some colors are harder to capture correctly. There are a couple really big dealers that can not do green with regularity.