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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;zumbly, post: 2133784, member: 57495&quot;]There was a point made in a recent thread about having coins in our collections whose authenticity we may never be certain of.&nbsp; Here&#039;s one of mine, a rare stater from Argos Amphilochikon that was part of a mixed lot I bought earlier this year.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]406673[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>AKARNANIA, Argos Amphilochikon</b></p><p>Circa 350 - 270 BC</p><p>AR Stater</p><p>7.15g, 21.1mm</p><p>Calciati pg. 524, 6 (same dies).</p><p>O: Pegasos with pointed wing flying right, beneath dog lying right, AP. </p><p>R: Head of Athena left; AM above helmet; behind, tubula and A.</p><p><br /></p><p>When I weighed it at 7.15g, I was concerned about how light it was and wrote to the seller seeking some advice on its authenticity.&nbsp; I accepted the reply that this was not out of line given the corrosion, smoothing and possible crystallization.</p><p><br /></p><p>I then posted it on Forvm (with the purpose of getting some attribution help rather than authentication confirmation), where a member wrote back saying he was &quot;98%&quot; certain it was a cast fake.&nbsp; He pointed to the low weight (at least 1g off the average for this standard), what looked like a casting seam around the edge, and a &quot;molding defect&quot; around Athena&#039;s helmet.&nbsp; Even as there were a few other members who chimed in and agreed with him - one pointing to the apparent lack of the typical concavity on the reverse - there were others who were not so certain that it was a fake.</p><p><br /></p><p>I had originally pegged this as a 50-50 coin, but after the discussion on Forvm I think it&#039;s now more of a 70-30 coin... leaning towards it being authentic.&nbsp; I&#039;m comfortable with never being 100% on this coin... it&#039;s a interesting type in its own right, and more so for the discussion on authenticity that it has provoked.&nbsp; With that in mind, I&#039;m posting it here because I thought it would be fun and educational if anyone wanted to share their opinions.&nbsp; I&#039;ll post later the thoughts of those on the Forvm thread who thought it might not be a fake and why.</p><p><br /></p><p>Edge shots:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]406671[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]406672[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Additional note of curiosity :</b> nobody has been able to say for certain what a tubula (the symbol on the reverse) is.&nbsp; Embrace the unknown, I suppose![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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