I bought this coin maybe 20 years ago in a fairly reputable coin shop in London and then promptly forgot about it. I've since "rediscovered" it again at the back of a drawer and become curious. After a couple of hours on the internet I've been unable to work out what it is other than that it's probably Greek but beyond that I'm stumped. Anybody out there able to help?
I have not seen this Pantikapaion in silver but it is commonly seen in gold. Can anyone post a link to one? I'd show it to a real dealer in ancients before assuming it is genuine.
I will look, but I know I have seen that obverse in both silver and copper. The reverse I simply do not remember. Edit: I cannot disprove Doug, (should have known). While the obverse similar to this is shown in silver or bronze, the reverse shown I view as a match to "griffin standing right, corn below", which MacDonald in "An Introduction to the History and Coinage of the Kingdom of the Bosporus" only lists as an AU entry. I am not sure how definitive this reference is, but is the most specific I own. I do believe the most definitive references on these are Russian, and I do not own those volumes unfortunately. I have BMC, Copenhagen, and Von Aulock, but I believe this book is the best resource for these. I can look in the others if people think I should.
SNG BM Black Sea is best for the Greek-era coinage of the Black Sea region. But I don't think this one is real.
Probably a fake. www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/thumbnails.php?album=10&page=21 Building on the information presented here (thanks a lot!) I've tracked down this website. Check about 3/4 down the page on the left and there's one that looks exactly like mine. From this I'm leaning towards it not being real. Oh well, it's definitely made of silver, I did a density test on it, so at least it has melt value.... Saying that though it does have the look of a worn coin so I hold out hope that someone here can prove me wrong!
