Ancient pewter Roman coin? Trojan?

Hello again, Any advice on identification would be much appreciated. This coin is quite heavy and has the approx. diameter of a US nickel. Thanks, R

 

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I don't know much (okay, anything) about them, but it appears to be a silver stater of Tarsos, Cilicia.

I'll look for matching examples. Not sure if the writing is a date or name of the satrap. The facing portrait may be Arethusa.

Edited: Something like these coins

http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=600348


http://wildwinds.com/coins/greece/cilicia/tarsos/SNGLev_070.txt


Edited again
The writing on this coin from CNG's archives seems to match your coin and it is indeed Pharnabazos, satrap of Cilicia. Whether yours is authentic or not I don't know, but it looks OK to me. There are various forgery archives which can be checked.

http://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=222667


CILICIA, Tarsos. Pharnabazos. Persian military commander, 380-374/3 BC. AR Stater (22mm, 10.38 g, 12h). Struck circa 380-379 BC. Head of Arethusa facing slightly left, hair in ampyx, wearing single-pendant earrings and necklace with pendants; dolphin to lower left / Bearded head left, wearing crested helmet with raised earflap and floral motif, drapery around neck; FRNBZW in Aramaic to right. Casabonne series 3; Moysey Issue 3, 4a = McClean 5917 (same dies); SNG France –; SNG Levante 70 = SNG von Aulock 5917. Near EF, dark iridescent toning, off center strike.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharnabazus_II

 

Doesn't look right too me. Is it a fouree? Looks fake.

 

Yeah, the more I look at the the less I like it. The transition from devices to flan looks soft and indistinct and there is odd pitting. Can't say for sure, of course.

coin0709, can you give us a weight and diameter?

 

Thanks all. I dont have it handy right now, but will weigh it tonight. It is quite heavy (ie, definitely not silver). and is about the size of a US quarter or maybe a bit smaller.

 

The silver looks like it's peeling off below Arethusa's bust.

 

I'll pile on. It doesn't look right to me either.

 

From those pics, I can't tell whether the rust-colored parts of the coin are deposits or underlying core. I strongly suspect it's a fourée, but I can't say for certain.

Btw, the alloy would not be pewter. Although pewter was used in the ancient world, I don't know of any instance of any predominantly-tin alloy used for coinage - even counterfeit coinage. A fourée would have a core of bronze with perhaps a certain amount of lead, plated by silver.

 

I should not have said it 'definitely' is not silver. it may be silver, but perhaps not pure. Damn thing is really thick and heavy.

 

If it is a fourée, the weight could be accounted for by the lead in the core. Often counterfeiters would add some lead to the bronze core to make the coin feel heavier, since bronze is lighter than silver.

 

Okay, weight is 10.5 grams and diameter is 22 mm. I checked out the areas with oxidation, and they look to me more on the surface. Any other methods of authentication?

 

[shrug] The weight and diameter are good. I just don't have enough experience to make the call, plus it's hard to make that judgement without seeing the coin firsthand.

 

Man, I love those examples that you found, TIF (sweet coin-type) ..... I hope it ends-up being authentic (good luck, brother)

 

It looks modern/cast to me :/

 

I've tested it, and it is silver. Nothing about it makes me think it is cast. I've offered it for sale on fee-Bay.