Yah sorry, but I'm never sure ... oh, but I do love it when it's easy to see the cool lion headdress (this example has a very sweet obverse, showing a nicely styled headdress) ... oh, and if it is real, then it is probably a "lifetime" example, for the dude's legs are apart, rather than crossed underneath his throne Hey Kentucky, I sure hope that the example is real ... good luck
Looks okay to me although I didn't look through the extensive fake listings on Forvm and Forgery Network. Might be Price 2948, Alexander III AR tetradrachm. Uncertain Mint called "Side (?)" by Price, ca 325-320 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lionskin headdress / BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔΡOY, Zeus seated left, holding eagle on extended arm, legs uncrossed, DI monogram beneath throne. (Copied from Wildwinds. Note that "Price" is the author of a reference book and 2948 is the catalog number in that reference, not the cost of the coin )
What does the coin weigh? Does the seller offer a lifetime guarantee of authenticity? Because Alex III tets are some of the most counterfeited issues among ancients, and some of the forgeries are quite convincing. Going cheap is for LRB's, in my opinion, not Alex tets. Buy from a trusted dealer with a lifetime guarantee.
'Experts' don't 'expertise' ancient coins based on seeing a photo. Perhaps we amateurs should not either. Sometimes, usually even, we can state with little doubt that a coin is fake but saying a coin is not one of the obvious, low end, tourist fakes or a duplicate of a documented fake it is not even close to saying a coin is genuine. I just returned a fake to a dealer who is both honest and knowledgeable but the thing fooled us both until we found duplicates that brought it into doubt. I had bad feelings about the coin due to it being on the extreme of proper weight but coins of some issues do vary a lot so I was able to talk myself out of bad feelings about the coin. Bad choice. We are at the point in some coins that are so frequently faked because of their high demand that we really are taking a serious chance whenever we buy an example without holding it in hand and applying decades of experience but even then we still are fooled on occasion. Beginners who buy from people who have less than excellent skills or less than perfect ethics are going to get fooled on occasion. The decision we all must make is whether this fact will change the way we approach the hobby or whether the risk is part of our hobby. I see it as a lot like sport parachuting. Packing your own parachute is part of the hobby after you get to a certain point in experience. Before that, you need to trust the person who packed it; after that point, at least you know who to blame. You don't post a photo online and ask us to sense more than the most obvious problems.
26.83 mm (with what, a caliper?) and 17.05 g. With my undoubtedly lacking detection skills, asking you-guys (and gals, TIF and others) is better than tossing a coin (yuk, yuk, I made a funny). Doug, you always have the best down-to-earth advice and I know this is a popular coin (not as popular as that Owl that keeps biting me though) and that I am taking a chance. Thanks all!!!
Gotta tell the story. This coin and another Alexander (not a lifetime issue and not as nice) were ending at exactly the same time. Someone bid on the other coin. With 30 seconds to go, I made a bid on the other coin, switched to this one and put in a bid. The other bidder re-bid on the other Alexander and came in second to me on the lifetime (I hope) issue.
Nice job Cointucky. I was waiting to see what you were going to come up with. Good choice. Always feels good when you pull the trigger.
