I recieved this Island of Caria drachma a few weeks ago, I initially expected the coin to be a silver drachm but it turn out this is a silverplated bronze or plated billon After close inspection, there is some bronze or billon exposed where you can see the layer of silver over the base metal. I'm not entirely sure if this is just silver plated bronze or if the base material of the coin is actually Billon. It appears to be bronze with speclets of silvery material mixed in there. Here is the coin, Islands off Caria, Rhodes 205 BC - 190 BC Obv: Head of Helios in three-quarter view facing right. Rev: Rose blossom with shoot and bud on the right side; Ear of corn in the field on the left, magistrate's name ΓOPΓOΣ above. HGC 6 1453 Anyone have an idea?
That is what I suspect also. It just seems strange to me that the region at the time would be minting fourrée coins, I thought the Greek world was rich with silver. Another explanation could be due to the constant requiring of support and soldiers to the different parties during the Second Punic War and the Roman-Greco Wars resuming shortly after.
Plated Drachms of the Pseudo-Rhodian type are definitely know to exist. (I'm sure they're not "official" issues, but contemporary counterfeits, like the vast majority of plated coins/fourrées.) In fact, Ashton published at least one of this exact type (ΓOPΓOΣ or "GORGOS"). (I believe I've seen him catalog more examples in his articles on Pseudo-Rhodian hoards, but this is the only specific example I remember.) Ashton (2002, "Clubs") No. 8 (p. 73 & plate 16), in Athens Museum Coll., described as "Plated" (albeit with a relatively normal weight): R.H.J. ASHTON. "Clubs, Thunderbolts, Torches, Stars and Caducei: more Pseudo-Rhodian Drachms from Mainland Greece and the Islands." Numismatic Chronicle Vol. 162, pp. 59-78. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/42668203 I don't have any of the GORGOS type ones yet (or any plated Pseudo-Rhodian Drachms), but I have a few others, including one "plate coin" published in that same article: "ARISTOKRATES" AR Drachm: Ashton (2002, "Clubs") No. 79 (p. 62 & pl. 13). Ex 1992 Thessalonike Area Hoard (CH VIII, 426).
Excellent! I'm glad this plated type had already been documented. This seems like an uncommon ancient counterfeit, the weight matched the range for the silver drachma but this one is plated.
