Many of my coins have it. They are afraid that they’ll be found out to be fakes and phonies. Well, they aren’t fakes (I hope...), but many of them are phonies. I’ve come to realize I have a soft spot for imitations. I often discover a coin imitating another design and think “cool - I’ll grab this one, and eventual buy one of the originals to have a neat little pair.” And then I never buy the original. So here are my imposters - please pile on with your own! Indo-Roman Anonymous 5th C. A.D. AE Naimana Type, 13.12mm x 0.7 grams Obv.: Bust right, with dots representing legend Rev.: Cross within wreath Ref.: (Mitchiner #5171) Note: An imitation of Roman coinage Early Medieval - Carolingian Imitation Viking / East Francia?, 10th c. (900-920s) AR Denier, 20.92 mm x 0.9 grams Obv.: Blundered legends surrounding Degenerate CAROLVS monogram Rev.: Nonsense legend surrounding cross pattee. Perhaps imitating an issue of Curtisasonien Ref.: Moesgaard, ‘A Survey of Coin Production and Currency in Normandy,’ 99-109 Ex. Todd Hansen Collection, purchased from Superior Stamp and Coin Note: Imitating a GDR (Gratia Dei Rex) denier of Charles the Bald (but likely an immobilized issue of Charles the Simple) Early Medieval - Carolingian Normandy Anonymous (Viking/Rollo-William Longsword), 10th c. (920s) AR Denier, 16mm x 0.57 grams Obv.: Counterclockwise legend +DOVVICVSIMP around small cross Rev.: Clockwise legend XRISTIANA REL around temple Note: Imitation of a Louis the Pious denier HRE - Osnabrück Bishop Konrad I von Velber, r. 1227-1239 (1236-39) AR Pfenning, 17.71 mm x 1 gram Obv.: SANCT' PE[T']. Head of St. Peter facing holding key Rev.: +CON[RAD]VS EPC'. Voided short cross with quatrefoil in each angle Ref.: De Wit 1837 variety, (Kennepohl 51) Note: Imitation of Short Cross Sterling. Supposedly of Henry III Scandinavia (?) English Imitation, 11th c. AR Penny, 17.53 mm x 1.7 grams Obv.: Bust right, scepter right, imitating Æthelred II ‘Crux’ type Rev.: Short cross pattée, imitating Æthelred II Short Cross type Bulgaria Ivan Alexander, r. 1331-1371 (1340-1365) Trnovo mint, AR Groši, 19.63 mm x 1.1 grams Obv.: Christ standing in front of throne, both hands raised in benediction. IC - XC on either side of head. Monograms for Alexander and Tsar on either side of his body above the throne Rev.: Ivan Alexander left and son Michael Asen right wearing stemma & holding cross scepters. Long staff between topped with a banner. Monograms for ‘Alexander’ and ‘Tsar’ on either side at top, and monograms for ‘pious’ and ‘Michael’ in the fields Ref.: MSCB Bulgaria 9.1.2; De Wit 3905 (as Asen I) Ex. Harlan J. Berk Note: Type B or C clipped to fit the weight of Type D (but in surprisingly good condition, as if uncirculated). Imitative of a Venetian Grosso Italy - Rome Roman Senate, c. 12-13th C. AR Denier, 17.26 mm x 0.9 grams Obv.: [RO]M[A CAPVT] MV[N]. Legend beginning at 3hr. Comb center, S above with sun to left and moon to right Rev.: [SENATVS . P.O.R.]. Cross patee, 1st q. moon, 2nd q. pellet, 3rd q. star, 4th q. V Ref.: Roberts 4733 Variety Note: Imitative of Champagne Norman Italy - Apulia temp. Roger Borsa, r. 1085-1111 AE Follis, 19.08 mm x 2.2 grams Obv.: Bust of Christ facing, cross behind, wearing pallium and Colvin , raising right hand in benediction, Gospels in left, crescent above, IC - XC flanking Rev.: Cross with globule and two pellets at each extremity, large crescent below, four globules around each surrounded by pellets Note: Imitative of a Byzantine Anonymous Follis, Class J. Found in Southern Italy. It cannot be earlier than 1081, but my attribution to Roger Borsa in Apulia is due to coins of a similar weight and size from this time and region Zangid of Syria Nur al-Din Mahmud, r. 541-569 AH (1146-1174) Halab (Aleppo) Mint, AE Fals, 24.91 mm x 4.4 grams Obv.: Two Byzantine style figures holding labarum between, name and titles of Nur al-Din Mahmud, and blundered Greek legends in field Rev.: Christ standing facing, holding gospels, titles of Nur al-Din Mahmud, and blundered Greek legends in field Ref.: Album 1850 (S/S.73. M.1132.) Note: Imitative of a Byzantine issue of Constantine X (SBCV 1853)
- Scordisci, Sirmium "tetradrachm" from around 100BC, emulating a Macedonian blueprint, likely Philip II AR23mm billon 7.33g Dembski 1113 or similar - Local radiate, Gaul or Britain, with a cross reverse, possibly 5th century(?) after late 3rd century radiates AE15mm 2.13g unrecorded - "Spanish maiorina" from around 400, copying the maiorinae of Magnus Maximus that were particularly appreciated in pre-Visigothic Hispania AE19x18mm 2.72g similar to this - Local maiorina of Cherson, ca. 426/437, after the Eastern maiorinae of the 380s AE21x18mm 4.16g RIC X 460 for Theodosius II - Guillaume Talvas de Belleme as Count of Ponthieu, denier parisis copying the royal parisis of Philippe II Augustus, ca. 1191-1220 AR21mm 0.55g Boudeau 1928, Poey d'Avant #6703 from Tresor de Gisors (1970) - Latin Empire of Constantinople, early period possibly the 1210s, emulating an earlier trachy of Manuel Komnenos AE25x22 3g mid module trachy Type B - Morea, Epirus, Neopatras, Thracia or Albania, copper imitation from possibly the 1320s, after the denier tournois of Frankish Greece AE18mm 0.80g unrecorded - Gothia/Theodoro-Mangup or Genoese interests in the Crimea, after the follaro/pul of Jani Beg of the Golden Horde, ca. late 14th century AE22x21mm 2.84g unrecorded, from Gothia/Theodoro
A Celtic imitation of a Roman Republican denarius: Geto-Dacian (?) Imitation Roman Republic Denarius L. Papius (c. 79 B.C.) Head of Juno Sospita right, wearing goat's skin; symbol behind (upside-down cauldron?) / Gryphon springing right; symbol below (knife?). Sim. Crawford 384/1 (for symbols, see Plate LXVI 105); Papia 1. (4.37 grams / 18 mm) Here's the Roman Republican template: Roman Republic Denarius L. Papius (79 B.C.) Rome Mint Trade Guild: Carpenters Head of Juno Sospita right, wearing goat's skin; chisel behind / L PAPI in ex. Gryphon springing right; hammer below. Crawford 384/1, type 30; Sydenham 773; Papia 1. (3.60 grams / 17 mm)
Celtic Tribes. Illyria, Dyrrhachion imitation. Circa 1st century BC. AR Drachm (19mm, 3.41g). Obv: Cow standing right with suckling calf; garbled legend above. Rev: Double stellate pattern; garbled legend around. Ref: Prototype cf. Hoover HGC 3, 40.
This is my favorite barbaric imitation, of Constans. Prototype: Imitation: Although the second example looks similar to examples from Arles, the strange lettering and "odd" artistic features makes me believe this is barbaric. @dougsmit first brought it up that it wasn't likely an official product. I love it. The large flan and full beading is awesome.
Here's an imitation of a Licinius II IOVI CONSERVATIORI CAESS coin (RIC 11) from Cyzicus that I like. Mint mark SMK as the original was marked.
This is not an imitation of Jani Beg, but an issue of Tulabuga, struck at Krim. It may in fact be a conflated design, showing the known tamgha of Tulabuga placed between the heads of an [Anatolian/Turkic/Greek/Theodoro] double-headed eagle. The Tamgha can occur either inverted or bifurcation-downward.
Thank you for your note. That one comes from a collector from Crimea and was presented as a "Gothia Theodoro follis" and the seller added this note: "As far as I know this coin was in the collection of one collector who specialised (sic) in Crimean coins. I don't have any literature about this issues, but this coin has one main main argument: the unique coat of arms of the eagle side of the coin. There is badly seen though in between heads of eagle one typical for the Crimean Goths coat of arms curve ribbon [...]"" As it was cheap enough I bought it as a curiosity as I know nothing on the coinage of the Golden Horde. Could you point me to a resource site to find out more about these coppers of Tulabuga and perhaps see another spec and a reference? Thanks!
