I have a lot of old coins I know nothing about, was wondering if someone could enlighten me as too their origins and if they are real or fake or any way to tell if they are. Thanks for any information you can provide. The Piece up top I guess is a seal stamp, other than that i know nothing about these. Thanks for any enlightenment you can provide.
They mostly appear to be cast fakes, but the bottom right coin and top row center look like they might be worn Kushan coins. It's unusual to fake Kushan coins, and they're not as obviously fake as the others, but if it was included with these, I still might be somewhat suspicious. Edit: Where did you get this lot, anyway?
I bought them for dirt cheap from some afghans while I was deployed in Afghanistan, purchased throughout the year I was there from different people. I know they sold tons of fake silver dollars imported from china or wherever, but for a couple bucks I didnt mind picking these up, thought hey, you never know. =)
The one in the lower right looks like Kaniska, Kushan, and strikes me as probably genuine. They are very common and cheap and would be found in that region. I do not immediately recognize the other small bronze (middle under the button) but agree it could be OK as well. If by a 'couple bucks' you mean for the whole lot, you did OK since these are probably worth that much. The others are definite fakes. There is a market for the big silver looking Syracuse dekadrachm since people balk at paying $10,000 for real ones but this is not very good looking even as fake ones go.
If your interested in ancients theres plenty of trust worthy sites and affordable ancients vcoins.com and forumancientcoins.com
One more question then for you ebay savy people. Can I sell the fakes on ebay if I clearly state they are? Because you cant sell US currency unless its stamped copy or replica right?
I think the same rule applies to ancient, but plenty are listed as fake without copy on them, and as long as you dont deceive anyone and list them as fakes I dont think ebay minds. cant say for certain though
EBay has a reproductions section in which you should list the fakes but you also need to include all the key words like FAKE. I'd include the whole story that you bought the item from a kid in Afganistan and later found out that they were fakes. Major discussion groups like Forvm maintain a fake-sellers list of eBay names that no one should buy from. There is another thread on Coin Talk this week discussing that. You do not want to be on that list so list the items carefully. These fakes are not good enough that anyone who knows real coins would want them except as an exhibit in a 'Black Museum'. I have a few such items that I show to new collectors making the point that they should not buy such things. Some of my garbage is displayed on: http://dougsmith.ancients.info/fake.html
Thanks again for all the info, If I do list them I will make sure I list them correctly and even probably provide a link to this thread, Thanks again! Edit: You guys know the dates of the two possible reals? Ill be keeping these two and just wanted to know outa curiosity. Thanks!
Kanishka the Kushan king issued a large series of dieties on the reverse of his bronzes. His dates are not given the same in every source. I do not recognize yours but you may find a match if you search. If I am correct with the ID from the one side you show, the other side should be similar to mine below. The name of the god is at the right. Mine reads Mao. The link below lists choices. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanishka
Ahh yes it does look like that, although its been cut off on the top, heres the front and back of each coin. Thanks for the reference. Thanks again for all the info and help :smile
I feel like I should be able to name the other one but it escapes me. I continue to believe it is ancient but instead of Kushan, it may be one of the other Post Kushan civilizations (like the Kiderites) that copied their coin types but I really do not know.
Was doing some internet searching and found something I think resembles the bigger one on some coin website, tell me what you think. This was the description next to the coin: AE tetradrachm or unit, c. 128-150 CE Weight: 17.13 gm., Diam: 26-27 mm., Die axis: 1 o'clock Crowned, diademed king standing facing, holding spear and sacrificing at altar at left, Bactrian legend around: þAO KA ... NηþKI (King Kanishka) / Four-armed Oesho (Shiva?) standing facing, head turned to left, nimbate, holding various attributes, Bactrian legend right: OKþO, tamgha at left Göbl 781, MAC 3098 I personally dont understand most of that, but the closer i looked i realized the larger of the two does have 4 arms and is holding a spear similiar to this one.
That certainly seems to be it. The sample you found is heads and shoulders above the quality of 99% of the Kushan bronzes I've seen offered for sale. Thanks for the posting.
http://www.vcoins.com/ancient/coinindia/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=884 I'm really going out on a limb here and saying that the little one may be like the above BUT note that this seller is less than certain of his ID and I am less than certain that it is the same coin. On the other hand, this is closer than anything else I've seen so I'd be willing to guess that the correct answer is not too far from here. Also note that the average condition of these late Kushan coins is pretty awful so your coin is not all that bad in comparison if it is one of these. I suppose a really clear one would be worth a lot more but being too good looking would make us guess that the coin was a fake. I hope you decide to keep the at least the two real ones as mementos of how you came to get them. The others (fakes) would probably sell for more because people want to believe in fairies and will find someone they can sell them to as genuine. If you sell them as fakes we could see them here again a couple owners down the road from someone who thinks they got a deal.
Found it on http://www.coinindia.com/ they had alot of really nice quality examples. Thanks for the link to the other one. It certainly looks alot like it. I will definately be keeping these two coins as a token of my "journey" to the other side of the world. They were my two favorites ones anyway just because they looked so old. I may keep the others as well, I dont want someone to spend alot of money on a coin I passed along to a dishonest fellow. Thanks again for all the help, it was a pleasure learning a little. I just started collecting US coins but I may branch out a bit and try and learn a bit more about these old ones.
