My neighbor (actually 2 houses down) bought & wears a pendant featuring a tetradrachm which has the Rhodian rose reverse. I've not been able to place this coin with the obverse design. Originally when he got the coin it was virtually mint state but after 10 years of wearing it, it's down to a low EXF or possibly vf-ef. Actually the price paid exceeds the max I've paid for any coin in my collection, although that may not be saying much as I'm just a budget conscious Ancients & Latin American post-Colonial collector. Any help in identifying it would be appreciated. Also is it genuine? I tend not to trust things as much which are bought from non Ancients specialists.
I've seen the type in drachm size but not larger. The style strikes me as a modern made for jewelry replica.
Yes actually I have one of the drachmas with the common obverse (I think it was Helios or something). These are pretty common. The coin my neighbor has [above] is tetradrachma size and around 16 - 17 gm silver. He's not a numistmatist and this is the only coin he bought. It cost him $15,000 around 2002. Thus it really should be genuine.
A tetradrachm of Rhodes should have a 3/4 facing head of Helios and a rose reverse that fills the circular flan rather than being enclosed in an incuse square (as is found with the drachms and smaller). If the coin were real and worth $15k, the damage from mount and wear would have reduced it to a fraction. I can't have sympathy for someone who destroys a real coin of this bracket for jewelry so it is fair to say the item is worth what someone wants it to be worth. A jeweler will sell his art for whatever he can get. I would suggest just leaving the wearer to his fantasy and not rocking the boat. After 12 years there is no return so we can only hope he gets $15k worth of enjoyment out of it in his remaining years. If he offers to sell it to you, pass and suggest he see what the selling jeweler will give for it.
Actually my thoughts too. He said the jewler who sold him the coin described it as "very rare" and thought it was Alexander. While not a Greek specialist, I do have one of these drachms bought for $100 20 years ago from CNG I think (see below). I've always admired the full tetradrachms but they've always been a little too expensive for me in high grade. While possible that my friend/ neighbor is exagerating on the price, I don't think so. He has a habit of buying very expensive items. I don't plan to update him on my suspicions of it's authenticity as that would do no good.
