What happened to Gitbud Numismatik?

I doubt any of these early electrum types under discussion are casts.

 

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So you are saying they were struck like the originals? As I recall, I believe my coin tested at 92% gold, so how would a contemporary forger make any profit? Or do you think it is not contemporary to the original - about 600BC?

 

Your coin is definitely and without any doubts a modern forgery.
Sorry - but sometimes a collector has to accept the inevitable.
I agree with Nicholas Molinari - these forgeries discussed are no casts. They are either badly struck or pressed fakes.

 

As I said I can't tell from the photo. If it is pressed or struck, with such a deep punch there should be some kind of cracks or splits -even tiny ones. Since it's a blank I think it would be more convenient to directly pour the medal in the mould and not create blanks to be pressed. Also 2g of gold at the time you bought it costed less than 100$ so they did have a considerable profit.

 

Hi.
I'm no expert on forgeries. But shouldn't a 92% gold content in an electrum coin in itself raise eyebrows? Usually, the gold content in electrum coins is about 45-55%.

 

I believe the earlier coins before 500BC were from 70-90% gold. After 500BC they went down to 45-55%. I think I was told that in another post.

 

They “look” fake to me but struck or pressed.

 

I know that these types are generally considered modern forgeries because of the varying weights and gold content, but it seems to me that the forgers could have done a better job without too much trouble.

So my suggestion is that these suspect coins may actually be ancient imitative types, struck somewhere on the fringes of the Ionic world.

Ross G.

 

Interesting theory. I’d love to know the opinions of WFB and Wartenberg. I believe they are compiling a corpus of early electrum.

 

Yes, I would certainly welcome their input.

 

As far as I know the book has been published:
Alfen, P: White Gold: Studies in Early Electrum Coinage
ISBN-13 : 978-0897223492
Published by the ANS

It is not cheap

 

Thanks again, Dwarf. Here it is.

White Gold: Studies in Early Electrum Coinage



Edited by Peter van Alfen and Ute Wartenberg
with Wolfgang Fischer-Bossert, Haim Gitler, Koray Konuk, and Catharine C. Lorber

List price: $150 plus shipping & handling
Member price: $105 plus shipping & handling
ISBN 978-0-89722-349-2
Hardcover, x + 707 text pages, b/w and color figures, charts, maps, and tables

Definitely a topic I am interested in, but not sure about the price.

 

Yes, I have it and it is quite good, but that is a collection of essays by various scholars. There is an additional major study of electrum going on at Oxford and I know a corpus is under construction as well.

 

It is worth double that! I highly recommend it. The member price is insanely low.

 

It's also not light! It's quite the tome, but a great resource.

 

I haven’t been here in many months. If someone can post a pic of the coin that started this thread I will be happy to explain why something was deemed to be a forgery.

Barry Murphy

 

Here you go!

 

https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=sale&sid=1904
Lot 61

 

I sure would like to get Barry Murphy's take on why this coin is not genuine.

 

Sorry, I also should have asked you for the invoice number, just in case I did an XFR test to analyze the metal content.