I know I said my first purchases were the Kamarina and Cherronesos, but in actuality I purchased this coin at a flea market a few weeks prior. It was the piece that sparked my initial interest in ancients. However I soon had a strong feeling that this coin was a fake. The patina looks as if it was painted on because of the shiny undercoating. I paid $12 for the coin. I keep the coin in my wallet as a good luck charm now and a reminder of my first mistake. Regardless, what is this coin a forgery of? Any pertinent info would be appreciated. Thanks all!!!
Looks like Constantine I, could be his dad, I dont have a huge love for this area. Either way it looks ok. If its shiny, it could have renaissance wax on it.
It's a very attractive follis of Constantine I, Arles mint. As Mat suggesting, the glossiness may be due to a waxing.
There is nothing about the look of the coin that suggests a forgery - what is the weight and diameter?
I agree with the above. Nathan, Tesorillo's website is very for identifying late Roman bronzes. Here is the page for your type of coin (by type of reverse): http://www.tesorillo.com/aes/125/125i.htm
Totally within tolerance. The coin is authentic in my opinion. You occasionally come across ancient coins that have been waxed for the sake of protection - it does not indicate a forgery. I would not use that coin as a pocket piece - it's a nice example of the type.
In fact, RIC lists this coin as Rarity 4, or 3. The reason I'm not certain which, is because I can't tell from the obverse pic whether the bust is laureate and cuirassed, or laureate, draped, and cuirassed. At any rate, this depiction of Sol standing right and facing left is not common with your particular combination of field and mint marks.
That's a very tricky question when it comes to ancients, because rarity seldom correlates to value. I own pieces that are extremely rare, and one that's unique, but I didn't spend anywhere near the kind of money US collectors spend on their rarities. Personally, I would expect to sell that coin around $30 or $40, but if someone was assembling an Arles mint set, it might be worth more to them.
Ok thanks...when I bought the coin, it was in a PVC flip which I removed it from that had a list price of $42. The gentleman at the flea market sold it to me for $12. I assumed it was a fake all along but I will place it in a Mylar flip now and take much better care of it. Thanks for the advice guys
Hey nathan => could you do us all a wee favour and preface your thread-titles with "Ancient" (it merely makes it a bit easier to distinguish between the Ancient threads and World Coin threads) ... Thanks, brother => oh, and that's a very cool and very thrifty new pick-up (congrats!!)
Values and prices (not always the same thing) are so hard to pin down. The coin suffers from a small flan cutting into much of the legends making me think the $42 number was ridiculous but the reverse figure is very nicely struck (many of these are flatly struck with lost detail) making me think $12 was a steal. Being polished is a downside but having a smooth color is good. I'd call it an RIC 100 page 242 (late 316 AD). Rarity variations like the difference between this one and a coin missing the drapery make little difference in price since so few people are trying to get all the many variations. The general reverse is common even if the specific type and lettering details are less so. Again, how many people want all the workshop variations, all the field letter variations or care whether Sol is facing right with head left of facing forward with head left (or are these the same just reported differently in older books??). The price would depend on who was buying it. I hold the lost letters against a coin so I'd think $12 was quite fair. Some on less bothered by that would see that good reverse figure and go $20. I see no reason to doubt the coin.
The small flan is not uncommon for this coin type. The base metal is also very good and typical of many of this type for some reason. Therefore, without wax or varnish a good buff is sometimes all that is needed to give an almost translucent, waxed appearance. I have a group, which once cleaned will shine without the use of any wax/varnish simply due to the fact the surface is not at all porous. I would think that $15-$20 is about right for this coin. They are abundant and often there is little competition even for the better and (rarer?) examples.
