I am a silver stacker and a cent guy. Somehow, I acquired this over the years. I always thought it was a replica, a fake. I am thinning out my closet so I don't leave for my wife to deal with. Thank you in advance. ps 7.7 grams
Strictly speaking not a fake or a replica, as it is not imitating any reverse type. It is a modern rendition of a portrait type, which I believe was issued as part of a set. It is modern, and has little to no commercial value.
Among the giveaways that this is not an ancient coin is the lower case d on the reverse. Lower case letters did not appear in the Latin alphabet until around 800.
It looks like something that would be included in a educational set of some kind. It would not fool anyone who knows anything about the real coins of the era.
Neither Trajan nor a restoration issue would use a Christian reckoning of time. d. C. is Italian dopo Cristo. Like A.D. It’s some kind of modern Italian token.
If you look at reply #8 in this link about these IMPERATORE medals: http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,882.0.html "A big THUMBS UP to Westair , they answered my email! - these were commissioned by Westair and made in Italy for mainly the UK market, around 30 years ago." The reply was written in 2013, making these closer to forty than thirty years old now. Most of Westair's stuff has "WRL" stamped on it, but not this series, it seems. ATB, Aidan.
This "coin" is on a ebay-like website for some years now. Clearly from the same educational set. The seller appears to be a major expert in ancient coinage, as he in convinced it is genuine. Price - 700 EUR. Now being serious, these tokens/medals could not fool an ancients collector. And they were not meant to deceive. But some people, like the "Imperatore Nerone" owner, think otherwise.
