FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board
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Howdy! This vintage cowgirl who lves on a horse farm bought earrings made with ancient coins with a horse and rider. They appear to be silver coins and are about 1.5 inches in diameter. The coins are not absolutely round.
I'm partial to all things horsey so I am interested to know if these are real coins or replicas. I was told they were Roman coins. They picture a rider with his right arm raised. The rider seems to be larger than he should be to be riding that horse because the riders legs hang down lower than the horse's knees.
I cannot make out the lettering on the coins as I have recently had cataract surgery (I told you I was vintage). I'm hoping someone with good eyes and knowlege of coins can help me out. I would like to know if the coin is Roman and who the person is riding the horse. These earrings are a nice little treasure for me to enjoy so any infomation would be most welcome.
Many thanks.
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Typo in my message above. The coins are 1/2 " not 1.5.
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Mary,
Your two coins appear to be identical with each other, therefore modern replicas; no two genuine ancient coins of the same type are ever exactly identical.
You show the back sides only; apparently copied from the aureus type of Licinius I (Roman emperor 308-324 AD) shown below, with reverse
GLORIA EXE - RCITI AVGG NN, The Glory of the Army of our Two Emperors, Emperor on horseback left, below ground line mintmark PR (Rome, first workshop).
Obverse LICINI - VS P F AVG, his head right wearing laurel wreath.
The original, as you see, is in gold not silver, and very rare; maybe only two known, namely the specimen shown here, from a Spanish auction in CoinArchives, and another reproduced in Calico, The Roman Aurei, no. 5093.
The appearance of your replicas in silver, however, makes me wonder: maybe the aurei too are just modern inventions? And indeed: the Calico coin is in Forvm's fake reports as a fake, shown alongside a similar gold example which is stated to be genuine.
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Thank you, Curtis, for the prompt reply.
The coins are different shapes, the right hand coin in the first photo is wider than the left coin so I thought that might them more likely real. I have no idea what is on the other side, if anything, because they are encased in a bezel.
Thank you for your photo and information. I believe I will read up on Licinius I.
The earrings were bought in the Mediterranean region. I also have a coin in a pendant of Alexander the Great who was a great horseman, bought on another jouney. Unfortuanely, it is just a head of Alexander, not mounted on his horse.
You must really be an avid coin collector full of information.! Many thanks.
Ancient and Medieval Coin Identification Help => Topic started by: Mary M4 on November 08, 2019, 03:47:51 pm