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Author Topic: Very Large Unknown Roman Tetradrachm with Roma? Does anyone know this coin?  (Read 1493 times)

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Offline Jeffrey B

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I am posting a coin that I am interested in getting some more information on. Unfortunately I do not own the coin so it is not in my possession at this time so the photos I am listing are the best I can do, however it would be greatly appreciated if someone knows something about this coin. It is a very large coin as it is as large if not larger than a US silver dollar and it is about as heavy. The coin is believed to be authentic, but there is no known reference to my knowledge , as I can not find anything on it myself. The owner also is interested in finding out more about it as we both know very little. Is it Greek, is it Roman? Who is on the obverse and what is on the reverse exactly? The only symbols I can make out are on the obverse are M Lambda and Sigma, and maybe an N on the other side of here face. It looks amazing, the owner has had it for a very long time and has yet to see any material published on it. What is it exactly? is it a tetradrachm, or a Decadrachm? And last what is it worth? I wish I could give exact weight and dimensions, but as stated it is not in my possession to do so. Please let me know what you can, as it may help in a decision in me possibly talking him into selling it to me. If it is legit and there is enough info on it I will gladly buy it from him.

Offline v-drome

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Jeffrey, seriously.  If you don't know what it is, and he does not know what it is, why on earth would you want to buy it.  I think you are being scammed, and anyway, screening for purchases is not permitted on this site.  If you want to buy an authentic coin, the shop logo at the top of the page is the best place to start.  Good luck.

Offline Jeffrey B

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He wont sell it, I was just expressing my interest. Just curious in what it is. He claims it is rare and I am curious as to what it is, I would love to inform him. Although as I wish I could buy it, I could never afford what he would take for it.

Offline cmcdon0923

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From the poor images through the plastic, I have SERIOUS doubts it's an authentic coin.


Offline Juan R

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How is possible that someone knows that a coin ir rare when they don't even know what the hell is????
To be sure something is rare at least you should know a thing or two about it

Apart from that it looks so weird to me

King regards

Offline Meepzorp

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Hi JB,

It is a horrible fake (a counterfeit).

It is so bad (and so obvious) that it is laughable.

As v-d pointed out above, if you are seriously interested in buying an ancient coin, why not start by purchasing a coin from the owner of this site (Joe)? At the very least, you will know it is authentic.

Meepzorp

Offline djmacdo

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Certainly a modern-made fake!  The style is not even close to authentic pieces.

Offline PMah

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I think there is a lot of phishing going on with such postings. 
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Offline Jeffrey B

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I realize the first assumption is fake, and its not possible it could be real according to almost everyone on here, but it is a struck coin, and the photos are poorer quality so if you shoot it down based on this, you stand to be corrected. I am upset that no one will attempt to attribute it to any other known specimen. If it is fake then what is it a fake of? I cannot find any such coin of this size and or style. Someone please attempt to tell me what or where this is. Please, call it fake all you want, but what on earth is this coin? I haven't even seen another one floating around, so please, what would this be? And now Go!!!!

Offline Lee S

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I realize the first assumption is fake, and its not possible it could be real according to almost everyone on here, but it is a struck coin, and the photos are poorer quality so if you shoot it down based on this, you stand to be corrected. I am upset that no one will attempt to attribute it to any other known specimen. If it is fake then what is it a fake of? I cannot find any such coin of this size and or style. Someone please attempt to tell me what or where this is. Please, call it fake all you want, but what on earth is this coin? I haven't even seen another one floating around, so please, what would this be? And now Go!!!!

    The style is all wrong, it could be a struck coin... It could also have been struck yesterday...
If your only interested out of curiosity, why are you debating the opinion of experts?
If the seller.accepts 20 bucks for it, you could drill a hole in it and have a nice pendant..
   Otherwise, go to the forum shop and pick yourself out a genuine ancient coin.

Offline areich

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If you ask nicely instead of making demands with lots of exclamation marks and take decent pictures, then someone may tell you what this coin may copy. Quite often these souvenirs do not copy a particular coin but just use motifs typically found on ancient coins and combine them. I suspect that is the case here. These souvenirs are often large to seem more impressive. I would not call this a 'fake' since it would not fool a collector.
Andreas Reich

Offline PMah

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One possible explanation for arguing with experts is phishing for a positive opinion to claim a basis for passing it off to another person as authentic.  Very common phenomenon on these inquiries, as Andreas noted.
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Offline Jay GT4

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Certainly fake as others have said.   I can't make out what's on the reverse to figure out what it's copying.  Shouldn't be too hard to find a match if anyone wants to devote time to searching.

Offline v-drome

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The reverse is a cult statue of Artemis, or maybe Zeus Heliopolitanus, upside down.  BS meter is pegged, off-scale high. 

Offline Jeffrey B

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The reverse is a cult statue of Artemis, or maybe Zeus Heliopolitanus, upside down.  BS meter is pegged, off-scale high. 

Thank you, I could barely make out the reverse myself, that is interesting, and I have seen it in person which is what really irked me. I did kinda see a figure last night when looking at it again but couldn't make it out, all I knew is it was possibly a person surrounded by a wreath. But it was very weak.

Offline Jeffrey B

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Certainly fake as others have said.   I can't make out what's on the reverse to figure out what it's copying.  Shouldn't be too hard to find a match if anyone wants to devote time to searching.
Thank you for the help, I just wish I knew where to look, I can't find anything to see what it is imitating. The closest I came to was A tetradrachm of Artemis or Perseus (Philip V) but neither of those matched it exactly. I couldn't come up with one that was precise enough with the winged helmet on a coin that large. I though maybe Mercury, or Roma, or even Athena but I can't find anything with the exact style, whether fake or real, what it is a fake of? 

Offline cmcdon0923

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No one can tell you what it is a fake of, because it is a fake/fantasy of something that doesn't exist as a real ancient coin. 

It was made up by someone who just put some "ancient looking" designs on a die and struck off some pieces.

As has been stated by numerous others on this thread....there is absolutely zero percent chance that it is authentic.  Hoping it is won't change the facts....nor will the opinion of the current owner.

Offline areich

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If you actually still believe it could be authentic and we haven't convinced you so far, then we can't help you. You or the owner could take better pictures and e-mail them to some ancient coin dealers (if they don't specialize in ancient coins, it's a waste of time) or to a university that has a numismatics department. But sometimes people just can't be convinced.
Andreas Reich

Offline Joe Sermarini

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It is a fantasy coin and does not copy any genuine type. To an experienced collector or dealer, it looks as much like a genuine ancient coin as a Monopoly game dollar looks like a genuine U.S. dollar. 
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Offline Jeffrey B

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It is a fantasy coin and does not copy any genuine type. To an experienced collector or dealer, it looks as much like a genuine ancient coin as a Monopoly game dollar looks like a genuine U.S. dollar. 

Thank you very much Sir, I really appreciate the incite as I have had very little information on the piece and certainly wanted to know if it was legitimate. Having everyone here point out that it is a fake, and that it is a fake of no real contemporary example that really is a let down, but it really is nice to know the truth and finally have some closure. I am glad to learn more from the coin and have gained a bit of knowledge from the experience. This is why I am careful when purchasing ancient coins from people because I don't want to end like my friend and pay a lot of money for a fake coin. As a young collector who doesn't know very much about ancient coins yet I fond the coin appealing for it's size and obverse design, this is why I posted it because I wasn't sure if it was authentic, and now I can tell my friend his coin is far from the real deal. Thanks to everyone once again for the incite on this fantasy coin I really appreciate it.

 

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