Resources > Fake Coins and Notorious Fake Sellers

Kanishka I with Orlagno - fake?

(1/1)

Orpio:
Hi,
could you help find any reference to below coin:
Kanishka I
bronze 3,52 g / 20 mm
on the averse: þAONANOþAO KA ... NηþKI KOþANO
on the reverse: OPΛAΓNO, tamgha at right.
I know that such coins are in gold but have never seen the coin in bronze. Long description on the averse probably means that is early minting of Kanishka reign.
My doubt is very small weight as unit or 1/2 unit. Maybe is 1/4 unit - weight is similar. Could you help me with any reference to this coin (maybe it is modern forgery)?

I will be grateful for any comments.

helvetica:
Whitehead in his work on the coins in Punjab museum (available on archive.org), which I use quite a lot, mentions this rev. legend as a stater (type vi) on p. 194, but at the bottom of that page he writes
Rare types (iv), (vi) and (xi) are much forged.

So I would say that this is an old forgery. Not necessarily modern. Whitehead wrote the catalogue in 1914, and he knew about forgeries even then. Perhaps the yellowish colour on the reverse was a colouring intending to fool one into believing it was gold.

Interesting ! I hope it's OK that I just added it to the Kanishka page on wildwinds. (as "BMC 29 ancient forgery")

Orpio:
Thanks for your reply.

I agree that it is probably fake maybe with ancient time, but is interesting  one, and was quite cheap.  8)

I saw your update on wildwinds, it nice. I have some other curious example coin of Kanishka, send you by email.

Navigation

[0] Message Index