Phalera Forgery?

[Kilian O]

Good afternoon,

This item was offered to me and the diameter is 5 cm. First thought was that it's probably too good to be true but the reverse shows wear and patina i'd expect. Obviously this can be faked aswell but maybe there's a small chance it's a known type.

 

[Kilian O]

Leaning more towards fake myself but a 2nd opinion never hurts 

[SC]

I would be wary of it.

What I don't like:

- the style of the lion - it does not match all the other lion phalera or studs I have seen, in particular the amount of mane under the head is not something one usually sees.

- the knobs/dots on the rim - I have not seen these on other phalera - looks to me like someone was "inspired" by shield bosses, which do have lots of knobs = nail/rivet heads.

- the two holes - hard to tell from a photo but the way they are bevelled from both sides appears quite modern - again that could just be the photo.

And yes, for a potentially valuable item like this patina that looks convincing, at least in photos or without magnification, are relatively easy to make.  Also the more dirt left on a patina like this the more suspicious one has to be.

I couldn't condemn this item as fake from photos, or without a lot more research, but it has too many red flags for me to trust it personally.

SC

[Kilian O]

Yes I agree something feels off but I share your thoughts on the points you make! 

[dwarf]

Perhaps something like this - a lion's head door knocker

https://tinyurl.com/yckj79ye

Regards
Klaus

[Jay GT4]

That was my thought as well.