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