Antinous coin with odd inclusion

[Ammonhotep]

Deleted.

 

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[wvwildman]

pics?

 

[Mackaydon]

I get this after clicking on the attachment reference: "Invalid Attachment specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator"
Edit: Here's the one I believe you were referring to--that sold last month for $2,500 plus buyer's fee:

Don....

 

[Silver Searcher]

I would'nt be giving up the day job

SS

 

[Mackaydon]

OK, pics now visible--and clearly yours is in better condition than the one I posted, except for the obvious problem. However, it's also obviously not the same coin; look at the position of the front legs. Which leg is on the ground and which is elevated?
Don....

 

[Silver Searcher]

Sorry, SS, but what do you mean?

-Ammo

Just a bit of a joke I don't like to make call on a picture, and I don't know how you came by the coin. But I have my doubts and would have stayed clear of this one.

Antinous, Roman Imperial Coinage reference, Thumbnail Index - WildWinds.com

SS

 

[Mackaydon]

I note that Stack's has posted another sale (this one for $2800+BF) of a similar coin but with another "right foreleg elevated".
Their coin is dated in Hadrian's 19th regnal year of reign, but head facing right.
http://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotvi...Lot=5409&Val=b7a4ff0deb41437efa6a56ee66b3af32
Don.......

 

[Silver Searcher]

The colour on the coin does not look right, your reverse is slightly different...... AE Drachm, Alexandria mint (27mm x 28mm).
Obverse: "ANTINOOY HPWOC", bust of Antinous left
Reverse: "L-K-A" (regnal year 21 of Hadrian, 136/37), Antinous as Hermes-Thoth, nude, riding on horseback, right, holding caduceus. I could not find this reverse, although the one below is similar, but no A, this is the only right facing bust I could find.

ANTINOOY HPWOC", bust of Antinous left; Reverse: "L - K" (Year 20 of Hadrian's reign, 135/36), Antinous as Hermes-Thoth, nude, riding on horseback, right, holding caduceus. The weight should be around 26grams.

I would have though they were a lot of tourist shops in Eygpt, were these types of coins could be bought, but I am no expert, she either gave you a fantasy copy, or a very valuble coin, with what could be a unrecorded reverse.

SS

 

[Mackaydon]

The source that gave you the attrition as being in regnal year 21 (136/137) may have interpreted the "KA" as 21 (K representing 20 and A-alpha-- representing 1). In fact, could the KA instead represent K (20) and A the mint at Alexandria? If so the coin would be from the regnal year 20 year (Sept 135 to Sept. 136). I'm not baiting the question, I don't know the answer--just asking.
Don.....

 

[Mackaydon]

It's unfortunate we haven't found the same coin anywhere else. Then again, maybe it is an unrecorded type as you 'dream'.
Proper attrition by a reputable grading service--or the likes of Stacks--should give you the answer in the absence of anyone else getting closer to the correct attrition.
Good luck,
Don....

 

[old digger]

That is an interesting and cool find!
It looks like an L letter above and to the left of the horse, and it looks like an X under the horse, and there is an I to the right of the horse. LXI, would that be 61 AD? And I also see the name Anthony on the heads side.

 

[Frankyg]

I understand Silver Searchers concerns. I am no expert either but my first impression when I looked at the coin was that it was too good to be true. I've found quite a few Roman coins (Which would not be as old as this one) in fields metal detecting in England. Granted the weather is a lot wetter and bronze coins don't survive very well over the years, whereas coins have been found in excellent condition from the ground in the Middle east. It's very difficult to call it from photographs and the fact is that you may have a very valuable coin there. The British Museum has an excellent numismatic service who will identify a coin for you and return it at no charge. I'm sure there are similar services in the USA that you could make use of.. I hope it turns out to be real....What a find.

Regards
Frank

 

[Silver Searcher]

SS, the person who gave (sold, actually) me the coin is from a very rural area where, says he, it was found in a field. As I'm familiar with it, the entire area was settled by Greeks and later Romans, not to mention the Pharaonic folks before them. He showed me the coin, and asked me to make an offer. I went to research it after that.

As for tourist trinkets: actually, I'm quite familiar with the tourist markets in Egypt, as I'm lived here for four years now. They don't sell much that looks antique here. What's more, Egyptian workmanship, unlike in centuries and millennia past, is very low quality. If it is a copy, I wonder how he got it to start with. I'm not familiar with copies coming out of Egypt, but, as I said, I'm a complete amateur.

And I still have no idea about that inclusion. Curiouser and curiouser.

Mackaydon ... as for the date, I'm just guessing. Nobody told me anything about the coin. The guy showed it to me, and I looked it up to see what it was. My description is based off the coin you found, and that SS cites above.

My date attribution could easily be entirely wrong. I see a letter on the reverse right that looks to be part of a "K." Below the horse I see an "A," but the inclusion might be hiding something, as could the edge of the coin. It could be something else entirely. Are you (or SS) seeing something other than L-K-A? I could only dream of an unrecorded type or variation! When opportunity presents, I'll have it slabbed (if I'm using the term correctly).

-Ammo

Your inclusion to me looks like iron secretion fron the core, if it is, this would not boad well with it being real, it also looks to have a high copper content, but that might be my eyes. I would sugest you contact Dr Illya Prokopov of Forum Ancient Coins www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/index.php

SS

 

[Iron Patch]

I don't buy a lot of ancient coins, but definitely wouldn't touch that one.

 

[Iron Patch]

SS,

You suggested the coin should weigh 26g. I went down to a local jeweler and had this one weighed: 13.7 g.

Would that make it a hemidrachm (assuming it's bona fide)?

Also, I did as suggested and posted on forumancientcoins. Nothing yet, but I'll update if anything comes of the post. Or I may just spring for their $45 online service.

-Ammo

You most certainly will not have to pay $45 to get an answer because I think it's an obvious fake, so anyone that knows these should be able to tell you without a shadow of a doubt. Considering the weight is much too light is another thing that points at it being a modern fake. Don't waste your money, I come across many items I don't know a lot about but never have to spend a nickel to find out.

 

[Silver Searcher]

You most certainly will not have to pay $45 to get an answer because I think it's an obvious fake, so anyone that knows these should be able to tell you without a shadow of a doubt. Considering the weight is much too light is another thing that points at it being a modern fake. Don't waste your money, I come across many items I don't know a lot about but never have to spend a nickel to find out.

Yep....the light weight has just killed it right off, not that there was much of a chance anyway.

SS

 

[Silver Searcher]

Well, I posted it on forvm, where there has been quite a bit of discussion in the authentication section.

The majority say the flan is wrong, but I'm not convinced considering there's a similar coin with a similar flan (same obverse, different reverse) in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. I find it a bit ironic, yet comprehensible, that collectors enjoy error coins of the modern era, but shy away from any ancient oddities.

Others say the patina is wrong, but for me it looks bona fide, and I've had the closest look at it. Still, there are many photos of the coin on that thread, if you wish to look it up.

Solution: I'll probably send it to David Sear for authentication and grading, as suggested on forvm. It'll take a while to process, so I'm not holding my breath on this one.

-Ammo

I'm surprised that the difference in weight is not mentioned during said discussion this tells you just about everthing that's wrong about it, the patina and flan difference can be explained, but not the weight difference.

SS

 

[Silver Searcher]

I just realised that the one on Wildwinds website is a Hemidrachm, and not a Drachm, but I still think the secretion is either from the core, or from it being buried near iron, I have seen this leaching effect before. I still have doubts, but this is a interesting thread and I look forward to the outcome.

SS

 

[wheatfinder13]

That's a really nice one

 

[Ammonhotep]

David R. Sear authenticated the coin:



-Ammo