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 Replies: 12 / Views: 6,459 |
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New Member
Russian Federation
12 Posts |
Poll Question
Hello everyone! Really happy to join this community. I an pretty new to numismatics so, please, be patient with me :) I've always wanted to have an Alexander The Great tetradrachm so I am trying to identify whether this coin is authentic. Can you help me with it, please? It looks like it's a babylon mint 323-317BC. It's 16.85 gramms and 27.24mm in widest diameter. So what do you think? Does it look authentic?  
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New Member
United States
26 Posts |
The chipped off area at 5 o'clock is interesting
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New Member
 Russian Federation
12 Posts |
You mean it looks suspicious?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
It looks authentic to me, but if it is, the chipping indicates that the silver is crystallized and may be brittle. I would truthfully hold out for a better example... depending on the extent of the crystallization, it could split or shatter if dropped.
Also, I'm not sure if this is important to you or not, but Zeus' legs crossed usually means it's a posthumous issue... they were made as late as 150 years after Alexander's death. Alexander's lifetime tetradrachms carry a premium, but you can still get one in about this shape for $300 or less.
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
 to the community Your coins looks genuine IMO, though the surface is porous most likely from being exposed to a damp environment. |
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New Member
Russian Federation
12 Posts |
I see now. Thank you very much everyone. As I told before I am pretty new to this, so I didn't even know about the crystallization. I guess I will try a different one.
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Moderator
United States
189767 Posts |
to the Community! |
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New Member
United Kingdom
1 Posts |
Although it may be difficult to assess authenticity due to wear heavy oxidation, and photo colour inaccuracies the facial feature of heracles and zeus design, this coin has high probability of being authentic to me . the chip however looks somewhat suspiscious. somehow it looks like an outer layer has been chipped of the inner core of some alloy which is impossible to tell without physically inspecting the coin per se. it could even be a layer of deposits ie minerals etc
Edited by mat29a
01/07/2019 4:08 pm
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Moderator
United States
189767 Posts |
to the Community, mat29a! |
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Pillar of the Community
Belgium
1194 Posts |
100 °/° authentic IMO . It is a posthumous coin from just after his death .The reference is Price 3692 . Hereby my tetradrachme , almost the same from Babylon . albert  |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
Albert: Your coin raises far less suspicion in my mind than the OP example does.
It would be a good exercise if we all compared the two sets of images.
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Pillar of the Community
Belgium
1194 Posts |
Sel , I bought my coin by Roma Numismatics in London , so I can be sure I believe .
Looking better , it is maybe a fouree . I see some problems at the border at 3 / 5 / 9 / 11 h on the obverse .With the technics used to make fourrees , it is possible the problems are only at one border .To be sure (?) , better photos of the border and the edge are needed . albert
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Valued Member
Germany
141 Posts |
So far it looks authentic to me with signs of corrosion and some lamination. Keep on researching anyway. I agree with albert. When in doubt, also posting hi-res pictures of the edges is a good idea!
Cheers
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Replies: 12 / Views: 6,459 |
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Posted 11/16/2017 11:22 am
