Seeking Information On A Coin Of Lead

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 1,073
ThomasJefferson Valued Member United States 130 Posts	Posted 03/03/2014 3:34 pm Today I visited an upmarket jewelry store and noticed this coin in one of their displays featuring mainly US material. Their numismatist didn't know what it was or even where from they acquired it. After running it through an impressive metallurgical analysis device, he determined the composition to be 90.6% lead with copper, tin and iron rounding it out; no silver. Surprisingly, he gave it to me for free, believing it to be a copy. I agreed to post images of the coin here and report back any findings. It's 26mm and weighs 14.4 grams in a standard 2x2 flip (approximately 11 grams raw?). It caught my eye because it reminded me of the Seleucid tetradrachms. So, what do you folks make of this piece? Thanks. Edited by ThomasJefferson 03/03/2014 4:21 pm Report this Post to the Staff

ASLAN TVorlon Pillar of the Community United States 1234 Posts	Posted 03/03/2014 4:25 pm No clue about the coin itself but check out this link... Floating aluminum coins on water https://goccf.com/t/166461 I suggested beating a lead coin flat and floating it... Quote: You never saw a Lead Coin? Not many of those around though. - just carl It could well be a fake but if it was a contemporary fake it might be worth big bucks. Just check out the Henning Nickel. I'm sure the Ancient Guru's will be along shortly I meant guru's of ancient coins... but I'm sure some of them are ancient too Edited by ASLAN TVorlon 03/03/2014 4:26 pm Report this Post to the Staff
pishpash Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 3626 Posts	Posted 03/03/2014 4:48 pm If it is not modern it could be a Tessera. Don't know how you would find out though? Have a look at wildwinds. http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/tesserae/t.html Report this Post to the Staff
Ben Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 4208 Posts	Posted 03/03/2014 5:17 pm Almost certainly a lead copy of a tetradrachm - but very well made, with care, and clearly some time ago. Definitely worth at least a bit in its own right. Very mushy - you can see some ghost shapes to the right of the seated figure, those are greek letters, probably BASILEUS or something akin to that, which translates to King and appears all over such greek coins. Report this Post to the Staff
echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 03/03/2014 5:27 pm Interesting piece, but not one I'm familiar especially being made of lead. Report this Post to the Staff
ThomasJefferson Valued Member United States 130 Posts	Posted 03/03/2014 5:33 pm It resembles this Seleucid tetradrachm of Antiochus II: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ancient-Gre...em43c6315b45 How are contemporary counterfeits identified? Report this Post to the Staff
Ben Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 4208 Posts	Posted 03/03/2014 5:52 pm Unfortunately, I doubt its contemporary, unless its been incredibly harshly cleaned and smoothed - I learnt a lot about how lead ages when I got a die trial piece for a modern forgery of ADLOCVTIO. a white oxide develops over time - musket balls from the 1600s are caked in the stuff. I think its modern, but not very recent as the lead has retoned. You have got the correct ID for what it copies though, which is admirable - takes me ages with greek stuff (never had many come in uncleaned and never really got into the references) Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16873 Posts	Posted 03/03/2014 8:09 pm Quote: ...a white oxide develops over time - musket balls from the 1600s are caked in the stuff. Lead that has been buried for a few centuries or more and dug up again usually has either a pinkish or greenish colour, depending on the nature of the soil it is buried in, as components from the soil leach into the lead oxide, adding their own colour to it. The UK Detector Find Database has over a dozen pages of lead tokens and a few dozen more pages for lead seals, to give you some idea of what old lead tends to look like. If I saw such a piece in a non-coin-dealer's display, I'd probably assume it was a recently cast "tourist copy". Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 7 / Views: 1,073

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

All Forums Category: World Coins and Currency Forums Forum: Ancient, Greek, Roman, and Medieval Coins

The First Dollar, your premier source for bullion and rare coins. See our bullion list on the site and the coin inventory on ebay.

Silver Gold Bull US is the United States leading bullion dealer. We deliver gold coins, gold bars, silver coins, silver bars and precious metals to your door. Order today!

View Last 100 New Topics

View Last 100 Active Topics

Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum

It took 0.32 seconds to rattle this change.