Bactrian Bronze/Copper Coin Demetrios I

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Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,526
shareddreams New Member India 21 Posts	Posted 09/21/2015 09:51 am Hello Everyone, I recently acquired this bronze or copper coin. It has a common design of the Bactrian king Demetrios I and Hercules as found in silver coins like these: http://coinindia.com/galleries-demetrios1.html However, I'm not able to find any record of this design ever having been minted in bronze or copper. Is it a fake? * Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. * Report this Post to the Staff

echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 09/21/2015 11:23 am Sorry but it's a fake. I've not ever seen this type in a base metal. They are all in silver. Report this Post to the Staff
lrbguy Pillar of the Community United States 949 Posts	Posted 09/21/2015 12:07 pm I'm out in unfamiliar territory here, but the last coin on the reference page you gave has a rather similar appearing obverse. Given the state of preservation, your coin looks authentically ancient. What is the size and weight of your coin? Can you read the inscriptions on the reverse? If it emulates both size and weight of an issue known only in silver, then I wonder if this may be a fouree. They do/did not always have a silver jacket. Edited by lrbguy 09/21/2015 12:08 pm Report this Post to the Staff
echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 09/21/2015 6:29 pm This type was struck as a tetradrachm @16.8 grams and as a Drachm @3.9 grams. Most were struck in good silver, not saying the fouree didn't exist I guess that would be possible. IMO it doesn't look like a fouree. I would agree it does look like it has age, but that can easily be faked now a days. I am by now way an expert in this series, but I still contend that it's not real. Report this Post to the Staff
sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21788 Posts	Posted 09/21/2015 6:46 pm Certainly, the lettering is very indistinct, indicatve of a cast fake. Report this Post to the Staff
lrbguy Pillar of the Community United States 949 Posts	Posted 09/21/2015 10:59 pm You could be right, Ron, but until s/he gives us the size and weight information, I have to reserve judgment. I have nothing else to go on. Report this Post to the Staff
shareddreams New Member India 21 Posts	Posted 09/23/2015 10:31 am Thanks everyone and sorry for taking so long to reply! This coins weighs exactly 25 grams and has a diameter of a little less than 3 cm. Report this Post to the Staff
lrbguy Pillar of the Community United States 949 Posts	Posted 09/23/2015 11:55 am Thank you for the info. They are what I needed. Those numbers do not correspond to anything I am finding for bronze, and are so much like the numbers for silver, that I am brought around to thinking with the others that it is a fake for a silver coin. sorry for your loss. Report this Post to the Staff
shareddreams New Member India 21 Posts	Posted 09/23/2015 12:22 pm Oh well, thanks! Happens sometimes. I did have some doubts while picking this up, but I thought it looked and 'felt' sufficiently ancient. Is there any possibility this might be an ancient fake rather than a modern one? Or even a fake that's about a 100-150 years old? A lot of such coins were faked when they were rediscovered in the 19th century and there was a big market for them. Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,526

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