Shekel Of Tyre Real Or Fake?

Evidence of plating failure without wear, leads me to think that this example is fake, unfortunately.
Probably originally sold as a tourist copy.

Most probably die struck without a collar, some of the edge dots not properly struck up. Nevertheless I suspect that without confirmation, that the flan thickness is reasonably constant across all of it's area.

I do not have an exact equivalent in my 'black' collection of this combination of failure features,
vis: a split in the surface layer, but sound metal underneath.
The surface condition of metal underneath suggests that this piece may have been manufactured some decades ago.
It would definitely be a keeper for my 'black' collection.

@mcduff, welcome to CCF. As a fake, your piece would have essentially zero value. Just for completeness, could you please also post the weight and diameter?

@sel, the "evidence of plating failure"--is that the dark black spots on the rev by the eagle's breast and the border dots as well as Apollo's ear on the obv?

I agree with Sel and echizento: fake. The fabric is wrong, there appears to be almost no concavity of the reverse (as is the norm with these), the rendition of the Phoenician letter (?) between the eagle's legs is "off" (atypical), etc.




As Spence says, it's essentially worthless. In any event, fakes should be kept off the market so that they don't end up being resold down the line as supposedly authentic coins. Thus Sel's "black collection" - sometimes these are called "black cabinets" - which many collectors maintain. They are useful as references and study tools but, perhaps more importantly, they serve to keep identified fakes off the market.

Thanks everyone. Very disappointing but that's life sometimes. I'm just sad my Dad was taken advantage off many years ago. I've learned the lesson for my Dad. Thanks for all the info all.
I still want to sell the collection as I am not a collector. I will sell the lot together.
Thanks again all