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Replies: 17 / Views: 2,354 |
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New Member
United States
8 Posts |
The coin at the image address below appears genuine and was offered as such. A question for this august group:
What are these ID marks? I've looked at many of these coins but am puzzled. The area under the throne is empty.
John www.fihp.com/AXTD.png
Edited by swayambhunath 03/04/2018 02:38 am
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
 to the community Please use the image upload feature provided here to upload you picture.
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New Member
 United States
8 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
 I believe those marks are supposed to be an interpretation of the date (in Phoenician) on issues from Ake/Akko-Ptolemais. Very crude and simplified rendition, though. For comparison:  
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New Member
 United States
8 Posts |
Thank you Bob! Ake seems like a great lead. Other examples online show similar characteristics - crossed legs, throne back, dotted staff with spear tip, and date marks. If the marks read Civic Year 52 that would be 263 BCE about... Here's an enlargement of the marks if anyone has further ideas: 
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
I have some concerns about this coin being genuine. The right arm and eagle look flat like they have been compressed along with the left foot and folds of the cloth. It would be nice if we could see the edge of the coin, but it's in a bezel so that's not possible.
One good point is that I don't see any outward signs of it being cast. It may very well be a genuine coin and I'm just being overly cautious.
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New Member
 United States
8 Posts |
Thanks echizento. I'm thinking about that too. It doesn't look like any of the Bulgarian dies I've found yet, at least...
That right arm is odd. Up close it looks almost like chisel marks. Is that sort of clipping known in these coins?
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New Member
 United States
8 Posts |
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
I don't know. The coin varies in thickness which is a good sign, however I see what looks like a seem in some area's of the edge which raises red flags. I can't say if it's genuine or not just from the pictures. I haven't checked the fake coin sites yet but I will.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3444 Posts |
I agree that there are some things that bother me here. The relief is sharp ! Yet it is unusually flat. The extended arm shows a strange flatness to an otherwise high relief. Almost as if the coin relief were flattened by being rubbed on emery paper. It does not show the 'elegant' relief of typical examples. It could be real But I hesitate to endorse it either
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3444 Posts |
Taking a long second look I don't like it I see scratches in field areas that should be immune to scrapes. The fields show no sign of the smoothness that should be apparent. Those two put together lead me to a thumbs down opinion
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Pillar of the Community
Belgium
1194 Posts |
I do not think it is an original tetradrachm of Alexander , but more a contemporary imitation , or even a little bid later . The style of the coin is not correct : first the form , normally round , here more oval . The hair of Zeus is not correct , nor the hand around the scepter .The chair , very important for this tetradrachms , is wrong , to much explicit dots , as in the inscription were the alpha , the lambda and the delta are represented in the same way . What are the sizes of this coin ? Isn' t it a fourree ? albert
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New Member
 United States
8 Posts |
Weight 16.70 g. Dimensions 27 mm at the largest, 24.5 mm at the smallest.
Is the spalling above Heracles' ear and at the rim to the left of that indicative of anything?
Edited by swayambhunath 03/05/2018 10:15 am
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Pillar of the Community
Belgium
1194 Posts |
sizes ok . What is the color inside the spalling , at the rim of the ear and on the border left at 9 h .Is it silver ? albert
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New Member
 United States
8 Posts |
Hi antwerpen. The inner surface of the spalls is the same black as the unrubbed parts of the rest of the coin.
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Moderator
 United States
189603 Posts |
 to the Community!
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Replies: 17 / Views: 2,354 |