Possible Ancient Greek Syracuse Coin

Second Becker on the board today. What are the odds?

From the Fake Reports:

Another, from the fake reports:






Good quality Becker forgeries are considered collectible and can generate some decent bidding and high prices.

Take this with a grain of salt since this is not an area I know much about: But, even assuming that the Becker reference in the fake coin report is correct - meaning, assuming your coin is indeed a Becker - and assuming this is a first generation Becker forgery, it is not in great shape. (Based on the softness of the details, I suspect it might be a cast of a Becker forgery or a second generation strike from Becker dies) I wouldn't expect it is worth much.

Regarding the silver plating, here's an interesting excerpt from a CoinWorld.com article about Carl Wilhelm Becker:

"When Becker died in April 1830, financial troubles that consumed his life continued for his family. The family used his dies to strike sets of coins in a poor quality pewter alloy, with the examples sold to collectors and institutions. At some point Becker's family sold the dies to the Saalfeld Museum, and they finally were placed into of the collection of the Kaiser-Friedrich Museum in Berlin in 1911.

"The Berlin museum used the dies to make and sell to collectors off-metal sets of the 'coins.' Sometimes, pieces would be plated with the same alloy of metal as real examples, for use as a substitute in a collection for an otherwise unobtainable coin."

Perhaps the silver plating might suggest your coin is an early 20th century Berlin re-strike.

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