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 Replies: 6 / Views: 2,830 |
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New Member
Canada
5 Posts |
Hi. I posted this on the main board a few days ago but had no luck and I thought it might be more of interest over here. I am a coin newbie so please bear with me. I was recently in a classic 'old junk shop' run by an aged father and his son. It wasn't really that junky just a very mixed bag of all kinds of things, including several hundred old coins for sale, all of them marked with dates and place of origin in a way that suggested whomever had done it seemed to have some idea what they were talking about. It seemed to be the father, but he was quite old and not that communicative. There were a lot of Roman coins and various others. One that caught my eye was listed as Hannibal 218-202 BC, Carthage and it had an elephant on it. Being generally interested in the ancient world but in no way a numismatist I thought this was pretty cool and bought it. Later I googled Hannibal coins and saw that some had sold for rather large sums of money, and although I am almost certain I am going to be told the one I have is not the kind that is super rare, I thought i'd still at least sign up and see what you all had to say about it, if anything. I must say it has certainly sparked my interest in ancient coins though so I plan to try to learn more, but in the meantime does anyone care to hazard a guess as to the authenticity or origin of this coin? here are both sides as well as a comparison with a Canadian loonie - 26.5mm in diameter and 1.95mm wide - for reference. I should maybe add that in the intervening couple days I have been scouring the web on my own and haven't found anything that seems to fit, not just for Hannibal but any other coin, except possibly this one? http://www.coinproject.com/coin_det...?coin=286260And actually I guess I should also ask, having read some of the other threads, whether you think it is even ancient at all. All comments welcome. Thank a lot.     Edited by hannibalelephant
04/14/2021 10:25 am
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New Member
 Canada
5 Posts |
Going once, going twice, is there really nobody here who can help me out identifying this coin? Any thoughts at all...? all comments welcome...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1554 Posts |
Unforfunately, a modern tourist piece.
Edited by Kushanshah
04/15/2021 4:26 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
616 Posts |
Quote:
Unforfunately, a modern tourist piece. Agreed. That patina looks faked and you can see the cast seam on the edge just above your thumb. If you are interested in Hannibal and the Carthaginians, you can pick up real coins from the 2nd Punic War era for US$50 or more depending on the coin. These usually have the goddess Tanit on the obverse and a horse and palm on the reverse. Don't let the worthless tourist copy get you down. You can find a real one for a relative pittance that's guaranteed authentic at VCoins.com. Here's mine:  Edited by jskirwin
04/15/2021 9:56 pm
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Moderator
 Australia
16826 Posts |
Quote:I have been scouring the web on my own and haven't found anything that seems to fit, not just for Hannibal but any other coin, except possibly this one? http://www.coinproject.com/coin_det...?coin=286260 Yes, I was thinking that it looked suspiciously like the elephant from a Caesar elephant denarius. I would concur with Kushanshah: sadly, this is a "tourist copy", or rather a "tourist fantasy" with no actual ancient coin looking like this. 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
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
Quote:
I have been scouring the web on my own and haven't found anything that seems to fit Your reverse pic is upside-down. From the fake reports:  Several examples of a fantasy cast piece in base metal and different patinas, imitating two denarii of Julius Caesar, but without legends. Obv: Elephant advancing right, trampling on horned serpent. (cf: Craw. #443/1; CRI #9; Syd. #1006; RSC #49) Rev: Aeneas walking left, carrying Anchises and the Palladium. (cf: RSC #12, Craw. #458/1, Syd. #1013) Edited by Kamnaskires
04/16/2021 08:20 am
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New Member
Canada
5 Posts |
Ha, ask and ye shall receive! Or maybe 'careful what you wish for'. Still, I do appreciate everyone's comments and am glad to know the truth even if it is somewhat disappointing. Oh well, so much for impulsive ancient coin purchases. If - and hopefully when - I buy my next one I will do so only after much more research! Thanks again...
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Replies: 6 / Views: 2,830 |
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Posted 04/15/2021 4:21 pm
