Rare Apollonia Pontica Magistrate On Diobol

Apollo looks great, not a bit of wear on that face...or anywhere! Great looking coin Valecrusis!

Happy to see a successful adventure. A very nice example!

Hello ancient67,

I have to say I disagree with your conclusion. Of course, it's impossible to be absolutely certain, but to the degree that it's possible with these types I am confident now. That is not to say your observations are flawed. The surfaces are indeed very good and there is little wear. However that is not in itself a reason for concern, the surfaces look crystallised to the limited degree expected for its age and state and there are many other examples in a similar state of preservation. As for the crayfish, I agree with you about its style. That concerned me too (though of course the depiction is cruder on this denomination than the drachm).I did trawl through hundreds of these tho' and saw a number sold in good auctions that were equally 'odd'. My confidence grew when I saw the plate coins in that Polish article. Number 14, to which this type corresponds, looks similar (tho' the image is poor, so that in itself is inconclusive). What really gave me confidence is the logic of such a rare subtype. While it certainly does not exclude the possibility that someone created it as a fake, the fact that the exact magistrate type and arrangement of reverse symbols corresponds with a type known, but virtually unlisted in the literature, makes it unlikely candidate for either a cast copy or modern dies. Whilst of interest to me, the fact adds little to its overall value, so it would seem natural for a forger to copy one of the commoner types (usually a non-magistrate types, or a common magistrate type) to attract less attention. That is indeed the case for all the usual Apollonia fakes identified. Moreover, the style of Apollo does not have that clumsiness seen almost universally in other pressed or struck fakes, using modern dies. Again, there can be no certainty. I wouldn't even trust one of these Apollonia Pontica types 100% if a great expert vouched for them. However, within the limits of reason I feel satisfied