TaylerHughes Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Hi, Can someone please tell me the value of a coin like this? http://www.warandgame.info/2008/11/dionysius-elder-c-430367-bce.html?m=1 Mine is not as good condition but it would be good yonder an idea. Thanks a lot. Tayler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmarotta Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Can someone please tell me the value of a coin like this? Mine is not as good condition but it would be good yonder an idea. Tayler Aside from the fact that the one in the picture is a total fake, on a good day, it might push $100,000. So, without seeing your "good yonder" coin, the most likely explanations are: yours is a fake, also you stole it from a museum you stole it from a famous collector you have not identified the coin correctly at all. My recommendation is to scan your coin (or photograph it; scanning is better) and post the picture here. Also, tell us about your coin's provenance, i.e., who owned it before you? Which famous auction, coin show, or dealer did you buy it at? Just off-hand, what is it's Sear Number? Short of any of that... goto www.coinarchives.com, pick Ancients, enter "Dionysios" and tell us which of those is yours because, actually, most of them are known by name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylerHughes Posted March 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Thanks for getting back to me. It is not my coin, it belongs to my Nan. She gave it to me to identify before she went on holiday. I didn't get much information just that she has had it for a long time. She keeps putting it in a safe place and forgetting about it. I will get some pictures online when I get back from work. What is a sear number? I will identify the coin on www.coinarchives.com Thank You. Tayler Hughes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmarotta Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Thanks for getting back to me. ... It is not my coin, it belongs to my Nan. You do get one-up examples every now and then, keepsakes passed on across generations. They become very interesting to the most committed aficiados who know from them catalogs a hundred years old. It gets a bit complicated here, but generally, people post pictures to archives elsewhere and then link the picture here. (It saves space here.) Onmicoin (http://www.omnicoin.com) is a favorite here for many reasons. With ancient coins, caution is primary. They get brittle with age. The silver crystalizes. Some years back, I gave a talk at a coin club and the nicest old man dropped my Ptolemy Tetradrachm and when it hit the floor, it broke in two. Just to say, whatever you do with the coin, treat it like a gem, like crystal class or fine porcelain, genuine Wedgewood or Herend. And don't clean it. Finally, I must apologize for being (ahem) "direct" above and I want to thank you for your nice reply to the reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylerHughes Posted March 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Hey, Thanks for the helpful reply. I have uploaded the images. http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h436/taylerhughes/f94e5eb6.jpg http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h436/taylerhughes/e54d076f.jpg Thanks in advance. Tayler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmarotta Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Hey, Thanks for the helpful reply. I have uploaded the images. Based on those, this looks like a cast copy, silver (perhaps) or silvery metal over a copper core. You can see the red underneath and all around. It might be something else. Pictures are problematic. It might be an ancient copy, made from 400 BCE up to Roman times, perhaps, a forgery intended to pass. And the red might be something else entirely, like red clay or henna nail polish... But at first blush, this is a jeweler's piece, an ornament. You seem to be from the UK and it is the home of the ancient numismatics trade. All of the standard references are from Oxbridge guys -- though Edinburgh and a few others have come up in our generation. The British Numismatic Society (http://britnumsoc.org/) and the British Numismatic Trade Association (http://www.numis.co.uk/bnta.html)are the organizations whose members would be most reliable. Find a dealer near you who belongs to one or both. If you have a gram scale, weigh your coin. The Coin Archives listings typically give the weight. You get minor variations, but Archimedes was called "The Sand Reckoner" and a grain of sand is a small tolerance for error. This decadrachm would weigh close to 38 grams, noticeably over one ounce avoirdupoid. Mike M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Another good test for this coin is the word COPY below the bust. I suspect that is exactly what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylerHughes Posted March 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 That just goes to show how terrible my attention to detail is really doesn't it? Thank You both for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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