The coin in the photo was given to me about 10 years ago by a friend, long since moved out of state, who bought a bag of supposedly Roman coins. I ran across it a few days ago and all I can remember of what he said about it was that he thought it dated to 120 B.C. or earlier. I haven't had any luck finding it using the online search engines, but I'm pretty anemic compared to a master searcher like Steve. The coin is just about the same diameter as a quarter. Any help with just an approximate date would be appreciated.
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Help dating coin.............
- Thread starter JB(MS)
- Start date
Steve(Can)
Well-known member
Hello JB,
it appears to be a Greek coin, with Gelas, the bull-headed river god on one side. Here's one that matches pretty closely (sorry no date)
[attachment 77397 gelacoin.jpg]
yours for comparison
another, similar but not an exact match, dated 420 BC
[attachment 77398 Gela2.jpg]
also this one, listed as a Sicilian Silver Tetradrachm
Origin: City of Gela
Circa: 450 BC to 440 BC[attachment 77401 2038.jpg]
You may want to have that coin appraised as several Gela Tetradrachms currently listed on ebay are going for several thousand dollars.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sicily-Gela-AR-tetradrachm_W0QQitemZ120119351602QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4738QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638.m118
Put that in your pipe.
it appears to be a Greek coin, with Gelas, the bull-headed river god on one side. Here's one that matches pretty closely (sorry no date)
[attachment 77397 gelacoin.jpg]
yours for comparison
another, similar but not an exact match, dated 420 BC
[attachment 77398 Gela2.jpg]
also this one, listed as a Sicilian Silver Tetradrachm
Origin: City of Gela
Circa: 450 BC to 440 BC[attachment 77401 2038.jpg]
You may want to have that coin appraised as several Gela Tetradrachms currently listed on ebay are going for several thousand dollars.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sicily-Gela-AR-tetradrachm_W0QQitemZ120119351602QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4738QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638.m118
Put that in your pipe.
Steve(Can)
Well-known member
...from the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Numaismatics:
>>While the early tetradrachms measured 25 millimeters or so, their third and second-century descendants were frequently 30 millimeters or more. The coin's weight remained about 17 grams however.<<<
25 millimeters is the size of a quarter and matches your coin, JB, which coincides with the date there abouts in the 4th century BC.
More info on this coin in the following article:
[attachment 77411 tetradrachma.jpg]
[attachment 77412 tetradrachmb.jpg]
Many more samples of Gela coins at this link: http://www.bio.vu.nl/home/vwielink/WWW_MGC/Area_V_map/Gela_map/Gela.html
(if you follow the links to the auction catalogue estimate and realized prices for the coins on this page, they range from $1250 to $9,000--- that's not too shabby for a coin out of a bulk bag)
Ever nice, JB, thanks for posting!
>>While the early tetradrachms measured 25 millimeters or so, their third and second-century descendants were frequently 30 millimeters or more. The coin's weight remained about 17 grams however.<<<
25 millimeters is the size of a quarter and matches your coin, JB, which coincides with the date there abouts in the 4th century BC.
More info on this coin in the following article:
[attachment 77411 tetradrachma.jpg]
[attachment 77412 tetradrachmb.jpg]
Many more samples of Gela coins at this link: http://www.bio.vu.nl/home/vwielink/WWW_MGC/Area_V_map/Gela_map/Gela.html
(if you follow the links to the auction catalogue estimate and realized prices for the coins on this page, they range from $1250 to $9,000--- that's not too shabby for a coin out of a bulk bag)
Ever nice, JB, thanks for posting!
Steve(Can)
Well-known member
For comparison, your coin and a coin from the link below:
[attachment 77432 copy.jpg]
Sorry, JB, I think we have a match...
Some interesting posts about this coin at link below
* * *
http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=3546
>>>Posted - 01/24/2006 : 1:45:08 PM
The one side lookes like some sort of minatar, and yes the other side apears to be a horse. Under the horse it says COPY so im guessing it is a copy of something worth copying? and above the minatar it has the letters CEAA* maybe, it is kinda hard to make them out. Thanks for having a look guys...
>>>>Posted - 02/01/2006 : 09:08:18 AM
It's a copy of a tetradrachm of the city of Gelas, ancient Sicily, c.450 BC (Seaby#789 or similar). The originals are supposed to be silver, but someone's stamped COPY on it to make doubly sure no-one would be fooled.
The bull-with-mans-face was a common motif of the coins of Gela....
>>>Posted - 03/01/2006 : 2:43:41 PM
THIS COPY WAS USED FOR A TOKEN TO GET INTO BANQUETS, BALLS, ETC.
Got one from my wifes grandma after she passed away 7 years ago at 90.
PS-THE MAN-BULL FACE IS OF " ACHELOUS"
>>>Posted - 03/18/2006 : 09:09:26 AM
I have one of these coins....does anyone know a ball park value and or any other details??...
>>> Posted - 03/18/2006 : 1:19:52 PM
I have the EXACT same coin also! I searched everywhere trying to find info on it- and finally when I entered CEAA+coin I found your info.. I found mine out in my parent's woods where an old house had burned down in the early 1800's, and was later used to dump stuff in the early 1900's before we moved here in the 70's- I'm pretty sure mine is at least as old as being from the early 1900's. I'm thrilled to see another one out there! Neat!...
>>>Posted - 05/24/2006 : 12:12:44 AM
These must be pretty common....I have one also. Am also curious if it has any value. About when and where were they made and by whom?...
>>>Posted - 05/24/2006 : 01:43:32 AM
Well, lots of these things seem to have turned up. I guess that means it's safe to say these aren't rare and valuable.
They seem to have been around for awhile, too. I think Book's theory, that these were given out with invitations to parties, to use as entry passes, is interesting and feasible. It sounds vaguely mysterious, exotic and secretive and I can see that sort of thing having some appeal to bored "high-class" people in times past.
How much would they be worth today? A couple of dollars, I'd guess. Maybe a little more, if the story behind their manufacture and use can be determined for certain.<<<<
* * *
[attachment 77432 copy.jpg]
Sorry, JB, I think we have a match...
Some interesting posts about this coin at link below
* * *
http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=3546
>>>Posted - 01/24/2006 : 1:45:08 PM
The one side lookes like some sort of minatar, and yes the other side apears to be a horse. Under the horse it says COPY so im guessing it is a copy of something worth copying? and above the minatar it has the letters CEAA* maybe, it is kinda hard to make them out. Thanks for having a look guys...
>>>>Posted - 02/01/2006 : 09:08:18 AM
It's a copy of a tetradrachm of the city of Gelas, ancient Sicily, c.450 BC (Seaby#789 or similar). The originals are supposed to be silver, but someone's stamped COPY on it to make doubly sure no-one would be fooled.
The bull-with-mans-face was a common motif of the coins of Gela....
>>>Posted - 03/01/2006 : 2:43:41 PM
THIS COPY WAS USED FOR A TOKEN TO GET INTO BANQUETS, BALLS, ETC.
Got one from my wifes grandma after she passed away 7 years ago at 90.
PS-THE MAN-BULL FACE IS OF " ACHELOUS"
>>>Posted - 03/18/2006 : 09:09:26 AM
I have one of these coins....does anyone know a ball park value and or any other details??...
>>> Posted - 03/18/2006 : 1:19:52 PM
I have the EXACT same coin also! I searched everywhere trying to find info on it- and finally when I entered CEAA+coin I found your info.. I found mine out in my parent's woods where an old house had burned down in the early 1800's, and was later used to dump stuff in the early 1900's before we moved here in the 70's- I'm pretty sure mine is at least as old as being from the early 1900's. I'm thrilled to see another one out there! Neat!...
>>>Posted - 05/24/2006 : 12:12:44 AM
These must be pretty common....I have one also. Am also curious if it has any value. About when and where were they made and by whom?...
>>>Posted - 05/24/2006 : 01:43:32 AM
Well, lots of these things seem to have turned up. I guess that means it's safe to say these aren't rare and valuable.
They seem to have been around for awhile, too. I think Book's theory, that these were given out with invitations to parties, to use as entry passes, is interesting and feasible. It sounds vaguely mysterious, exotic and secretive and I can see that sort of thing having some appeal to bored "high-class" people in times past.
How much would they be worth today? A couple of dollars, I'd guess. Maybe a little more, if the story behind their manufacture and use can be determined for certain.<<<<
* * *
neisenhauer
New member
I realize I'm replying to this a year and a half after this topic started... I literally just found this coin in an antique piece of furniture owned by my grandmother and have spent the past several hour searching all over the web for this coin. It was actually stuck with sticky goop to the inside of a drawer of this furniture that I have been in thousands of times in my life, so imagine my surprise when the thing fell out. I almost thought some gift from my grandfather (who collected coins) had been hidden there intentionally. But no, according to Dr. Ilya Prokopov's Fake Ancient Coin Reports - Greek Archaic, FILE 394/1188, "This particular copy was produced as an advertisement for a book on Ancient Greece and was sent to thousands of addresses glued to a paper ad." It looks like, alas, my coin still had the stickum on the back that was used to affix it to the ad. Being in advertising myself, I really hope I can somewhere on the web find a copy of the ad. I have no idea how to contact the poster of the info on Prokpov's web page in order to find out exactly how he knows about the direct mail campaign and the book. It's a fun story --- but so much for my million dollar coin, LOL!
neisenhauer
New member
Here's more... looks like Reader's Digest ad for book: http://dougsmith.ancients.info/fake.html