found this in egypt

[CKaufman]

this was found in northern egypt ten years ago just outside of alexandria. I know it's a medal of the emperor commodus with hygeia on the reverse. I geuss my question is how much is it worth and why were these made? special occasions? I dont know much about the romans.

 

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[CRUSADER]

I have lost count of how many times I have correctly IDed a copy/fake/imitation from a photo on Tnet & all the time on ebay. BigC has also proved himself time & time again. In fact I'm pretty sure my record is 100% intact for this type of ID, yet clearly I'm a amazing guesser. Which actually belittles my experience & knowledge, I have put up with this smudge for long enough & I'm sick of it. So lets just wait for the 'experts' to make the same judgement as me & lets see who right on this one again

 

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[Silver Searcher]

this was found in northern egypt ten years ago just outside of alexandria. I know it's a medal of the emperor commodus with hygeia on the reverse. I geuss my question is how much is it worth and why were these made? special occasions? I dont know much about the romans.

why did you think hygeia? Was this what you were told?

Its clearly SALVS feeding snake.

no, I googled commodus medal and found a book that had a pic and exact description word for word.

You are partly right :P The latin translation for Hygeia, is Salus

SS

 

[Silver Searcher]

I have lost count of how many times I have correctly IDed a copy/fake/imitation from a photo on Tnet & all the time on ebay. BigC has also proved himself time & time again. In fact I'm pretty sure my record is 100% intact for this type of ID, yet clearly I'm a amazing guesser. Which actually belittles my experience & knowledge, I have put up with this smudge for long enough & I'm sick of it. So lets just wait for the 'experts' to make the same judgement as me & lets see who right on this one again

HaHaHa I remember you saying a Roman Silver of mine was a Antoninios Pious when it clearly was a Caracalla Buy more books

SS

 

[CRUSADER]

I have lost count of how many times I have correctly IDed a copy/fake/imitation from a photo on Tnet & all the time on ebay. BigC has also proved himself time & time again. In fact I'm pretty sure my record is 100% intact for this type of ID, yet clearly I'm a amazing guesser. Which actually belittles my experience & knowledge, I have put up with this smudge for long enough & I'm sick of it. So lets just wait for the 'experts' to make the same judgement as me & lets see who right on this one again

HaHaHa I remember you saying a Roman Silver of mine was a Antoninios Pious when it clearly was a Caracalla Buy more books

SS

and...nothing to do with IDing fakes, I looked at it once, read the inscription which even you know is similar to Ant. & gave you my first thoughts. I'm not going to play you're childish games & start listing all the ID's you got wrong, I haven't got enough space on tnet

 

[Silver Searcher]

You normally point out things on the forum were as I corrected you through PMs, and kept it civil

SS

 

[CRUSADER]

You normally point out things on the forum were as I corrected you through PMs, and kept it civil

SS

I'm off to find stuff. You can continue your slagging off of people who like to study & read books, not just me, or you could buy some yourself & join in the debate in a more positive manner. good bye.

 

[Silver Searcher]

You normally point out things on the forum were as I corrected you through PMs, and kept it civil

SS

I'm off to find stuff. You can continue your slagging off of people who like to study & read books, not just me, or you could buy some yourself & join in the debate in a more positive manner. good bye.

I thought you told me your Dad did all the research for you Good luck with the hunt there's plenty on ebay

SS

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I am not familiar with ancients but it looks cast to me with the large lump on one side.

 

[squidman]

either way nice find.walk like an egyptian.

 

[Silver Searcher]

I am not familiar with ancients but it looks cast to me with the large lump on one side.

Some were cast, some struck and varied in size and were made from Bronze Silver and Gold, the largest known Gold was 81grams, they were given out on New Years Day, for good luck, Commodus became TR P XV111 on Dec 10. 192 and was assassinated 31 Dec 192, Medallions were given to Friends, family on new years day, along with money particular copper asses. Of course there were also Campaign, and Military Medals.
I honestly don't know if this one we are talking about is real but the poster asked for help, and as these demand huge sums of money if genuine, it really needs to be looked at by an expert

SS

 

[Silver Searcher]

Also the Mobile or Reverse tended to wear out faster than the Obverse die, which was fixed in the anvil. For this reason, the more important design was usually put on the Obverse. As we can see by the one posted, it shows wear on the Reverse

SS

 

[CKaufman]

thanks for all the input, and sorry if I caused an argument . where should I send this to be examined? any suggestions as to the best course of action? i'm weary of handing this to just anyone claiming to be an expert. If it is genuine I might get a fake back(the old switcheroo). as far as the fakes are concerned I spent 4 hours last night looking at known fakes on the net and none of them matched the one I have. for some reason I have a good feeling about this even though I am a sceptic by nature. or maybe it's just wishfull thinking. i'll keep you all posted as best I can. I took it to a coin shop this morning and they said it had to look and feel of something 1800 years old and it didn't look artificially antiqued. I guess we'll find out soon, as soon as I find a reputable expert.

 

[Silver Searcher]

thanks for all the input, and sorry if I caused an argument . where should I send this to be examined? any suggestions as to the best course of action? i'm weary of handing this to just anyone claiming to be an expert. If it is genuine I might get a fake back(the old switcheroo). as far as the fakes are concerned I spent 4 hours last night looking at known fakes on the net and none of them matched the one I have. for some reason I have a good feeling about this even though I am a sceptic by nature. or maybe it's just wishfull thinking. i'll keep you all posted as best I can. I took it to a coin shop this morning and they said it had to look and feel of something 1800 years old and it didn't look artificially antiqued. I guess we'll find out soon, as soon as I find a reputable expert.

I PMd you a link you could try that

SS

 

[CKaufman]

funny you should mention the anvil, the medal is tapered on the edge . wider on obverse, narrowing to reverse. I was curious as to why that was.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

thanks for all the input, and sorry if I caused an argument . where should I send this to be examined? any suggestions as to the best course of action? i'm weary of handing this to just anyone claiming to be an expert. If it is genuine I might get a fake back(the old switcheroo). as far as the fakes are concerned I spent 4 hours last night looking at known fakes on the net and none of them matched the one I have. for some reason I have a good feeling about this even though I am a sceptic by nature. or maybe it's just wishfull thinking. i'll keep you all posted as best I can. I took it to a coin shop this morning and they said it had to look and feel of something 1800 years old and it didn't look artificially antiqued. I guess we'll find out soon, as soon as I find a reputable expert.

Ask them what they are willing to pay for it? It just doesnt look right to me but I understand you need to be sure.. Instead of comparing it to the various replicas, try comparing it to a known authentic. Another thought would be to find if this particular coin was cast or hammered. I just dont see your coin as being hammered. Also some of the letters are filled. (dirt in the lettering; cast)
http://dougsmith.ancients.info/feac56cas.html http://www.calgarycoin.com/reference/fakes/cast.htm

funny you should mention the anvil, the medal is tapered on the edge . wider on obverse, narrowing to reverse. I was curious as to why that was.

Probably so it can be easily removed from the mould.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Any news? just checking

 

[CKaufman]

Any news? just checking

nothing new yet, i'll be sending it off in the next few days hopefully.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I'm definitely not an expert on ancients but I am pretty good with souvenir type copies. I took a second look at this and compared it to some originals. Like Cru said, it doesnt match up. The letters are all wrong. Not just the T but the entire way they are presented. Clearly they are not stamped. Some of the letters are partially filled, which happens with cheap castings. There are no denticals. I see no patina. This has all the makings of a souvenir copy. Maybe it was lost years ago by a tourist and found by a detectorist. It happens.

 

[CRUSADER]

I'm definitely not an expert on ancients but I am pretty good with souvenir type copies. I took a second look at this and compared it to some originals. Like Cru said, it doesnt match up. The letters are all wrong. Not just the T but the entire way they are presented. Clearly they are not stamped. Some of the letters are partially filled, which happens with cheap castings. There are no denticals. This has all the makings of a souvenir copy. Maybe it was lost years ago by a tourist and found by a detectorist. It happens.

Exactly what I was getting at, the Romans would not produce such shoddy letters.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

He has a very pointed nose. Is that supposed to be that way?