Ring

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Alexias
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Ring

Post by Alexias »

I bought a ring on ebay recently, listed as a brass Roman ring
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I bought it because it appeared to be a coin made into a ring. I cleaned it up (maybe I shouldn't have buy it was very cheap)
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The ring is brass, but I am not sure about the coin as I don't think Greeks and Romans made brass coins. It looks too yellow to be silver. Maybe electrum?

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Xenophon
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Re: Ring

Post by Xenophon »

Congratulations on your bargain find Alexias! I am distinctly envious :mrgreen:

I'm no numismatist but I don't think your find is a 'Roman' coin at all (it is definitely a coin), but one of much more interest to members of this forum. It looks to me very much as if it is a Macedonian drachm ( which would be about 16mm in diameter - bigger for larger denominations such as tetradrachm), of a type first issued by Alexander, but continued by his successors such as Philip III. On the obverse, the head is that of Alexander dressed as Herakles wearing the Nemean Lion skin head-dress. On the reverse the figure is Poseidon enthroned, judging by the trident ( though Zeus is more common with Eagle and sceptre). The name "Alexander" can be made out in the worn lettering running vertically down the coin. These coins are often found set in rings and pendants for some reason (Good luck?)

The coin is probably silver, discoloured down the centuries by electrolysis from the brass.....

I was going to attach a picture of a drachm, and an example of an 'upmarket' version of a ring, but the attachments provision seems to have disappeared !!! Is this something to do with the latest update?
Please advise 'How to attach' and I'll edit this post to include the pictures.......

Edit:15/3/2018
Thanks Alexias.....I've added the photos. Those reproductions you refer to seem rather overpriced. The gold-and-silver ring with coin in the photo sold recently for U.S.$750.00, and is apparently original, though the 'mint' condition might mean it is reproduction..... !
Attachments
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Mak Alexander III 336 to 323 BC.jpg
Mak Alexander III 336 to 323 BC.jpg (73.4 KiB) Viewed 8286 times
Last edited by Xenophon on Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:29 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Alexias
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Re: Ring

Post by Alexias »

Thanks! Not bad for £11 including postage! Ancient brass rings seem to go very cheaply on ebay.
The coin is probably silver, discoloured down the centuries by electrolysis from the brass.....
I didn't think of that. You are probably right as at first I thought it was silver.

It is smaller than the other coin I have, which I think is a tetradrachm. I will post a picture when I get home.

The attachments option is still there. I have just tried it out with a test user and it appears to still work. It is below the box in which you type - there is a an 'options' and an 'attachments' tab. I'll check out that it is still working properly this evening.
Alexias
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Re: Ring

Post by Alexias »

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That's my coin

This is a modern coin from the 1980s. Staggeringly, they are being offered for sale on ebay at $200-£500. I don't know if they are getting that price.
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Alexias
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Re: Ring

Post by Alexias »

Ha! Looks like I was had on this as there is another identical one for sale! Seems such a huge amount of effort though for such a small amount of money, so I haven't really been short changed.
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Xenophon
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Re: Ring

Post by Xenophon »

Sorry to hear that, Alexias...... :( though as I'm sure everyone knows, the vast majority of "ancient" objects sold are reproductions, sometimes carefully "aged" and worn, in order to pass a fake off as original, at a suitably inflated price. Yours is rather odd, because someone seems to have gone to a lot of trouble to "age" the coin (especially the wear), only to sell it off cheaply - which doesn't make sense!

Could it be that someone has a "hoard" of genuine coins ( which after all are relatively common), which they are mounting one by one into a ring setting in order to make them more attractive and "saleable"? (since coins alone are only collectibles to numismatists, whereas rings, being wearable, might sell to anyone)......what makes me think this is a possibility is that one imagines the electrolysis effect in particular would be hard to reproduce.....
Alexias
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Re: Ring

Post by Alexias »

Yes, it really doesn't make sense price wise, especially as he sent me an extra gift of a purse with the ring! It came from Thailand so I wonder if they were made as tourist souvenirs from the filming of Stone's movie there back in 2004 - which would account for the tarnishing.
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