Ancient Greece Tetradrachm Gela Sicily  466BC to 413BC
Ancient Greece Tetradrachm Gela Sicily 466BC to 413BC

There is a growing segment of numismatics (coin collecting) that specializes in ancient and medieval coinage. A surprising number of these coins still exist, and modern cleaning and conservation methods are revealing their beauty and wonder. You can actually hold coins from ancient Greece and Rome in your hand, and add old, old coins from Bible times, and even before, to your collection. Two of our favorite dealer sites for such coins are:


Many of these coins are very afforadable, and all are extremely interesting.

The coin in our primary picture (upper left) is a replica (COPY) of an Greek silver tetradrachm from Gela (Sicily). Since it is a copy, it is worth only small amounts. You can find these on dealer sites and on eBay for $10 US dollars or so. Were it real, it could easily fetch hundreds or thousands of dollars. The genuine coins in our secondary picture, comparing fakes to real coins, can easily bring $3000 or more. Very roughly, for genuine coins without problems such as scratches, stains, spots, and so forth:

worn: $300 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $1000
well preserved: $2500

Some interesting tid bits about these coins (gleaned from the Internet) are:

The bull-man is the river god Gelas

The charioteer is sometimes commanding a biga (a chariot drawn by two horses), sometimes a quadriga (a chariot drawn by four horses). The horses are always galloping right, being crowned by Nike (the Greek personification of victory) flying above.

The date of genuine coins is somewhere around 466-413 BC. For copies, the date is a few years ago.

You can see several other genuine coins like this at this link.

One online collector thinks that many coins like this were manufactured recently and distributed in the US to promote a Greek book. If you have not gotten the message already, do not spend lots of money on such coins without fully trusting the other party.

Coin: 7034 , Genre: Ancient
Requested by: jeff cormier, Thu, 10-Mar-2011 12:51:08 GMT
Answered by: Paul, Sat, 02-Nov-2013 02:06:57 GMT
Updated by CoinQuest. Appraisal ok., Fri, 08-May-2015 22:25:03 GMT
Requester description: looks like it is made of gold and pressed. looks like the letters CEAAI on top of a bull with man face on one side and the letters COPT below a person standing behind a horse on the other side. no dates, and it is not perfectly round. I found it on my property while digging in the ground in Williamson, NY.
Tags: ancient greece tetradrachm gela sicily anciet tetras tetradrachme tetradracm sicilie sicil sicilian siciliar sicilly gold pressed press letters letter ceaai ceaa bull man one copt person people standing stand horse round i property digging dig ground williamson ny goldish golden goldenen leters lettering lettered ceaas bulls brhama boy male mann boys mans ones peuple peoples peple persons pony horsehead hores horseback horses stallion lamda angel chariot cow cherubs angels cheurb cherub angelic angl cows


I am holding this same coin in my hand right now and I have two of them heavily worn though but i think it it real - Jared Pringle
:) - CoinQuest

I have a coin like this I found. How do I know if it is a copy or real coin? - Susan
If you think you might have a real one, take it to a reputable coin shop in your area. They will be able to help you determine what you've got. Having an expert look at it in person is the best way to figure this out. If you'd like us to have a look at it please click on the 'Contact' button to start an email exchange. - CoinQuest (Todd)





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