Ancient Coin Forgeries

The International Congress “Truth and lies in
fakes and forgeries” is aimed at investigating the
problem of “faking” in cultural heritage through an
interdisciplinary method. Namely: economical, legal,
artistic, philological and scientific aspects will be
considered.
Il Convegno Internazionale “Verità e menzogna
nel falso” ha principalmente l’obiettivo di indagare
la problematica del “falso” nei beni culturali
secondo un approccio di carattere interdisciplinare
e multidimensionale. Nello specifico, durante i due
giorni dei lavori, ne verranno trattati gli aspetti di
carattere economico – giuridico, storico – artistico e
filologico, nonché scientifico.

The paper discusses the so-called Porus medallions associated with the military campaign of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) in northern India, and specifically with the battle of the Hydaspes in the early Summer of 326 BC. At the present time, three types of silver medallion (of coin weight) and a unique gold medallion are known. We assess the propaganda message, and the doubts concerning the authenticity of some of these types.

This is the second book on the counterfeits of ancient coins from present-day Bulgaria. In 1997, a team of three co-authors lead by Dr. I. Prokopov prepared and edited a first small book of fake coins, which was subsequently published in Sofia. The present catalogue is a result of that continuing initiative and work.
The authors prepared the second book in 1998 in the same format. It was not until 2003 that a publisher for this book was found. Prior to publication it was necessary to edit andreformat the manuscript - this publication is the result of that work and reflects information gathered up to the spring of 2003.
In this format (22.5x14.5 cm) catalogue is published a large group of modern forgeries of ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins coming from Bulgaria. 192 coins in gold, silver, copper, and bronze are catalogued and illustrated with nice black&white photos in chronological and geographic principle. From the total number, 112 specimens are Greek (2 in gold, the remainder in silver); 78 Roman
(Republican - 5 denarii and a gold coin of 60 asses; Imperial - 18 in gold, 34 in silver, 5 in bronze, including 5 interesting 4th c. AD' multipla/medallions in gold and silver), as well as 2 Byzantine pieces. A special section of the catalogue is devoted to a group of 77 modern fakes of Thasian type Celtic/Thracian imitation tetradrachms, all in silver. For the first time, 8 sets of new steel dies for striking of Roman Republican and Imperial coins are illustrated and commented.
A 5-pages introduction provides background information about the phenomenon of coin forgery production in Bulgaria. The patterns, technology and workshops known are discussed as well as some up-to-date references quoted.
Publication is devoted to serve to professional numismatists and amateur collectors and make familiar with the modern fake types of ancient coins.

Située sur la rive sud-ouest du lac Qaroun, l’ancienne cité gréco-romaine de Dionysias (actuelle Qaṣr-Qārūn) est célèbre pour son temple dédié au dieu crocodile Sobek. C’est là que furent découverts en 1948 quelque 15 000 moules en argile pour couler de fausses monnaies romaines. Bénéficiant du soutien principal de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale, un projet en cours reprend aujourd’hui l’étude de cet exceptionnel ensemble.