Gas station parking lot find has me wondering. 0

[Bree907]

  I found this. And thought  it was a pendent or charm. I tossed it the junk drawer and forgot about. Until I cracked it open with a nail file, because  the  i couldn't get the lid to twist off  of what I thought was my lip gloss. 

It looks real old and reverse image  search showed ancient  coins with similar obverse an reverse  coins, but I found  none to match the cameo profile  nor what looks like it's an owl with a cardinal s body and the legs of a insect.

I'm pretty sure it isnt authentic...but before I turn it into a ring, I want to be sure it's not of pagan, or religious origin.

 

 

 

 

 

[kbbpll]

I don't know what it is, but it reminded me of a tie clip I got from my grandfather decades ago. I think he may have picked it up on a trip to Greece - it's the "owl of Athena". As such, yours seems to be some version of a tetradrachm, but I agree that it does not look authentic.

[Conder101]

Yes a copy of an Athena tetradrachm.  The head is the Greek Goddess Athena, whether you consider that Pagan or religious is up to you to decide.

[exodus coins]

Def a copy/replica cast. The rev shows it more than the obv side, but both are significant tell

[upgraedd]

Athena, aphrodite, inanna/ishtar, lady liberty all the same. For some reason people (typically) have 2000 year (give or take) knowledge of human history. Everything you know is a lie, all coins come from the same place (ultimately) and looking all the way back and moving forward will always be beneficial to a realistic perspective of our existence. And it's an Athenian owl coin replica (most likely replica) both of them. Tetradrachm technically. Derived from the symbols of Athena, the owl (later an 🦅😉😉 adapted from depictions of inanna), the olive tree/branch (from the reeds held by inanna and used also in MOST currency) and finally an adaptation of the spear, the distaff and the aegis (a shield of goatskin), (you guessed it) also used by and depicted with lady liberty (weird). Or you know, whatever the geniuses after me say it is.... I'm just some a-hole.

[JKK]

There's a thing with Mensa scores, sort of like Godwin's Law before real life repealed it. To drop refs to one's Mensaness leans in the direction of belying them. Put another way, if the scores were that high, one wouldn't need to drop references. The reality would speak for itself. Whatever the intent, the actual message received is something like: "I'm aware I'm not looking too smart here, so let me try and counter that perception a little."

It never works. Tell is cheap, show is powerful. This is something I'd think most people with Mensa scores could have used those prodigious intellects to discover.

[upgraedd]

Spoiler

Humility

I concur i was frustrated and being douchy. I apologise. One gets a ton of negative energy from coin collector jerks sometimes, i don't claim to or think i know everything (ANYTHING for that matter) but the things i know are not based on persuasion or EGO v. ID, i just want people to think and it turns to a defensive situation more often than not, due to the mean intelligence (perceived or realized) of collectors. I get swept up in it myself obviously. Thank you for your analysis.

Edited January 5, 2020 by upgraedd

[upgraedd]

20 minutes ago, JKK said:

There's a thing with Mensa scores, sort of like Godwin's Law before real life repealed it. To drop refs to one's Mensaness leans in the direction of belying them. Put another way, if the scores were that high, one wouldn't need to drop references. The reality would speak for itself. Whatever the intent, the actual message received is something like: "I'm aware I'm not looking too smart here, so let me try and counter that perception a little."

It never works. Tell is cheap, show is powerful. This is something I'd think most people with Mensa scores could have used those prodigious intellects to discover.

That comment was for you sir

[JKK]

On 12/25/2019 at 2:31 AM, Bree907 said:

I'm pretty sure it isnt authentic...but before I turn it into a ring, I want to be sure it's not of pagan, or religious origin.

Depends what you mean by origin. As a counterfeit, its origin is likely modern, and there is no way to know the religious outlook of the counterfeiter (if any). The images, however are decidedly pagan in inspiration. This makes sense because there weren't very many Christians in classical Athens, for the very rational reason that the attributed times of Jesus of Nazareth then lay four hundred years in the future (for perspective, four hundred years ago the Plymouth colony was just beginning; think of all the time between then and now). Anyway, if the issue is that you wouldn't want to put any pagan symbology onto your fingers, definitely don't wear this.

[upgraedd]

7 hours ago, JKK said:

Depends what you mean by origin. As a counterfeit, its origin is likely modern, and there is no way to know the religious outlook of the counterfeiter (if any). The images, however are decidedly pagan in inspiration. This makes sense because there weren't very many Christians in classical Athens, for the very rational reason that the attributed times of Jesus of Nazareth then lay four hundred years in the future (for perspective, four hundred years ago the Plymouth colony was just beginning; think of all the time between then and now). Anyway, if the issue is that you wouldn't want to put any pagan symbology onto your fingers, definitely don't wear this.

Similarities to Indian ancients, slight resemblance to some Byzantine coinage but clearly not. Strangely, and a personal assumption with no reference, the obverse (i assume again) has a shape like part of a particular sigil (a triangle with horns) which is a symbol of the eye occasionally. It is very interesting no matter it's origin.  I'll continue to search. 1st century or before is likely i think.