★ Among the earliest recorded plated forgeries ★

IONIA. Uncertain. Circa 650-600 BC. Hemihekte – 1/12 Stater (?) (Subaeratus, 7 mm, 0.83 g), a contemporary plated imitation. Flattened striated surface. Rev. Square incuse punch. Cf. Rosen 268, SNG Kayhan 681, SNG von Aulock 7766 and Weidauer 9 (for prototype). Breaks in plating, otherwise, very fine.

The history of coinage is also a history of forgeries, and this coin is among the earliest recorded examples of a plated forgery, where a thin outer layer of precious metal covers a base metal core.