Coin identification

Factual Questions
1

Many, many years ago, my grandfather gave me a strange coin- squashed and distorted and covered in weird symbols. He said he found it under the porch of a the house he was temporarily living in.

I assume it’s a replica of some real ancient currency, but I have no idea when or where. I had no idea where to find out either, until a voice in my mind said, “You dope, go ask the Dope.” So here I am, hoping you will clear up this longstanding mystery for me.

Head
Tail

I’m sorry the first photo is so blurry, but I just couldn’t get the camera to focus right. There’s some writing on the side that looks like BASICA OON S, or maybe BASICA ON 5. It’s very worn down, tarnished, and unevenly stamped. The head and tail are upside down in relation to each other.

2

I think it is a Byzantine coin of Alexios IV Angelos from around 1200. Probably real not a replica.

3

Really? You think it’s real? Cool! (Although that still leaves the question of how a Byzantine coin ended up under a porch in New Jersey).

Google isn’t being very helpful. I did find a picture of an intriguingly similar coin, but the page it came from is a message board thread with about eight zillion links.

4

It’s D’Hoffryn’s talisman. If you need to contact him, his chant is on it.

5

Genuine ancient coins aren’t all that rare, if you’re just looking for any old ancient coin. It could be that someone who lived in that house before bought a coin via mail-order for a few bucks, and lost it and it rolled under the porch. In other words, it got there basically the same way you’re assuming a replica would have.

6

I’m going crazy… I’m Googling and Googling and Googling and I can’t find anything helpful. It’s worse than when I was looking for my Abercrombie twin.

7

Probably from a complex, New Jerseytine sequence of events.

8

The dude who made this picture would probably find your coin quite helpful.

It looks like Alexius and Angelus were two different people who ruled at the same time. And as Alexius only ruled for a year, your coin may actually be quite rare, as Byzantine coins go.

I Am Not A Numismatist