BM Caught out

 

It seems that more and more artefacts entering museums from the antiquities market are fakes. One such item is a Thor’s hammer pendant, said to have been found south of Carlisle and sold through Sotheby's that was acquired by the British Museum in 1990. It was some years later, when more of the same were popping up on the internet, that they realised it was a fake.

Museum number 1990,0101.1
Description
Pendant; silver: a Thor's hammer with suspension ring with ends riveted together; double-ended hammer shaped pendant with sub-spherical terminal to handle, pierced for suspension; hammer stamped on both faces with triangles containing six pellets; nine stamps on each side; modern forgery.