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 Replies: 11 / Views: 2,060 |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
This guy strips the patina off of all the coins he has - I've talked to him about it before and apparently he receives them from a family member like that who detects elsewhere in the country. Sometimes, the patina makes a big big difference to price, value and aesthetics. Well, take a look at this Carausius, top left. This is a bust type seen on very few coins - exactly 3 types, 1 coin of Sol and 2 of Pax, all 3 rated RIC R3 (Very Rare). This means the writers of RIC could only find 6-10 of each type in collections - and this is a coin museums actively seek out, so its probably still about right. It shows Carausius, a half length bust, holding a spear over his right shoulder and with a shield. With patina it would certainly have had more detail. It barely shows corrosion here. A pricey type, I'm sure, but one has bnot been seen at auction recently, but I'm sure it would have broken £100.   IMP CARAVSIVS A BUST TYPE : RCF-SP-SH PAX AVG MC RIC V-2, Camulodunum 317 R3 |
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Rest in Peace
United States
4078 Posts |
There are other words to describe this but, not family friendly.  |
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Valued Member
United States
121 Posts |
Wow, even after you tell him his methods ruin coins he still goes and does it... It not only hurts him but the community as a whole.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
567 Posts |
Hey, it's his coin, he could paint it purple and dance around it if he wants.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1804 Posts |
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New Member
United States
5 Posts |
There is a degree of cultural responsibility one should adhere to while owning ancient coins, or for that matter any ancient objects. We are, after all, only temporary stewards of these pieces.
Although this example of wilful damage is not up there with adding crayon to a Picasso, it is on many levels the wrong thing to do.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4973 Posts |
i hate to see it, but they are his coins....unfortunately. for my personal coins, I adhere to vesapsians view completely, as I'm sure most of us do.
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Pillar of the Community
 United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
I would put it up there - after all, we have pictures of all of picasso's works, and we can always have specialists remove the crayon. However, this busto f Carausius turned out to be completely unique - no mention of anything like it anywhere. Nobody knows what this bust looks like in good condition, which it must have been in pre-stripping. That knowledge may now be permanently lost.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1590 Posts |
I hate the "It's his and he can do anything he wanted with it". Under that reasoning I could buy the Mono Lisa and serve my dogs dinner on it and then burn it afterwards. I could even buy a Masterpiece a day for my dogs delight. I know you can't literally buy many of these; we are talking hypothetically. I read, many years ago, of an 19th Century collector who bought a coin that was only the second known example. He promptly cut it up. Why? Because he also owned the OTHER known example. He wanted to be the only possible owner of that issue.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
946 Posts |
Though all of that seller's coins have no Patina, they do not look to have been recently stripped.
An acidic soil in the area the coins are found in could explain it.
But also they could have been in the Junk boxes of his local Car boot fairs, for ages.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
And then there was the Japanese tycoon who bought van Goughs sunflowers and stated that it would be cremated with him when he died.
I can only speak for myself, when I get a coin that is over a thousand years old, I feel an obligation to save as much of it as I can. I have a few set aside which are difficult to clean and rather ruin them I would rather wait until I am a bit more experienced.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
I sent an email to Guy and quickly received an email from the British Museum - it seems they never got the first.
The guy suggests that the bust shows Carausius in a chariot, which is pretty cool. They want to take alook and get pictures taken for the new RIC volume so I'm taking it up to the museum.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 2,060 |
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Posted 02/23/2014 3:00 pm
