I found this in a pile of 10 roman coins I bought of a guy from ebay. This is exhilarating. I see that innocent yellow, now too dark and old enough to be copper, it's that childhoodish yellow, you can see those specks in the photo. Is this a gold coin? If so, how would I clean it (besides using a powered polisher, and a toothbrush with toothpaste and soap). I just need to know if this is a gold coin or not, I'm so suprised! :D
Considering that you have rather harshly cleaned it, I suspect that it has at least some copper in the alloy; there is a green verdigris like spot near the center of the image.
If it is Roman, I suspect that it is of orichalcum, which is what the Romans made their dupondii and sestertii in the first and second centuries from.
'orichalcum' is a gold(ish) colored alloy of copper and zinc, and the amount of surface roughness which suggests corrosion, does not support the idea that the coin is of gold or debased gold alloy.
two questionss: 1. What is it's diameter, and 2. How much does it weigh?
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