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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,118 |
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
449 Posts |
Hello! I recently bought this Aemilius Lepidus Paullus Denari from A Spanish dealer, hes sold hundreds of ancient coins with not one bad word said about him. I have never dealt with Republican coins before so know very little about them. Does this coin look OK to you? Weighs 3.89 grams. (For some reason this coin was very hard to photograph  Any red glare on the coin is from my camera and not on the coin itself.)  |
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Could be the picture but there is something about this coin that doesn't look right to me. It looks like a cast copy.
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Valued Member
 United Kingdom
449 Posts |
I agree, something looks a little bit funny. The weight is correct they weigh around the 3.9g mark and this one is 3.89. I can't see any casting marks either. I don't know whether it is the colour of the coin which makes it look off. It still needs cleaning as its a bit grubby between the letters. I have bought from the seller before and had not had any problems with fakes, he also has a very good track record. This was the original ebay listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/716-PRECIOS...p=true&rt=nc br / This picture may be slightly better.  Edited by Coinage123
02/07/2013 10:19 am
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
449 Posts |
Just did a density test on the coin and it comes in correct for silver around 70-90% purity.
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
449 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3444 Posts |
The left hand edge of reverse looks like it has been 'rasped' ? It could be an optical illusion but it seems angular along the edge. Might be a half way attempt to hide point at which silver was cast into a mold. As to purity of silver .... I was under the impression that Nero reduced the purity of the silver issues to 90% from what had been closer to 99% Thus extending the life of the coinage by a major factor and also resulting in the State actively removing from circulation all prior issues for reminting (major factor in the scarcity of Imperial silver prior to him) If this coin is 90% (or below) it could be 20th cent Spanish coin silver melted and cast as an old Roman. Things are tough all over ....
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3444 Posts |
After double checking I see that Republican silver while generally pure did have some anomalies. I personally have not collected silver Roman coins for many years and claim no expertise. I gave up on the silver issues when I realized how difficult it was for me to detect the fakes. Bronze fakes exist but are easier for me to sniff out !
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
449 Posts |
So what do you reckon, should I return it?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3444 Posts |
Is the left edge of reverse filed away ? Silver purity is an indicator but not necessarily proof of fraud. But if it tested exactly .900 fine I would be suspicious and suspect it was cast from modern coin silver. I am not expert in Roman silver ..... My Roman collection is 99.9% bronze. Perhaps more importantly did it cost enough to hurt if the consensus is NG. I have taken some chances on ebay in the $10-15 range. The few 'duds' I got weren't worth my time to argue over. |
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
449 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3444 Posts |
When a mold is made using the lost wax process "tiny air bubbles" will often adhere to the surface of the wax. This will result in tiny little sphere shaped 'pimples' on the surface of the final casting. I do believe I see a few of these on your coin. I have some experience in making casts of some coins long ago in a jewelry class. I didn't want to 'ruin' or damage any of my coins so I made uniface castings which I set on rings or used for necklaces. The results were beautiful but the 'tiny bubbles' were annoying to me.
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
I think you should return this coin to the seller, there is just too many indications that it's not right.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3444 Posts |
Looking just now at my finger I realize I have an example "at hand". Note the tiny sphere on the shin of Zeus. This is a casting bubble. While I did eventually figure a way to eliminate them from the open fields (state secret) they did still have a tendency to appear along the edges of relief details. In your #4 photo I can see one along the edge of the figure ..... just where I would expect to see it   Edited by FVRIVS RVFVS
02/07/2013 7:53 pm
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,118 |
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Posted 02/07/2013 10:17 am
