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 Replies: 27 / Views: 3,555 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3442 Posts |
Well imagine my shock opening a package and finding this ! Then again If not for the destruction I might have puzzled over this one for quite some time. Justinian follis 44mm 16.28grams    It appears the 'coin' is made of something akin to silicon carbide. Dark greyish material with a bronze colored wash. So this must be evidence that Justinian was using 3D printers to fabricate his coins ........ Who woulda thunk |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
Now that is REALLY scary. Was the weight otherwise OK for that size of coin? Is the "coin" brittle? Should we try and snap our coins on receipt?
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Wow!, I've seen coins that have crystallized from the enviornment an shattered. The metal in this one almost looks like Pot metal.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4964 Posts |
well, I don't know if this is good news or bad news...but I think that's a fake coin. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/fa...um=8&pos=155i can see from the bottom you new that as well, I was shopping for these this weekend and ran across the type of the forum fake coin reports. was that an ebay coin FR? Edited by chrsmat71
04/02/2015 2:44 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3442 Posts |
I know little to nothing about Byzantine coins. The price was right and the dealer is "reputable" (from the BRD).
The material appears to be some sort of ceramic type 'stuff'. It has the look of "pot" metal but it has no pliability. It snaps like a cracker with no signs of bending. Bronze does not do this and by the color I can eliminate it as a possibility. I worked for several years for a lapping company and the material reminds me of silicon carbide but what it is exactly I have noooooo idea.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4964 Posts |
here's a coin I got in an uncleaned lot, it's some type of modern byzantine fantasy piece...i bet it looks the same inside.  |
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
Whoever made this did an almost perfect job. The only thing that I noticed was the thickness of the large M, one this piece it's thinner than what the original ones are.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3442 Posts |
It was an ebay coin but as I mentioned it was from a 'large' dealer in lower end ancients. I have bought several lots previously with excellent results so I am inclined to think it an aberration. For those who remember "sharpening stones" (small rectangular blocks) for tuning up a blade ...... That is silicon carbide. A very hard type of ceramic used for abrasives. Dark grey sand paper too. I find no real evidence of casting and how it was made (not the sharpest tool am I) escapes me. |
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Pillar of the Community
Netherlands
1204 Posts |
oh man, what a disappointment! A good fake, looks like the real deal (if not broken!) was the weight like it should be?
Edited by Dutchgulden
04/02/2015 3:58 pm
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
183 Posts |
'here's a coin I got in an uncleaned lot, it's some type of modern byzantine fantasy piece...i bet it looks the same inside.'
I thought buying uncleaned had the additional safety that
coins were real. surely making a fake and then selling it
dirty and below what it could fetch makes less sense?
HH
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3442 Posts |
As mentioned by others before, large sized lots of ancients have been offered by 'reputable' sellers with some good fakes salted in !
But the ones I have seen were all struck fakes
This is a whole different level !
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
629 Posts |
I´m very surprised...
I´ve seen hundreds of fake coins, but this is another level...
¿Could I use this image (of course giving the original source) in a small work?
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
629 Posts |
Cristallized coins are almost always alloys of silver and copper...
Is very usual to find it in denarius of elagabal, caracalla, antoninus pius or in antoninianus of low contain in silver...
Copper alone can be corroded, but rarely cristallized...
I never have seen a fake like this!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4964 Posts |
the weight is a little low for a coin that large, probably should be around 20+g. there is quite a bit of size variation in the type of coin, so it would be had to miss (i did at first). many of the smaller coins (35 mm) are around that mass.
is it going back to the seller FR?
HH..that's what I thought as well. it was strategically placed in the pic to make it look like a sweet lot. as it turned out, it was an average lot of uncleaned coins, and I calculated I ended up paying 1.50 for the fake...so I just kept it!
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
629 Posts |
How much cost the lot? (I´m not going to use the word "coin" for this, this...)
(I don´t have enought english vocabulary to describe what I think, I would need to use spanish...)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3442 Posts |
The coin as originally shown had one small edge piece broken off. The final price ended up being quite the bargain !
Of course I could not see the grey material in the sellers pics. I thought it odd but for $10 it seemed worth a chance.
You may use any and all pics I have posted. If you want a few more I can send them along !
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Replies: 27 / Views: 3,555 |
Posted 04/02/2015 2:30 pm
