THRACE, Bizya, Hadrian AE 117-19 AD City gate Tooled??

Reference.
RPC III, -- (728v); Jurukova Bizye, --: Price-Trell -- Varbanov --

Magistrate Maec- Nep- (presbeutès and antistrategos)

Obv. AYTO TRAIANOC AΔPIANOC KAICAΡ CEB Γ
Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, with paludamentum

Rev. EΠI MAI NEΠ ΠΡΕCΒ KAI ANT / BIZYHNΩΝ.
City gate, flanked by two towers, surmounted by a figure in quadriga, r.

15.13 gr

A respected member on FORVM suggested Tooling i do not see it, should i be worried?
Lanz would normaly note smoothing and or tooling.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Fantastic coin Okidoki, love that type of patina, I don't notice tooling coin looks good to me.

 

Lanz has been widely discussed on this forum in a number of threads, of which this is one:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/how-much-tooling-can-you-tolerate.295345/#post-2722237

In brief, they knowingly sell tooled coins and do not appear to have any concern that the coins are tooled, and in fact seem to encourage the idea that tooled coins are prettier and thus more valuable and desirable.

Personally, I would never purchase a coin from this seller unless I had viewed it in hand and had an expert (in my case, my dealer) provide his/her opinion of the coin.

And yes, I think that coin has been tooled.

 

i don't like tooling smoothing i could sometimes accept

 

I have no idea if it's tooled or not, but it's a very attractive coin the likes of which I have not seen before.

 

It is indeed a very attractive coin, and the smoothing doesn't bother me in the least.

But on the obverse, the beard and hair seem to have been enhanced by increasing their sharpness; notice how the neck is not delineated at all, due to wear, yet the hair and beard don't seem to exhibit the same amount of wear.

On the reverse, the fine details in the horses pulling the quadriga are much too well delineated to be (to my eye) preserved that sharply, relative to the other wear on the coin. I'm also suspicious of the detail in the stonework on the towers -- these features have high relief and I don't see how some of these lines wouldn't have been worn down to the same level as the towers themselves.

 

Maybe because it looks to good to be true, the higher part have wear towers/bricks

 

It appears to be such a cool coin with lots of eye-appeal....but I have to agree with IOM.

 

Yes, it's tooled. In the hair and beard, a bit of sharpening in the lower drapery of the bust, also the clothing on the figure driving the quadriga and the rear legs of the horses. The fields have also been smoothed.

 

I see what @IdesOfMarch01 is pointing out, and I have to agree with him. Yet I still think it is a very unique example with loads of eye appeal (maybe partly because of the tooling/smoothing - but not entirely).

 

Here are some others to compare it to..

 

lowest is also mine

 

I'll call Lanz, Monday or earlier, I don't want tooled coins.

 

It's funny, but I too see this as a really attractive coin and would be tempted to buy it even knowing it might be tooled. I realize that sounds heretical for a purist like me, but it's just hard to resist an ancient bronze that looks this good.

 

And that's the truth!

 

Attractive but tooled. I'm glad you're returning it to Lanz. I hope they put up no fuss and return your money with an apology.

I have only one coin from this city:


Otacilia Severa AD 244-249 Thrace, Bizya AE 24 6.89 gm, 23.5 mm Obv: M WTAKEIΛIA CEBHPA CEB, diademed and draped bust, r. Rev: ΒΙΖVΗΝΩΝ, Artemis standing r., holding arrow and torch; stag at her feet. Moushmov 3514; SGI 3991; Varbanov 1592; Lindgren I 759; Youroukova 148; Milano IV/3 --; BMC Thrace --; SNG Tubingen --; SNG Copenhagen --; Mionnet --

 

Sweet OP-coin, Oki ... the reverse is deadly (meh, perhaps the obverse is tooled?)

... funny, I prefer a bit of grunge to keep my coins honest (smoothing & tooling is not cool)

Once again => if there is a doubt ...

 

I wish I knew more about how tooling looks and the methods. Same with smoothing. I try my best to buy from good sellers. I bought a bunch of bronze from Z and maybe there are added patinas on them. I did try and dissolve coatings off but had no reactions. In general though I want original coins. I also think I have passed on coins in the past that were fooled when I thought they were outright fakes because of how the tooled parts weirdly stuck out from the rest of the coin.

 

Again thank you all,

Return accepted by auction house

 

I buy these Commodus Sestertius for 190 eur, and then return it, when I found that is tooled. I think that legend on reverse is changed to TRPOT ...from TRP VIII

I found these one on acsearch for comparing.

What you think?