I bought this coin because I thought the defacing marks were interesting. It didn't cost much so it's a fun curio. Of course, there's no way to know exactly what was going through the mind of the person who made these marks but I understand that some coins were defaced and then used as weights. Does that explanation work here? Anyone have any theories on why you'd spend time marking up a coin, other than boredom? The damage appears ancient. The face of Faustina wasn't targeted so it probably wasn't personal. Thoughts? Also, let's see your anciently defaced coins! 12.75 grams.
While the coin in the OP was deliberately damaged, it doesn't seem to have been a specific attack on the portrait of Faustina, as mentioned , so it is probably not a damnatio.
RI Fausta 325-326 CE AE3 Spes stdg 2 infants SMHA 20mm 3.48g - scratch over eye RI Aemilianus 253 CE AE24 Viminacium mint Moesia Bull-Lion - Scratch over neck and eye
Not an ancient, but fun... "Weird Wellington & The Penguin Lady": bizarre folk art carving on 1811-13 Canadian "Marshal Wellington" halfpenny token Host coin: Undated (ca. 1811-1813) pre-confederation Canadian "Marshal Wellington" halfpenny token (Breton-971?), large leaves variety. Obverse: bust of Field Marshal Wellington with front outline of profile recarved. Reverse: seated Brittania altered into bizarre bird-headed woman with small animal inverted on her lap. This was a dirt-cheap impulse buy that was so unusual I just couldn't pass it up. It cost me the princely sum of six dollars. Could you have passed it up for that price? Boy, "Penguin Lady" sure is spooky, isn't she? How'd you like to run up on her in a dark alley? Brr... there's some nightmare fuel. Look at that sharp beak... those muscular arms. And that poor creature in her lap, which she appears to be... spanking? Petting? Eviscerating? And what the heck is that critter, anyway? I think I'll call it "The ArmadilloFox". Behold, the ArmadilloFox, right-side-up:
This type of marring appears to be something like a shovel mark rather than something done intentionally.
Macedonian Kingdom, Alexander III The Great, 336 - 323 B.C. Bronze AE 18, 4.435g, 17.6mm obverse modified/defaced into a pattern of lines.
I too find these kinds of things fascinating. Mine I believe to be for the purpose of a game... Flip a coin: Scratches or Dots?? Appears to be a gaming token crafted in antiquity over a VRBS ROMA type. Constantine I, AE3 Rome Commemorative, 335-337 AD Obverse: VRBS ROMA, helmeted head of Roma left, wearing imperial mantle and ornamental necklace. Reverse: She-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, [two stars above]. Exergue: [unknown]
Interesting thread. I just got a sestertius of Severus Alexander that has damage to the portrait - it is as if somebody bashed it with a small hammer, with the portrait suffering from slight indentations. The damaged areas toned/patinated darker than the rest of the coin. Who'd do such a thing? Severus Alexander was a nice guy. Severus Alexander Æ Sestertius (226 A.D.) Rome Mint IMP CAES M AVR SEV ALE[XANDER AVG], laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / AEQVITAS AVGVSTI S C, Aequitas standing with scales and cornucopiae. RIC 547; Cohen 20. (17.94 grams / 30 mm)
Here's something that puzzles me: why would a coin user (presumably) remove a mintmark? Note the defacement is only on the cornucopia. This drachma coin is Lorber CPE-B0395 (Sv-0964, pl xxix, 19 [about 70 listed]; SNG COP-0171 to COP-0172; Sear-7814; BMC 06.055, #087-088). Ptolemaic series 5B. Lorber notes: "The XP monogram series is noteworthy for its fine style. Metallurgical analyses have confirmed that the alloy is comparable to that of [Ptolemaic] Series 3 & 4, with relatively high tin content and low lead content, see T. Faucher (2013), pp 45 & 49 …" And why would someone want to turn an LRB into a serrate (or gear)? RIC VI Alexandria, 46a (OFF B) - Broucheion
I have seen coins converted to scale weights, but most of the time, the coin edge is shaved to reduce the weight. Your 12.75 gram coin would be a bit light for a semuncia or 3 solidus weight, 13.6 grams. the 1 nomisua (N or four dots) weights are about 4.55 grams This is not a coin weight, and the weight does not fall in an even number of solidi. it was described by the seller: BYZANTINE TRADE WEIGHT WITH INLAID CROSSES, 7th-9th century AD A discoid bronze weight with inlaid silver crosses and a column(?). 15.11 grams, 19mm (3/4").
I don't think anyone was out to deface the deified Faustina II here; it's just pretty scratched up. The scratches are UNDER the patina, and therefore happened in antiquity:
Maybe not a today’s “safety” razor (hey, I cut myself on one this morn!), I snared a pretty early version of a razor! This is an intimate and personal item that targets a basic Human need... a razor from the Celts.... cool. Ancient Celtic Shaving Razor 8th-6th c BCE Rare Bronze Age Hallstatt Type 48mm x 40mm
Sometimes a small metal disc might come in handy to protect something else. I wonder if that's the case here? Some dedicated weights (probably): 2.29g: 2.08g: 4.16g (my favourite):