Hi friends. Could you tell opinion about Pupienus 21 mm and 5.83g. PATRES SENATVS Ric 11b. The seller is OK in the past but feel weird with this coin. Muchas gracias.
Hi. 1) There appears to be flow lines off the lettering (a good sign of a strike) 2) There are some pinpoint holes on the reverse (perhaps a sign of a cast, or just some porosity) So I'm torn on the issue of authenticity. Some other folks will be along I'm sure to help solve the mystery.
I've seen a few pupi mcgupis in my short time collecting. Never seen one that style. And those craters are not a good sign...
Good :No similar ones in the Fake Coins Report. Bad: Pits (holes) from corrosion are often irregular shapes and are often bunched together, pits from casting are mainly round. More pitting on one side than the other may be an indication of casting since the side that was up will contain more holes (but it isn't unusual for one side to have more pitting from corrosion too).
Pupienus CE 238 AR Denarius 3g OBV: IMP CM CLOD PVPIENVS AVG, dr. laur. bust r., REV: CONCORDIA AVGG, Concordia seated l. on the throne holding patera and double cornucopiae Seaby 6 Ex CJ Martin
I would think the flow lines trump the pitting holes, and so I would lean to thinking that it is genuine. However, I would still be hesitant buying a coin that I though only might be real.
By the time to OP was minted, the silver content was very low. Being buried in acidic soil could lead to the pitting shown on the reverse. Moreover, there is a lot of pitting on the obverse, too, but it is obscured by all the black junk left on the surface. My guess is that the entire coin was covered by this stuff and most of it was stripped off chemically, leaving the rough, pitted surface behind. I haven't seen enough coins of Pupienus to comment on the style, but with such a short reign in such a tumultuous era, it's entirely possible that whoever engraved the portrait had no idea what Pupienus looked like and just went with a generic portrait. I don't think the coin is particularly striking, but if I wanted a bargain Pupienus for my collection (I hope it's a bargain) I would feel entirely comfortable getting this one.
The apparent weakness of the strike bothers me more than anything. The mint workers at this time were among the best in the entire Imperial period (from a manufacturing standpoint, not necessarily artistry) and these are usually crisply struck in high relief - the OP coin doesn't appear to be.
True, but I think we are seeing preservation (and subsequent cleaning) problems rather than original manufacturing.
I would be worried by the apparent pitting on the reverse of the OP coin, but more than that, genuine or not, I don't like its appearence and general look. Puipenus coins aren't that rare. I wouldn't buy that coin Formerly in my trays : Now replaced by this denarius : Q