Unpublished/Mule/Counterfeit Eugenius Bronze

Howdy all,

Recently, I acquired this Eugenius example that has been giving me quite a run for my money.

So far, I've only been able to determine that the coin depicts Eugenius and is of the Lugdunum (Lyons) mint. It measures roughly 16-17mm in diameter, and it appears to be bronze. Unfortunately, I do not have a scale accurate enough to determine its weight. Beyond this, I've hit a wall at its actual attribution. It does not match any published Eugenius issue that I could find, and it appears to most similar to RIC IX 46:
Eugenius Siliqua. Lyons. 392-395 AD. DN EVGENI-VS PF AVG, bearded, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right / VRBS-ROMA, Roma, seated left on cuirass, holding Victory on globe and inverted spear with barb. Mintmark LVGPS. RIC IX 46; RSC 18A; Sear 20687.

Obviously, the issue with this is that my coin is bronze (as far as I know), which leads me to a few possible conclusions.

a) The coin is a very low purity siliqua, perhaps a bad batch from Lugdunum. This would make sense since the coin fits the diameter (~15mm) and design of a Eugenius siliqua.

b) The coin is an unpublished bronze variety, which seems very unlikely but is still possible.

c) The coin is a bronze mule, perhaps accidentally matched with the reverse die of a siliqua or with a Valentinian bronze of the same era:


d) The coin is an ancient imitation or fouree, either a crudely made bronze counterfeit or a fouree who's silver coating has long since worn away.

e) The coin is a modern counterfeit. While possible, I think this is unlikely as a counterfeiter would either mint/cast with silver for a siliqua, and it wouldn't make sense to create a counterfeit of a bronze coin which does not exist.

In all honesty, I am dead stuck on this one, so any and all input is appreciated! Thank you!

 

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The AE3 minted for Valentinian II was 1. earlier 10 to 15 years than the coinage of Eugenius and 2. only minted from very eastern mints -- Antioch and Nicomedia, while Eugenius minted his base metal in the west -- Rome and Aquileia so very likely this should be a siliqua. Seems authentic and the color might be due to the coin being uncleaned and possibly of a lower title alloy. I also don't think you should try to clean it, better to leave it alone, it's a nice coin.

 

It has a soft details and, especially on the obverse, what looks like evidence of casting. I would guess either an ancient fake or modern fake. Do you know where it came from?

 

The only providence I have on it is that it was part of a collection assembled in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, although I have no way of verifying that. What else can I do to narrow down its authenticity? Thank you!