I'm not surprised to see it. Almost anything (if not everything) can exist in this modern world of the internet. Scary seems too mild a word.
Thanks for posting that, but it's pretty much old news to those of us that shop in the Middle East. Lots of tooling and fake dirt going on, and many dealers just find it an acceptable form of "restoration."
Allow me to ask a really ignorant question: is this "repatination" thing really considered acceptable? And what about what they did to that medal of Constantine the Great? Is filling in the scratches and removing the "old cabinet toning" really considered okay? I'm so confused because I primarily collect US coins.
I suppose it's all a matter of personal taste, but I abhor tooling that sharpens the features of a coin, and I likewise hate any sort of fake dirt. I suppose taking the scratch out of Constantine's cheek improved the coin because it "fixed" some damage, but the scratch didn't really bother me. I would have left it alone myself.
Sadly, I couldn't figure-out how to start the program, so I just thought to my myself => "ehhh self, how bad could it be, right?"
I have access, for example, to EDM (electric discharge machine) that are manually operated (as opposed to run on pre-programmed plots) by operators using electronic microscopes. These machines work in the nano ranges. In the hands of a guy that's skillful and willing to put in the time, a die can be replicated with such precision that you would need extremely high magnification to see the tool marks. That said, pros have the necessary equipments to ID toolmarks. Just don't buy high value items without the verification of professionals then your in the clear.
Even professionals can be fooled. However, what you say is correct. They can do wonders these days. I would tell you that repatination is not acceptable to me, nor to most of the collectors I know. But, I can almost guarantee I have a few coins in my collection that have been repatinated. I have just chosen to overlook these coins as most were purchased when I had no knowledge that these things were possible. And like JA said, the scratches and toning were more acceptable than the tooling (my opinion).
THANK YOU! This is an excellent page that really illustrates the problem. Nearly EVERY Judaean coin on the market now has been played with like this. Collectors are fine with it, consignors are fine with it, and I can't understand why. Dealers try not to offend both groups, so they just try to keep the most crudely repatinated ones out.
VCoins (45%) and Ebay (30%)still i dont trust ebay http://www.ebay.nl/itm/VITELLIUS-br...496?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4ae9ec5120 Rare fotos how can i see on this picture of this is good. thats the problem with ebay
It looks terrible - soft, mushy devices, the fabric is all wrong, and I'm pretty sure I see a seam at the edge in some of the pics.