I'm currently working on assembling a type set of counterfeit coinage, but I've gotten a little bit carried away on the fourees: this is the third out four I've picked up in the last few months. The first I've already shown, it's a BD infected specimen. I've been planning to start it's treatment, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Obv. DIVA AVG FAVSTINA Rev. CONSECRATIO What threw me off about this coin were its surfaces; the reverse looked fine, but the central area of the obverse looked like it had been made out out of base metal. Supposedly this is based off the type RIC 387. However, on Wildwinds the coin depicted as this type had a veiled/draped bust, rather than this hair-net-ish-thingy. I'm not sure what to think about either of these things. Opinions?
Well, silver-plated base metal is the definition of fouree, so yes, you're going to see the base metal where the plating is worn off. As far as the hairstyle goes, it's common on the DIVA FAVSTINA denarii. It was in fact a common hairstyle all around - some curled locks or an ornament at the the top of the head with plaited braids along the sides and back. The Roman version of cornrows.
Well, by definition, if its a fourree its not an official mint issue, (unless its simply a plated mint issue). Therefor, you will never find the exact coin in almost any reference, only a similar style it was trying to copy.
I was speaking of the silvering looking like base metal, sort of like bad modern counterfeits where they're not made of the right material. Good to know about that hair style!
The term silvering does not necessarily imply the existence of silver. Metallurgical analyses of Roman silvering sometimes discover actual silver, but also alloys of base metals such as tin, zinc, antimony, and copper.
A good thing to remember about the rules for the illegal activities of criminals is that there are no rules. We usually see certain metals used and adhered in certain ways but the field was wide open to experimentation and creativity. You might expect copper but the counterfeiter could throw in the pot anything he had so we have to keep an open mind to what we find.
Ohhh. That's really fascinating! So I guess I don't have anything to worry about? The coin checks out (well, as much as it can from a photograph)?
Hey, vlaha => it's always nice to hear from you (I hope that summer is treatin' you well) I think that your new coin-direction is an interesting avenue to pursue ... oh, and I like your latest fourree example (it certainly has a whole lotta colours goin' on ... it's a very interesting piece) => good luck with building your sweet fourree collection!!
Love the collecting theme, viaha----'fourees' open the door to all sorts of official and unofficial misconduct and are fascinating in so many ways. I have one and it's a serrated RR type which I've posted numerous times--so what's one more LOL
