Who is it and from which mint?

This might just be too simple but can you identify who this is and then also identify the mint? I have left out the reverse and cropped off any legends that might be of use.

Doug will know so I would ask him to hold fire for a moment.



Martin

 

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Just asking...I'm not implying anything. Just wish to learn more about the surfaces found on ancient coins. Has anyone ever questioned the authenticity of this piece?

 

The surfaces are fine, Insider. Some reticulation is common on ancient silver.

 

Looks like Clodius Albinus and if I had to guess mint I would go with Alexandria. The eyes look like some I have seen from Alexandria. Plus I know how much you like Alexandrian denarii!

 

I'm also on board with Albinus, but don't know enough of his coins to make an educated guess at the mint.

 

THANK YOU! Your reputation and knowledge (along with likes) precedes you

I was just curious about:

1. The raised semi-circular line behind the ear.
2. The round depressions at the base of the neck (one large & several small).
3. I see the granulation (Is this the reticulation?)(a good thing on ancients) but it seems to "flow" in odd ways.
4. I see what looks like several small pimples like over ear and under the beard.
5. Perhaps much of this coin's surface just looks unusual to me due to my ignorance and the cleaning.

Cannot wait to see the rest of the coin.

THANKS for the help

 

Yes, we tend to use reticulation and granulation synonymously. Over many centuries, the base metal in silver alloys tends to leach out, depending on the coin's circumstances, leaving rough surfaces when viewed under magnification. Such surfaces are not unusual. The flow lines I see are above the bust in the field, which is exactly where they occur on struck ancient coins.

I'm not sure exactly where you see pimples, but on cast coins they tend to be quite large, numerous, and easily noticeable. Cast coins also generally exhibit soft features, particularly where the devices meet the field. This bust is quite sharp.

 

Well this is interesting. I hadn't had any doubts about this coin before posting it here. I was away searching for die matches and return to find the above query. I did find a die match. More than that an exact match to my coin. I have been off looking at the coin under a loupe. I have found the well masked trace of a casting seam on the edge of the coin.

I have been caught and this is a cast fake.

 

Wow, I wasn't expecting that, lol. The rough surfaces look like many authentic coins in which some copper has leached out. Props to Insider then, but I'm sorry about the coin!

 

When I started this thread I hadn't expected it either.

 

Okay, so it's a fake. Is it Albinus? Sorry it's a fake. I know how it feels when one of you own is caught out.

 

If you are not making a joke on me, that is exactly what I was thinking. IMO, the magnified photo you posted will allow you to see more on the coin than by just using a hand lens. Even with a hand lens your coin looks OK.

One of the "tricks" used for authentication is to take photos of a "difficult" coin in various light orientations using both incandescent and especially fluorescent light. Very often you can see more from a photo than using your eye and a stereo scope.

Is it possible to show us the edge?

 

Wow, what a turn of events!

 

Martin doesn't make jokes.

 

Several posters have called me a "Troll" and a "Know-It-All" in the past few weeks so I'm a little "gun shy" and thought it might be a trap Call me paranoid.

You all know more about ancients than I ever will. I cannot even read their legends!

From what I have learned in the past, many counterfeit ancients have some of the same characteristics found on all fakes.

 

Clodius Albinus - Alexandria.

No joke. I am rather embarassed that I have been caught as I am a careful buyer.

 

Props to Insider for having the guts to delicately bring up the issue of authenticity.

 

Thank you for making my day. I have never identified with the word DELICATE!

See?

 

I'd be curious to see the edge and the die-matching coin, if you get the chance.

 

Good catch Insider. I don't think you have anything to fear here on the Ancients forum. Obviously you have knowledge you can share even if you are unfamiliar with Ancients as a whole.