Cut Coinage

Here is a Gordian sestertius cut for change. Post your cut coins!

 

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I only have three ancients, can't really identify much about one of them except for age (over 2000 years old) and none of them are cut. Sorry.

 

Pictures speak louder than words...show them off

 

What evidence do you see that the coin is cut for change rather than broken? If change, it would seem to be over 3 asses which would be unusual. How common are cut coins of this period? Do we have any sign that the piece missing from this coin would have been accepted for the other part of a sestertius value (1/4, 1/8?)?

 

Well, for one the obvious cut marks, but not seen in the photo is the marks made by a cutting tool, clearly sheared, the upper portion shows where it was broken after the cut was made. What new 'denomination' was it supposed to be? I have no idea. It was from Spain, where such cut coins are very common.

 

Julius Caesar and Augustus (missing here) / prow Lugdunum half dupondius

 

Well, this is a lousy cel phone shot, but the best I can do at the moment to show the cut marks. Clearly intentional.

 

Hmm. The longer cut looks like it was (partly) done with a Dremel cut-off wheel rather than an ancient tool.

 

Well, I didnt think there would be skepticism for such a plebeian thing, but I broke out my 'real' camera for some extra shots. Some still not very good, but better than a phone:

 

I'm not being deliberately antagonistic-- just curious

In the new pictures, what looked like gouges from a rotary tool certainly look more like the work of a not-very-sharp chisel.

It's certainly a strange thing to do to a coin. As for the odd shape of the missing piece, maybe there was already a crack in the flan and all that chiseling made it crack completely through at that point before the chiseler finished the main cut.

 

Inquiring minds want to know! (Isn't that from the National Enquirerer???) While I originally though the cut was made by shears, I now agree that it must have been a chisel, hammered with the blade from one side only. The reverse of the coin does not show evidence of an opposing blade. It looks like three strikes were hammered to make a deep enough cut. It looks like the cut was deep enough for maybe half the coin or so, then it was broken off to make the change. I have no doubt it was for small change. I have seen many of these specifically from Spain. As to what the new fragment was worth....who knows. Likely specific to the region, time, local economy, etc.

 

Ah. Now I count four strikes!

 

Interesting!

My only 'cut' coin is my single half of a similar type that Doug posted---the Augustus/Agrippa dupondius into two (or one) As.

 

What did the letters in the legend (that was removed) say?
Might that provide a clue?

AVG? or
IXAVG?

Was there intent to remove one of these?

 

A lover's coin, perhaps.

"Here, you take this part of my coin and hold onto it while I am gone, and when I return we will put the two parts together, and we will never be separated again."

 

A real romantic , aren't we?

 

I think that most of the cut coins we see on this forum have nothing to do with making change. If that was something that frequently happened, we'd see way more of them. Cut sestertii of Gordian III? Not too common. Especially with irregular cuts like this one. For series where cutting for change was common, we see much greater numbers – Nemausus is a great example. Elsewhere, I'd suggest that what you're seeing is just random vandalism.

 

I think that you are right, Ardatiron.

Now if you were talking about English silver 'Pennies' circa Henry III that have a 'voided' cross on them for the purpose of making 'half' pennies, and 'quarter' pennies (farthings), then that is a different matter, but to apply the concept randomly to coins (in general) . . . . . well?

 

Exactly. With those, there are large numbers of cut specimens known. And the design itself is conducive to cutting. If I had the free time I'd love to do a survey of the cutting phenomenon.

 

I wasn't going to post these since I already had a thread, but since the medieval pennies came up, here are my two... (Yep, I'm still lurking - hopefully will have a nice birthday purchase to share soon...)


England; John or Henry III, (1199-1272); Canterbury Mint, AR Cut Half Short Cross Penny, 15mm x 0.7 grams; Obv.: _ _ _ Ricvs R _ _; Rev.: SANV_ _ _ _ _ _ _ (Samuel, Canterbury); Ref.: Spink 1350 to 52 or 1355


England; Henry III, r. 1216-1272 (1248-1272); London Mint, AR Cut Long Cross Penny, Phase II, 16mm x 0.7 grams; Obv.: ★hEnR_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I; Rev.: NIC|_ _ _|_ _ _|VND (Nicole, London); Ref.: Spink 1362