Hey y'all, What do you think of this denarius of Hadrian? RIC 299 obv: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P rev: AFRICA I did a lot of reading into authenticating coins/spotting fakes/cast coins and now I'm suspicious of everything lol. This one, I'm not sure if it has bubbling or not, also the scorpion and the cornucopiae in the hand seem a little off from what I've seen by studying other examples. Wanted a second opinion from the pros here! Thank you so much!!
I see nothing to condemn the coin. It actually appears to be a nice example. Much better than my worn out example. HADRIAN AR Denarius OBVERSE: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, Laureate head right REVERSE: AFRICA, Africa reclining left holding scorpion & cornucopiae, basket of grain at feet Struck at Rome, 136 AD 2.76g. 18.5mm RIC 299/RSC 138
Looks okay to me, although I can't readily explain the odd cracks below Hadrian's chin and above the scorpion. It looks pushed outwards on both sides in these images but maybe that's a trick of lighting. If that area under Hadrian's chin corresponds to the area above the scorpion, is it pushed out on one side and in on the other? (which might happen if something small and perhaps pointed struck the coin and damaged it at some point after production) HADRIAN AR denarius, 18 mm, 3.53 gm Struck CE 134-138, Rome Obv: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, laureate head right Rev: AFRICA, Africa with elephant skin headdress, reclining on rock, holding scorpion and cornucopia, basket of fruit before her Ref: RIC II 299
The weird cracks could show it may be plated... what is the weight? Any sign of green deep in the cracks? Otherwise a nice coin!
Thank you for all your feedback everyone! I did have the concerns you described above. I unfortunately do not yet have the coin in my possession - I just bought it from World-Coins on eBay, after reading everyone's feedback. I was concerned about it being a fake as the seller had once received negative feedback, some time ago, regarding cast fakes. As soon as I receive it, I will further evaluate it and reply regarding the strange cracks and the protuberance. Unsure of the weight but will post it here too. I'll take more pictures when I receive it. Otherwise, it is a beautiful coin, but not as amazing as @TIF 's!!
The coin looks ok to me, but my collecting area is a bit different. You could try a counterfeit database. It looks like it was cleaned and the cleaner stopped with some coating left on the coin. The marks on the obverse could be from digging or someone trying to cut the coin.
looks wonderful to me...but like you, i questioned everything.. those little cracks on the inside of the coin make me cast a little doubt, but...
Hello everyone! Thank you all very much for your feedback and posts! It's great seeing some of your own coins! Mine came in today, I'm posting some more detailed pictures. My scale is not super precise - only gave me a weight of 3 grams even. I will weigh it using an analytical balance at my laboratory on Friday and will give you a more precise, a very precise answer. 3 grams - 0.11 oz - 0.007 lb. Diameter: 17 mm. If you convert the weights above, it should come in somewhere around 3.11-3.18 grams. Some things to note: The apparent cracks below Hadrian's chin and above the scorpion are pushed outwards on both sides of the image. As suggested by @TIF - this might be something that got locked in there during production, or perhaps after.. not sure - what do you guys think? Further, on some of the images showing the sides of the coin, you can see that there appears to be a somewhat drastic change in color from the silver to the bland grayish coloring; I was wondering if this might suggest that it is plated in a layer of silver? I might be completely off on that haha Otherwise, everything feels pretty good about it.. Let me know your thoughts! Thank you!! Here are some more pictures:
i would not use the pincers on a coin. the damage on you coin could very well being done due very hard frosty conditions like we have in eastern europa many coins from ukraine have these typical damage, i see on offerings on ebay best eric
I agree- plastic tweezers might be OK, but stay clear of metallic, jagged-toothed alligator clips like that! Looks like a decent coin. I am about to post my own thread about a Hadrian denarius momentarily, so I had to check this one out.
A nice looking coin that looks authentic to me. Hard to tell about it being plated without a more precise weight, but the scratches on Hadrian’s face would probably reveal it if there were base metal underneath. I have this denarius of Domitian with similar cracking (on the reverse, along the body of Pegasus) and uneven darkness. I quite like it, and I believe it is a genuine denarius, not clad. I don’t know what causes it, but it happens. I suspect there would be a bit but solid silver underneath.
That's a nice Domitian @SeptimusT. I like the toning. I have one of these (not near as nice), I took it out a bit ago and discovered it has turned very dark as compared to when I received it (it was over-cleaned). I will have to take another image so I can show what has happened.
Thank you for the input everyone! I sincerely appreciate all of your comments and time! I believe that considering all of your comments and experience, and my own evaluation of the coin - it appears to be genuine. Thanks for sharing your awesome examples! I'd love to expand on my collection of Hadrian's visit to Africa, by including in it a NILVS and AEGYPTOS coin, I'll be on the lookout for those in the future! Thanks again
