Hi everyone, these appeared at my local auction, I inspected them and found them to be authentic. However, another member thought they were fourees, and I just wanted to confirm before buying them. Would appreciate any insight. Thanks in advance!
They look fine to me. They do not look at all like fourrees. However, here have been very deceptive forgeries of late Roman gold as Sayles notes in his book "Classical Deception.". Authentic solidi weigh close to 4.45 grams unless they are clipped (some are, but not those two) to lighter weights. Any full-flan solidus in good shape that is not above 4.3 or even 4.35 grams should cause concern. So, if you could ascertain their weights that would be useful.
So in your opinions, these are fully genuine Byzantine Solidi Coins correct? Thanks for all the help guys
Do a specific gravity test if you're worried. It won't rule out fouree completely, but it's another tick.
It is very unlikely that they are fourrees. That would be easily detectable by the weight. But saying that they are not fourrees is not the same as saying that they are genuine. If you're concerned about them being counterfeit, there are several places you can check to see if it is a known fake. Here's just a couple: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/index.php?cat=5 http://forgerynetwork.com/ The first one looks good to me. The second one has some weirdness in the obverse border, but that could be just strike issues. Anyway, you're better off referring to the experts (above) than relying on my opinions. Here's another place to begin learning about fakes: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/numis/fakes.html
Obone, I agree with the other members, there is nothing visually that would indicate the coins are Fourees, like peeling metal or odd discoloration. Late Roman gold fourees are very uncommon compared to silver fourees.
They were cranking out these gold coins to pay off the barbarians to keep them from attacking. I see nothing to indicate they are forgeries, for what it's worth. Nice coins.
I have them identified as an Honorius Solidus and an Arcadius Solidus with the rarer childlike portrait. Do you guys think I got it right? Thanks
Obone, You got it right. For comparison see my example of a Honorius solidus of the same type & same mint as yours from my collection pictured below.
I wonder if the scale used gives only results as a multiple of .05 so weight like 4.53 could not be displayed. 4.55 is a bit heavy but maybe it was really 4.53 with rounding error. Or, it may have weighed even less with a little inaccuracy. If the scale has not been calibrated recently with accurate weights an error of 0.05 grams (or more) is possible. For me, that slightly high weight is close enough.
Maybe I'm just paranoid here, but I was concerned about the brownish substance in the hair of Arcadius. I've never seen anything like it, I was just hesitant before I bought, as these are pricier items. Thanks
Hello, Up to how many decimal places does your scale indicate? If it's up to two decimal places (like 4.45) then only the first decimal place should be really accurate. So, one can read 4.4 for that scale. If it's up to THREE decimal places (like 4.458) then up to the second decimal place should be accurate. So, one can read 4.45 for that scale. Having said that, 4.45 and 4.55 are both acceptable weights for a solidus. As for the brownish substance, I don't think it's a cause for concern. Maybe dirt. Here's one of my solidi, with something similar in the pearl diadem.
They look A-OK to me. The weights on Western Roman Solidi can vary from 4.45g-4.55g. I got a Constantius II Solidus from Triton III that weighed 4.58g!
Damn nice coins. Stop worrying about them being fourrees My own collection of Byzantines is coming along too. Isaac II was my latest addition. This is my 401k pretty much haha