This is the first coin that I have seen with what appears to be epoxy or some kind of resin filling cracks on the obverse. There's none on the reverse. Epoxy yellows with age. Plus, the yellow areas have a very resin-like quality to them. I can only think that this was done to reinforce the metal, which might be quite brittle. Still, this very strange to me. Has anyone seen this done to other coins? Thanks
It might be lacquer. People use to lacquer coins...I have had several bronzes that had it done to them...the surfaces are often a bit tacky feeling. I always soak them in acetone to remove it.
I put every ancient I get in acetone. Many times they arrive with a PVC smell or sticky feeling. I am just surprised that the coin is in a slab unless the slab label mentions the issues?
No, no mention of lacquer on the slab, unless the "3" rating for surface is taking this into account, but I think there should be a notation of "traces of lacquer" or something along that line. While we're at it, here's the reverse: This tetradrachm exhibits typical metal quality, which can range from acceptable to downright awful. Ditto for the dies, which are often very worn, and the strikes, which have a wide range of quality.
I can only assume that is a reference to the centering, which is quite good in this example, but the dies are worn and the metal is so bad, the coin almost looks sea salvaged, were it not for the weight and lack of corrosion.
It may not be lacquer, resin or epoxy. Could be a find from ancient mud or silt or sea water that caused one sided discoloration and not conserved very well.
The coin has a different look in NGC's photo. Horn silver can sometimes have a waxy, yellowish-earthen appearance. https://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/6055188-002/NGCAncients/
Yes, the yellow areas could be due to peculiar lighting used by the seller when taking photos of this coin. It's a strange effect. The NGC photos, especially of the obverse, look terribly washed out. The coin does look muddy, and badly cleaned.
