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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Aaron Apfel, post: 4519633, member: 67415&quot;]I&#039;m not sure if this discussion has ever been had before, so thought I might start one. </p><p><br /></p><p>Whilst going through some of my junky coins i noticed a couple with odd edges that appear to have been purposely worked, or perhaps a result of wear related to utilitarian use. I know that when looking at stone tools from various cultures all over the world, it is not uncommon to find scrapers (very basic stone tools consisting of a stone with one or more worked edges) as small as these. This got me wondering, could people who might not have had easy access to metal tools re-purpose their coins to make tools similar to a small stone scraper? I imagine the function would have been the same as the stone counterpart. The extreme wear on the obverse/reverse of these coins could perhaps be explained by them being handled as a tool.</p><p><br /></p><p>I can&#039;t find anything on this subject on the internet, I was wondering if anyone had seen any examples of this? Or if some other form of wear could explain these edges? Are there any other examples or references to coins being re-purposed for utilitarian use in those times?</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1119654[/ATTACH] </p><p>As you can see, stone scrapers come in many shapes and sizes.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1119655[/ATTACH] </p><p>Note the &#039;worked&#039; edges on these Romans. Top appears to be Constantius II soldier spearing fallen horseman, size 2cm from from widest point. </p><p>Bottom Theodosius I victory dragging captive, size is 1cm diameter.</p><p>The patina is consistent along the entire edge of both coins, the shine is just from my light. This definitely isn&#039;t recent wear.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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