I was intrigued by the B. Max Mehl envelope it was in. The coin appears to be a copy of a Tari of Naples in the name of Carlo II with Marianna as regent(CNI XX p473 no.6 plate xvi no.8).It is a pretty obscure coin ?. Why counterfeit? It's 27mm weighs about 3 grams(half the weight it should be)It looks like it made of billon not silver .It has marks on the obverse that reminded me of acid marks I used to see on coins in pawn shops. Any thoughts?
counterfeits like this intrigued me for the simple reason " when and why" when was it "faked" 1700's? later?? and then why? if you fake it, why not do actual weight and size and metal? oh well thus the reason for coin collecting and being curious.
I can not find an example of the genuine Tari referenced in CNI XX in auctions on the internet. I wonder how many were minted? Are there other references that cover these coins. KM only list a larger crown size version.
I purchased this about 30 years ago when I was buying any thing I could find that was old and offbeat that a dealer didn't have the time or interest in to research . I loved the hunt to figure out what a coin was(still do).
I purchased this about 30 years ago when I was buying any thing I could find that was old and offbeat that a dealer didn't have the time or interest in to research . I loved the hunt to figure out what a coin was(still do).
Now, for the moment of truth. Is the above coin real? Is there a way to date the production of the coin, i.e. carbon dating? I'm pretty sure that the coin cannot be carbon dated, or maybe it can. Whatever, is there a way or a collector that can determine the dating of the coin and get a description of what the coin was made of,etc.
The closest to a Carbon dating for anything metal is to test the content of various elements in the alloy, and in particular their radioactivity. Since the dawn of the nuclear age the level of radioactivity in all our metals has shot up, so that would tell whether it was made pre or post WW2. Incidentally this is why pre-WW2 shipwrecks are sometimes salvaged for their metal - it has much lower radioactivity and can be used in products that are very sensitive to this fact, such as X-ray machines.
