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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kaparthy, post: 417, member: 57463&quot;]<b>Aurem non olet</b></p><p><br /></p><p>laz wrote: &quot;I have a friend that&#039;s really into these uncleaned coin lots.Most are common types and base metal,but he&#039;s found one debased gold coin in his cleaning frenzy&nbsp; and he&#039;s having alot of fun doing it! ~ Jim </p><p><br /></p><p>I guess I would like to know more about that.&nbsp; I just finished writing an article for The Celator about electrum.&nbsp; Gold was never debased, in the usual sense we mean today, of having a 50% gold-copper coin.&nbsp; Gold would be mixed with silver to make electrum, down to 25%gold and 75% silver (actually over 70% with copper at about 3%)&nbsp; The Romans were not big on this.&nbsp; One Roman tributary in the Bosporos issued coins with Alexander Serverus on them.&nbsp; But the Roman emperors used gold for international transactions and debasing the gold did them no good.</p><p><br /></p><p>Metals like orichulcum (&quot;brass&quot; or &quot;gold-bronze&quot;) look like gold and have some weight to them and were used in the Roman empire.</p><p><br /></p><p>Do you know any more about your friend&#039;s &quot;debased gold&quot; coin?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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