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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TIF, post: 2585467, member: 56859&quot;]It is a very nice counterfeit!</p><p><br /></p><p>I have one Robert Ready electrotype.&nbsp; The original is forever unattainable so I&#039;m more than happy with this copy, which has historical interest in its own right.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/readyelectrotype-rt-jpg.463688/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><b>KYRENAIKA, Kyrene</b></p><p><b>modern copy by electrotypist Robert Ready</b></p><p><b>host coin, c. 410-400 BCE, acquired by the British Museum in 1872</b></p><p>AR &quot;tetradrachm&quot;, 27 mm, 16.64 gm</p><p>Obv: Bearded head of Zeus-Ammon, wearing tainia with uraeus-like ornament at forehead, facing slightly left within laurel wreath</p><p>Rev: silphium plant; K V P A N A (split between fields, retrograde K)</p><p>Edge: initials R R</p><p>Ref: BMC 77 (host coin); B.V. Head. <i>A guide to the principal coins of the Greeks, from circ. 700 B.C. to A.D. 270</i>. London. 1965 pl. 20, 61 (host coin); host coin BM accession number 1872,0709.361; B.V. Head. <i>A Guide to the Select Greek and Roman Coins Exhibited in Electrotype</i>, London. 1880. Period III C #44.</p><p><br /></p><p>The host coin is one that would be virtually impossible to obtain. A copy is the only option. This electrotype itself has historical interest so I see it as a worthwhile acquisition.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 1859 Robert Ready was hired by the British Museum to make copies of rare and noteworthy coins. Initially he replicated the coins by casting but then began using the relatively new technique of electrotyping. For a quick overview of that process, check out <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/metmedia/video/collections/esda/electrotyping-process" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.metmuseum.org/metmedia/video/collections/esda/electrotyping-process" rel="nofollow">this animated video</a> showing how an intricate silver vase was replicated by electrotyping.</p><p><br /></p><p>The host coin for my Kyrene electrotype tetradrachm was <a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?place=35131&amp;plaA=35131-2-16&amp;ILINK|34484,|assetId=1003033001&amp;objectId=1113718&amp;partId=1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?place=35131&amp;plaA=35131-2-16&amp;ILINK|34484,|assetId=1003033001&amp;objectId=1113718&amp;partId=1" rel="nofollow">acquired by the British Museum in 1872</a>. The original coin, from the BM&#039;s website:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.britishmuseum.org%2Fcollectionimages%2FAN01003%2FAN01003033_001_l.jpg&amp;hash=2332d08df4c68fe2ca573fde8a05f937" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.britishmuseum.org%2Fcollectionimages%2FAN01003%2FAN01003037_001_l.jpg&amp;hash=490c17b7718eb76874a40ac418c03cc8" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>The mold for this electrotype was likely made between 1872 and 1880, since the electrotype version is cited in B.V. Head&#039;s <i>A Guide to the Select Greek and Roman Coins Exhibited in Electrotype</i>, London, 1880 (Period III C #44). The author notes this about the electrotyped coins chosen for this book:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;This series gives at the same time a view of the finest and most interesting Greek coins in the National Collection.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>The replica has the maker&#039;s initials on the edge:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/readyelectrotypesideview-1000-jpg.463701/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Ready trained his sons to continue the electrotyping and such replicas were continued into the first decade of the twentieth century.</p><p><br /></p><p>At the time it was made, this electrotype could be purchased for 2s. 6d. each, which if I understand the strange British monetary system of the day, was 2.5 shillings or £0.125. After running the figures through Bank of England&#039;s inflation calculators, my purchase price was only ~1.85% more than 140 years of inflation. I calculated that to feel better about what I had to pay for it <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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