Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;gsimonel, post: 7622233, member: 82549&quot;]The black something was the silvering. Your misfortune is due to the rapid debasement of Roman coinage doing the twenty year period between the reigns of Philip I and Claudius II. The Philip coin, although heavily debased with copper, had a similar metal content throughout. The Claudius II had a more or less billon/bronze core with a thick silver wash. The silver wash oxidized, combined with other chemicals in its local environment, and formed that thick black crud. When you removed that, you exposed the billon core.</p><p><br /></p><p>So if, like me, you prefer to blame others for your own self-inflicted misfortunes, then you should probably blame Claudius Gothicus for screwing up the currency. It&#039;s not your fault. If Claudius II had just left the currency alone, your coin would have turned out just fine.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in