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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Curtis, post: 936295, member: 26430&quot;]A&nbsp; coin I found in one of my first bags of 1,000 uncleaned, ca. 2005. I know everyone thinks a brass coin is gold at some point, the old cliche, but I&#039;ve been sitting on this coin 5 years, gone through thousands of others, and I still think so. I&#039;m not a real expert, just a hobbyist who sometimes gets deeper into a few coins.</p><p>For those who are unfamiliar, these were common coins all over the Greek world around 500-400 BC (please correct me if wrong), and some of the first coins, period. Mostly they are pretty crude, just with geometric stuff like squares on the reverse, sometimes a lion or eagle on the front.</p><p>See the wilwinds page on unidentifiable electrum coinage: <a href="http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/ionia/uncertain/t.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/ionia/uncertain/t.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/ionia/uncertain/t.html</a></p><p>Mine&nbsp; is extrmely ugly, and not as &quot;brilliant&quot; as electrum should be. When I got it, I just rubbed the dirt of and this is what I got. There is a distrubing green/brown clump that I couldn&#039;t remove from the reverse. And it&#039;s not obvious. So I have my doubts. Should it be so rough and &quot;dull&quot; if it&#039;s really EL? </p><p>But, in favor of the electrum hypothesis:</p><p>Dimensions: 13 or 14mm, 2.8 grams (within the range, though a bit high).</p><p>I even went so far as to measure the specific gravity or density of the coin: 14.0 grams/cubic centimeter. Right in the range for electrum. I don&#039;t have the scientific equipment, so I did a DIY test, so that figure is open to doubt. (The average of repeated measures.)</p><p>(Density or specific gravity:</p><p>Less dense, less valuable materials:</p><p>Brass and Bronze are about 8.5, depending on alloy (min 7.4 – max 8.9). Copper about 8.9.</p><p>Denser, more valuable:</p><p>Silver 10.5. Gold 19.3.</p><p>Electrum 13-16 grams/cubic centimeter.)</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Obverse:</p><p><img src="http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/acd394c8e4.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Reverse:</p><p><img src="http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/c69019fa00.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Side:</p><p><img src="http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/2c15ba3156.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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