Is this coin Roman?

I bought a small lot of Roman coins and this one just seemed different from the rest. It is thicker and heavier than the others of its size. About 17mm and 4.4g. Any ideas what it is?

Thank you

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Looks like a FEL TEMP, probably Constantius II (looks like I see a diademed bust) kinda like this one. Looks like a thick, but with a smaller diameter, flan.

 

I agree.

 

Thank you! Funny but I found a coin just like you pictured in the lot as well. I can definitely see the design similarities but they do have a very different feel to them. This coin is about twice as thick. Also with the iron staining possibly indicating a different metal composition - I wonder if it might be a contemporary cast copy?

 

4.4g is quite heavy for a 17mm horseman but it is always possible that part of that weight is from metal deposited from other coins. There is not enough detail to say whether the style is official or not but there are coins like this from 15 mints so there will be variations in fabric. Barbarous is still a reasonable guess. If the coin were cleaned, that answer might be more clear but I suspect this one will be as easily destroyed in a cleaning attempt rather than improved. It does not look like an easy one.

It is common to see barbarous horseman coins with the entire legend replaced by I or an occasional O. If you clean enough to see some letters and they are all I, the question would be answered. Both of my barbarous coins of the type are thicker than normal.

 

Doug, are the examples of Fel Temps that were re-struck on other coins?

 

I suppose that is possible but I see no doubling and being barbarous is enough to enplane different thickness.

 

I was just curious is all.

 

Thanks very much for the help I did a little cleaning. Not sure I improved it much. But here is what I have as of now-

 

That coin needs to be soaked for weeks in distilled water. It would help remove/break up the mineral deposits. I am not guaranteeing it will be a great coin underneath, but you have major encrustations on it. It is throwing your weight off. Still may be barbaric, but I am sure the weight would come down.

My really crusty coins like this I used to put in a tray attached to the water coming off the central air in the summer. This way it had a constant stream of fresh water removing minerals. Some would drop away encrustations, others could be removed, others were still junk.

 

Thanks for the tip! I will soak it for a while and post again if I get any more detail.