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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;IdesOfMarch01, post: 3262707, member: 39084&quot;]When I purchased my Vespasian Judaea Capta denarius eight years ago, from a private collector through my dealer, tooling of these types was known but was much less widespread.&nbsp; My coin has no tooling and essentially no smoothing:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]858595[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Compare this to the coin in January&#039;s auction:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]858596[/ATTACH] </p><p>The artificial sharpness of the tooled coin&#039;s devices is immediately obvious: in Vespasian&#039;s hair and lettering on the obverse, and in the lettering, palm tree, kneeling captive, and Vespasian&#039;s armor and dress on the reverse.&nbsp; Even though some of the higher points on the devices seem slightly worn, the edges are far too sharp -- this kind of uneven wear just doesn&#039;t occur naturally.</p><p><br /></p><p>Personally, I believe that tooling started to become more widely accepted (at least by non-collectors) when the following coin sold at NAC&#039;s May 2012 auction for $90,000 not including buyer&#039;s fee:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]858597[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>My dealer, who attended that auction, told me that most of the other dealers who were present agreed that this coin was tooled yet still sold for an obscenely high price.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>In 2007, NAC sold a coin that similarly appears to be tooled for $81,000:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]858601[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>My opinion is that avid buyers of Judaea ancient coins are more than willing to overlook such egregious re-engraving in their pursuit of Judaean history.&nbsp; These are coins that a true collector of ancients would not even consider purchasing, let alone at such absurd prices.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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