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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 2783626, member: 85693&quot;]One of my favorite ancients is the denarius of L. Censorinus with Apollo on the obverse and the satyr Marsyas on the reverse.&nbsp; Marsyas challenged Apollo to a musical showdown, which he lost, the penalty being that Apollo skinned him alive.&nbsp; For reasons not entirely clear, Marsyas came to symbolize freedom and for centuries a statue of him stood in the Forum near the Curia - a paunchy, bald, drunk, naked guy with a wineskin slung over his shoulder - what&#039;s not to like?&nbsp; In 82 B.C., this statue was featured on a Roman Republican denarius of L. Censorinus, one of the few RR with its own Wikipedia page (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denarius_of_L._Censorinus" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denarius_of_L._Censorinus" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denarius_of_L._Censorinus</a>). </p><p><br /></p><p>Recently I purchased one of these from an eBay seller in Spain.&nbsp; The photos looked pretty good and the weight was clearly stated in the auction:&nbsp; 2.99 grams.&nbsp; The weight is the problem, but the price was right ($20) so I bought it. When I got it in hand, I hoped for a mistake in the stated weight, but alas, it weighs just a hair under 3 grams (I keep staring at the scale trying to make the numbers go higher, but it isn&#039;t budging).&nbsp; So is it a fake?&nbsp; If so, what kind of a fake?&nbsp; The coin in hand feels pretty good, if you know what I mean.&nbsp; The metal looks good, I see no casting seam.&nbsp; But that weight is pretty low.&nbsp; My avatar, which as you can see is very worn weighs 3.33 grams.&nbsp; Another one, my nicest, is 3.7 grams.&nbsp; This one is clearly light:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]644643[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]644644[/ATTACH]</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>[ATTACH=full]644645[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>There are a few scenarios that I came up with -</p><ol> <li>Fourrée:&nbsp; But I see no sign of a base metal core - and with as much wear as it has, I would think a core would show by now.</li> <li>Modern Fake:&nbsp; But why fake a fairly common coin only to make the reverse so off center that Marsyas has been decapitated?&nbsp; And why make it light? </li> <li>Barbaric imitation:&nbsp; the style is so-so - from a lot of others I&#039;ve seen online, this issue varies quite a bit in quality; but I wouldn&#039;t say my example is the crudest I&#039;ve seen (but see below for what I think is a barbaric copy).</li> <li>Official mint product, but underweight:&nbsp; Did RR denarii of this era come in at 3 grams or less? </li> </ol><p>There are fakes out there.&nbsp; One recently sold out of England - said to be genuine - that appears to be a barbaric copy - and it weighs 2.44 grams.&nbsp; Here is the reverse:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]644647[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>In this example, Marsyas appears to be in the grip of the monster from <i>Alien</i>.&nbsp; Also note the retrograde N.&nbsp; I rather fancied this one, but it attracted several bids and went for about $50.&nbsp; Right now on eBay there is a very dramatic fourrée example with massive core exposure on the reverse. </p><p><br /></p><p>Sorry to go on so long about a fairly cruddy coin.&nbsp; I&#039;m insomniac tonight and just thought I&#039;d ramble on here...any thoughts are appreciated.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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