Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 3237932, member: 85693&quot;]Welcome to Coin Talk, Sulla80.&nbsp; I&#039;m no expert, but the weight alone seems to put this in the unofficial category.&nbsp; Nice toning and style on it though. </p><p><br /></p><p>But it is puzzling.&nbsp; I am not sure fourrées were typically all that underweight, were they?&nbsp; What&#039;s the point of making a base-core copy if the low weight would be so easy to detect?&nbsp;&nbsp; The only reason I suspect the OP of being a fourree is what looks like core exposure on the obverse.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>In my limited experience, any Roman Republican denarius getting around 3 grams is pretty suspicious.&nbsp; And yet, I keep running across examples that look pretty good. </p><p><br /></p><p>For a little over a year I&#039;ve been accumulating examples of my avatar (not that I <i>own</i> necessarily-&nbsp; just ones I find online), looking for light weight (3 grams or under) examples that aren&#039;t obvious cast fakes.&nbsp; I have found several examples at 3 grams or less that do not appear to be fourrée.&nbsp; Modern forgeries?&nbsp; Perhaps.&nbsp; I just don&#039;t know.&nbsp; One of the examples I found appears to be both very worn and crystalized - that could explain a low weight.&nbsp; But I have found several well-preserved examples that are just light. </p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a Censorinus (my avatar) that I own - it weighs just a whisper under 3 grams.&nbsp; I posted it back when I first joined CT and it was overwhelmingly deemed a counterfeit.&nbsp; People on this Forum know a lot more than I do, so I am inclined to agree.&nbsp; But I don&#039;t think it&#039;s fourrée and I can&#039;t figure why a modern counterfeiter would want to bother with something so off-center.&nbsp; There could be other answers - barbaric?&nbsp; The obverse style is pretty &quot;Roman&quot; but the reverse, including the lettering, is a bit &quot;barbaric.&quot;&nbsp; It is possible it is a cast fake, but the edge clean-up was well done.&nbsp; The Forgery Network features several examples of fakes for this type, but none appear to be a die match for mine. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]846913[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]846916[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="4"><b>Roman Republic Denarius </b></font></p><p><b>Lucius Marcius Censorinus</b></p><p><b>(82 B.C.) </b></p><p>Laureate head of Apollo rt. / L CENSOR Satyr Marsyas, bearded, nude and drunk holding wineskin before column (Minerva?).</p><p>Crawford 363/1d;</p><p>Marcia 24; Sydenham 737</p><p>(2.97 g. / 18 mm)[/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