Maximinus Denarius - What Am I Doing Wrong (Twice in one Day)

I've spent a better portion of the day trying to find this coin. I picked it up on Saturday at the Baltimore show along with the other coins I've posted today. It was in a tray of "pick your own for xx dollars". My son picked out the Apollodotus Drachm that I posted yesterday and I picked out this denarius and a couple others that I figured would be relatively easy to ID. However, here I sit feeling like a total moron because I can't find anything that it matches to save my life.

On the obverse I see:
IMP MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG

On the reverse I see:
It looks to me to be Aequitas holding scales to the left and a cornucopia on the right.

I've checked the resources I have and I can't find anything that is close to a match. I've not only looked at just Aequitas reverses, but every different reverse of a Maximinus that I can find. Am I completely off base? Am I missing something basic that is throwing me off completely?

 

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The style and fabric look crude (beyond the condition). I wonder if it is a contemporary imitation?

 

You've done all the right things. You couldn't find it because it's not an official issue. It's an ancient counterfeit, made by combining an obverse of Maximinus Thrax with a reverse used by Severus Alexander in AD 227.

You know it can't be an official issue because its reverse inscription contains "COSII" and Maximinus was only consul once and his title is always "COS" only.

It's RIC 99. Be sure to read the note that accompanies the listing, too. Here's the relevant page from RIC:



Personally, I think it's really cool you have evidence of an ancient felony!

 

The coin is plated. You can see copper under the silver. That means anything goes. The rules are off when dealing with plated coins.
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/fourree.html

 

Ok, I managed to find the Severus Alexander in my searches today. Which made me even more crazy since I "knew" that the reverse existed! So if I am reading this correctly, the coin I have has a bronze core, which is probably what is showing in a few areas? What are the odds that this is an actual ancient counterfeit vs a modern forgery?

 

Thanks. This is going to be my pre-bedtime reading tonight

 

Oh, it's ancient alright -- made by a forger who has been dead for 1750 years or so.

 

Well, good riddance
Actually, I think this is actually pretty cool For less than $10 I have a piece of history that isn't "official". Makes me wonder who the forger was and the story behind it.

Also, it makes me feel better to know that I am not losing my mind. I am using my resources correctly. I would totally be able to ID these coins "IF" they were legit Or if I had more knowledge/resources.

 

I have an ancient forgery from about this same time period. It combines the obverse of Orbiana with a reverse of her mother-in-law, Julia Mamaea:



You can see where the silver plating has flaked off, exposing the (now patinated) copper core.

Here's the Julia Mamaea coin that bears this reverse type:

 

I've been looking at Roman forgeries for the last hour or so. I just found this quote that I thought was appropriate

Pliny “the Elder” (Gaius Plinius Secundus, lived 23-79 CE, died in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius) noted that some Romans of his era collected high-grade counterfeits:

It is truly marvellous, that in this art, and in this only, the various methods of falsification should be made a study: for the sample of the false denarius is now an object of careful examination, and people absolutely buy the counterfeit coin at the price of many genuine ones!"

 

I always wondered if this was a hobby interest or a practical matter by those whose fortunes and reputations depended on public confidence in the money system. Some of us collect modern fakes in a 'Black Museum' to protect ourselves from not knowing their characteristics. Every so often we have had a fake coin show and tell here. What you don't know, could hurt you. I consider ancient fakes, plated coins and barbarous copies quite collectible but not at high prices.

 

I am curious what you consider to be a "high price" for something like this. I paid less than $10 for the coin in question.

Obviously, I would hope that someone who is looking for a real example of whomever-the-emperor-may-be would not get suckered in by an obvious fake like the one I posted. Obvious at least, to those who know what they are looking for. (definitely not me yet!)

I know that I got "suckered" by the coin in question. It is not an authentic issue...but I think that it is pretty cool for a forgery from ~1750 years go. To me, the story of the forgery is perhaps more interesting than the coin that it was intended to copy.

 

Less than $10 aint bad at all

 

With the plating intact, it wasn't obvious to the average Roman buying leather goods or wine at the market. That coin may have suckered hundreds during its stint in circulation.

 

@furryfrog02 -- you might be interested in this novel, a whodunnit set in Roman Britain. This particular one in the series (with the denarii of Hadrian on the cover) involves a counterfeiting operation.

 

Thanks! I'm going to see if the local library has a copy or can get one.