Oh, man, ouch! My reaction was pretty much the same as LordM's. Sorry about your Nero denarius, Eduard... how did it happen?
Wow, you can actually see the fine cracks in the before picture. Were they disclosed when you bought it?
Oh! You're right!! Was the coin already broken and just glued together? (Edited: probably not-- not all of the subsequent fracture lines are seen and I doubt a glue job would have been so invisible)
Oh, man! I felt bad when my T Bone arrived pulverized ... ... but that's nothing compared to those beautiful Nero denarii!! My condolences, @Eduard . Here's some music to help you mourn. This was played on the television during the announcement of President Kennedy's death.
Yes, my condolences as well @Eduard . Please tell us how it got broken. @Roman Collector - I thought I had heard Adagio For Strings before and I did - during the movie "Platoon". Such somber & fitting music.
I reported this post - Coins should not be abused like this... just kidding @Eduard - like others, I had a physical reaction when I got to the broken photo. So sorry!
I have had this denarius for about 20 years. A few months ago I noticed for the first time the very fine crack seen on top of the head. Curious as I am, and always careful not to buy coins with obvious cracks, I applied a little bending stress to it with my fingers. Poof! it came apart....wasn't expecting that. Wow, my heart sank - such a pretty denarius....and a type I really like to boot... I have since 'tested' all 150 or so denarii in my collection, both visually and via the 'bending stresst test' - fortunately, no fails, neither visually nor otherwise. I can only surmise this one was heavily crystallized when I got it after spending much of its life in the ground. The stress may have exacerbated over time under dry storage conditions in a tray. Maybe. I once had this happen with a beautiful (and very rare) minor german state coin I found MD'ing. Beautiful when found, it broke apart after a year in dry storage. I am over it. But now I have an excellent excuse to buy a replacement.
Examine you coins carefully when you buy them - carefully inspect them for fine cracks that extend well into the coin, and if you see them, beware! (you can also tell the dealer 'please wait a minute while I carry out a little experiment with the coin'...)
That's too bad @Eduard. A very nice portrait to have that happen. I've had a couple of coins that have arrived broken like that, but received refunds because of it.
To be honest, I am very against “testing” coins in such a way. It’s one thing to visually inspect for cracks and pass if you have doubts, but it is another thing to test the coin to the breaking point. Or maybe I am just paranoid because Chinese coins are very fragile and often have cracks. (I am very good at visually spotting them). But they don’t get worse as long as you don’t do anything to warrant further destruction. I don’t know about Europe, but in the US that can only end poorly.
I am so sorry for your loss, Eduard. That is a real heartbreaker. I have a Macedonian drachm with an edge chip that reveals a similar case of internal crystallization. If it wasn't for the chip, I'd have no idea the center was so bad. I am almost afraid to touch it!
I own my fair share of coins with cracks, a couple pretty severe and they have survived still. Shame to see that. Looked like a nice Nero.
