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<p>[QUOTE="dougsmit, post: 3551770, member: 19463"]I agree and avoid the use of Potin for these coins. In addition to the alloy differences, collectors have to deal with differences in how the coins spent the last many centuries and what cleaning they endured. How are we to tell if the color of the coin is more due to alloy or environment? A coin might look silver or brown now but might not have been different when issued. It does not seem appropriate to use separate terms for differences caused by factors of preservation. Billon is a good catch-all term for "not very silver but silver bearing" coins. </p><p><br /></p><p>Below are two tetradrachms of Gordian III. One is silver looking while the other is brown. Were they different when issued?</p><p>[ATTACH=full]943848[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]943849[/ATTACH] </p><p>We will differ on when we start using the term for Alexandrian tetradrachms. Some earlier ones shine up enough that we are tempted to call them silver but my tendency is to use it from the beginning to the end. I claim no consistency here since I might call an Imperial antoninianus of Trebonianus Gallus 'silver' when it contains no more silver than what I term a 'billon' tetradrachm of Antoninus Pius. </p><p><br /></p><p>When did the Alexandrian mint use the most silver in their alloy? I believe my best Hadrian <u><i>looks</i></u> better than my Nero coins (I have done no destructive tests and do not trust reports in the literature based on surface readings). </p><p>[ATTACH=full]943857[/ATTACH] </p><p>Things fall off rapidly with Commodus and again after Philip. These are questions for those in our group whose hobby centers on metal alloy and weight standards. Those aspects of the hobby have never been of great interest to me.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="dougsmit, post: 3551770, member: 19463"]I agree and avoid the use of Potin for these coins. In addition to the alloy differences, collectors have to deal with differences in how the coins spent the last many centuries and what cleaning they endured. How are we to tell if the color of the coin is more due to alloy or environment? A coin might look silver or brown now but might not have been different when issued. It does not seem appropriate to use separate terms for differences caused by factors of preservation. Billon is a good catch-all term for "not very silver but silver bearing" coins. Below are two tetradrachms of Gordian III. One is silver looking while the other is brown. Were they different when issued? [ATTACH=full]943848[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]943849[/ATTACH] We will differ on when we start using the term for Alexandrian tetradrachms. Some earlier ones shine up enough that we are tempted to call them silver but my tendency is to use it from the beginning to the end. I claim no consistency here since I might call an Imperial antoninianus of Trebonianus Gallus 'silver' when it contains no more silver than what I term a 'billon' tetradrachm of Antoninus Pius. When did the Alexandrian mint use the most silver in their alloy? I believe my best Hadrian [U][I]looks[/I][/U] better than my Nero coins (I have done no destructive tests and do not trust reports in the literature based on surface readings). [ATTACH=full]943857[/ATTACH] Things fall off rapidly with Commodus and again after Philip. These are questions for those in our group whose hobby centers on metal alloy and weight standards. Those aspects of the hobby have never been of great interest to me.[/QUOTE]
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