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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 2895220, member: 19463&quot;]&#039;Why?&#039; is never an easy question to answer with certainty.&nbsp; I love overstrikes but the best ones are those that exist in a quantity that establishes the overstriking was not a random accident but was done for a reason we can identify.&nbsp; One example is a series of antoniniani late in the reign of Trajan Decius and family overstruck on denarii.&nbsp; I have one and have seen enough others that I believe someone at the mint realized that the overstriking would double the value of the older coins.&nbsp; The same thing happens with double sestertii of Postumus overstruck on 2nd century sestertii.&nbsp; Most known coins of the usurper Regalianus are overstruck suggesting he wanted his own coins in a hurry but lacked the workshop to prepare flans instantly.&nbsp; The same thing might allow you to get rid of a quantity of coins that might be dangerous to be found in your possession.&nbsp; This could include coins of Brutus or Pescennius Niger but melting them down and casting new flans would be just as good.&nbsp; Wouldn&#039;t you love to find a common Antony legionary overstruck on an EID MAR?&nbsp; The British Museum does own a Septimius Severus overstruck on Pescennius.&nbsp; We can always make guesses of why something happened but proving it was not just someone fooling around at the mint in a totally random manner might be difficult.</p><p><br /></p><p>There is one other thing we need to keep in mind.&nbsp; There are fake rarities known to have been struck on genuine, common denarii. I have no reason to suspect the Vitellius is not genuine but if you can prove the undertype was a Domitian or Trajan it would be a very bad sign.&nbsp; When we study, we must keep an open mind to all possibilities and a few impossibilities.&nbsp;&nbsp; I hope someone recognizes the undertype.&nbsp; It is a very interesting coin.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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