As I've brought up before, a few months back I attended a coin auction - for a dealer that had gone out of business. It was almost completely foreign and misc. stuff, and almost everything was auctioned off in big lots of random stuff. In one of the lots that I purchased, was this coin - which was labeled as 'ancient bronze roman coin'. It didn't look Roman to me, but I tossed it to the side, because I don't know much about ancient stuff... Anyway, a couple days ago I checked out a book from the library ("Ancient Coin Collecting" by Wayne G. Sayles), and while flipping through the pages, I came across a very familiar style. It was Sasanian... So I began looking around on the internet, and all I could find was silver examples. In frustration, I took the coin out of the holder to take a closer look. It felt sort of tacky - so I make my apology here before I say it - I dipped the coin... this brown tacky stuff sort of melted away to reveal that it was actually a silver coin beneath. Long story short - I believe this is a Silver Drachm from the Kavad reign 488-531 AD. It has a 90 degree die rotation, which appears common to the type (if the examples on the internet I found are any indication). I have not authenticated it yet, but it was fun to blunder across an interesting find. Image attached.
Thanks! price was great - one could consider it free, since it came with some other stuff that I was really bidding on... even those, I purchased under cost. I hated dipping it, but I had a feeling... in retrospect I probably would not have done it, but I had to know... chances are that brown ick was protecting it for many years before I removed it.
Nice find, and it's in a pretty good grade too for these thin coins. It doesn't look like you've done the coin any particular harm, although I would not recommend dipping ancients as a habit. ;-)
agreed on that score. I probably 'should have' done a little more research on the best technique. I let my impacience get the best of me... I would make a terrible jedi. Now I'm just wondering what that stuff was. I should have gotten a before image, because it seriously looked like a bronze coin - even brown tone and all - but you could still see full details. It must have been layered on purpose.
It's hard to tell what it might have been after the fact. For example, i've come across lacquered coins in the past. That is, coins that have been given a coat of lacquer to preserve their surfaces from the elements. It works by the way, but kind of prevents you seeing the coin as it should be seen. Modern lacquers are more latex based and form a transparent `skin' over the coins. I've bought coins that turned out to have been coated this way. yeach! They grab you as not quite being right but it still takes a sharp eye to spot what it is thats wrong about them, and then its out with the chemical treatment plant to `cure' it. A coin that had been lacquered many years ago would probably gather all the crap under the sun to it, decay over the years, turn brittle and brown.....I have seen that. Not a pretty sight. However as far as your coin is concerned, maybe it was just a build up of gunge from bad storage. Maybe the previous owner left it out in the open and was a real heavy smoker. It's all just conjecture now after all. Either way, it doesn't look/ sound as if the coin suffered anything from the treatment it received at your hands. There still seems to be some substance deposit on the reverse though, or is that just the scan (or my eyesight)? Ian
no, you're right. on the 'top' of the reverse I can see where I didn't get all the stuff off... mostly because I didn't scrub it. I dipped it for a couple seconds and rinsed it in cold water. A couple of light passes with the thumb - then I dabbed it dry. I thought about trying to get the rest of it off, but I'm thinking I might consult someone a little more experienced than myself before I do anything more.
I wish I could help you by confirming the attribution but I only got a couple of sassanian pieces myself a mere few months ago and had to plead for help on r.c.c. in relation to attributing my own ones. They are neat coins those Sass's, and I believe you did well with that one of yours. I wouldn't worry too much about the remaining crud if I were you unless it particularly bugs you. Ian
