man ordered this like 2 months ago. finally came in today. from ibercoin. what do you guys think that black is from? almost looks like its from a fire or something. Also anything suspicious from an authenticity standpoint?
It looks all right to me- nice, in fact- though I'm not the final word to trust on such things, by a long shot. I saw the title before I clicked in and was like, "Servilius denarius? Who? There was no emperor Servilius?!?" And that's when one realizes one has spent too much of one's Roman coin collecting time with Imperials and not enough with Republican issues.
PS- hope you don't mind- I took the liberty of using my moderator powers to edit your post and display the pictures in full size format rather than as thumbnails. That's an option you can select yourself when posting, BTW.
Here is a Servilius of mine: One of my favorites of the Dioscuri. RR Servilius 136 BCE Roma Dioscuri galloping Sear 116 Craw 239-1
I dont understand what you are saying here. Is this some impurity in the ore that causes problems down the line?
I'm really not the person to ask about horn silver. I've heard the term and have a vague idea of what it is, but it's best to read that thread and/or do some web searches on the subject, as I'm not well versed enough in the topic to provide a proper explanation. It just dawned on me as a possible cause for the blackish patch on this coin, is all. I really don't know if that's actually the case or not.
If it did turn out to be a horn silver deposit, that would come with both a plus and a minus. On the minus side, horn silver is typically considered a minor negative (detracting) characteristic, but one that comes with the territory sometimes on ancient silver. It is what it is. On the plus side, it is precisely because it sometimes comes with the territory that it could be interpreted as pretty good evidence that the coin is an authentically ancient piece. In any event, I personally do not see anything there that would lead me to believe otherwise. It looks right to me.
From the photos, your coin looks good to me; looks authentic. The blackened area is just some oxidation of impurities in the silver. Horn silver is AgCl or silver chloride found with silver ore. . It can easily oxidize and form crystal and be brittle. I'm not sure that's what involves your coin. looks more like sulfur oxidation, but bottom line is it appears quite genuine from picture.
Looks fine to me. The black deposits are horn silver. I’ve written quite a lot on it; check my post history how to remove it.
Thanks guys! I originally saw a thermus denarius that I wanted because it had a cool battlefield scene. current bid was $150 so I thought 'this is out of my price range' and left it alone. 3 months later I have spent close to $4000 on coins, including this one which was similar to the thermus one. Anyway its amazing how addicting this hobby can be, holding history in your hand is exhilarating for the mind but exhausting for wallet.. Anyway thanks for your input!
It could be some sore of an impurity that was in the silver when the coin was made. It could also a part of the coin that didn't lighten when the coin was cleaned. Black is the final stage for silver tarnish. The only way to remove it is the scrape off a layer of metal. Leaving it as it is is preferable.
This is incorrect. The deposits are typical of horn silver. Sodium thiosulphate will easily dissolve these deposits leaving the silver sulphate patina intact.
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/wh...-admission-49-532-49-533.362851/#post-4607392 See this post for a detailed walkthrough, if you plan to clean it.
