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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Insider, post: 2399810, member: 24314&quot;]IMO, tooling and smoothing are the exact same type of surface alteration.&nbsp; I have never heard the word &quot;smoothing&quot; used with ancients before (I have not been involved with them in anything other than a cursory manner since 1987).&nbsp; So I&#039;m going to guess it is something only a few decades old.&nbsp; Perhaps some &quot;modern&quot; authority used the words to describe the degree of alteration.&nbsp; Otherwise, it was cooked up by an auction company just as &quot;cabinet friction&quot; came into use for US issues. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I do not wish to come across as a know-it-all because I still cannot tell one emperor from another without Seaby or Sayles. However, the only way I examine an ancient coin after an initial look is with florescent light and a stereo-zoom microscope set at around 8X.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>IMO, every advanced ancient collector posting here must know that most ancient copper has been altered in some way to make it more attractive.&nbsp; It was acceptable in the past before any of us were born.&nbsp; Modern chemistry and methods of &quot;tooling/smoothing&quot; have made it harder to detect for the uninformed less experienced collector/dealer as new hoards/finds hit the market. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Honest people should describe a coin they are selling fully.&nbsp; If they don&#039;t, either out of greed or ignorance (there are plenty of US dealers who would not be around if the &quot;crutch&quot; of slabbing was not invented) it is up to the collector to learn for themselves.&nbsp; IMO, it is much easier to detect surface alterations on ancients than to identify them or authenticate them!&nbsp; As long as a collector <span style="color: rgb(179, 0, 0)">knows</span> what he is buying - described or not, what does it really matter.</p><p>Acceptability is up to the buyer. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>For example:&nbsp; The coin in post forty is another <span style="color: rgb(179, 0, 0)">obviously HEAVILY ALTERED coin.&nbsp; <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Unfortunately, some &quot;ham-fisted&quot; moron got a hold of it.&nbsp; In the right hands, it can be made much more attractive.&nbsp; </span></span>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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