I am not sure why someone would put the AU letters on this Nero coin. I am wondering if the coin looks genuine or is it a reproduction. When I purchased the coin on ebay about 5 years ago I believed it was a genuine coin that had been by ruined someone but maybe someone knows why this has been done. thanks Joseph
Well, I think we can all agree it doesn't stand for "about uncirculated." Very weird. I suspect it's genuine but defaced.
The punchmark is definitely modern. I've always heard rumors that some old collectors more than a century ago used to put their initials on coins they owned. Perhaps that was the case here? If true, it's pretty selfish, but whose to say what someone out there may do. What I can confirm I've seen is a few old coins with a tiny paper tag with the collectors' initials on it glued to the reverse of the coins. That I can confirm for sure. It's a lot less destructive than a punchmark, and I bet most have been removed by now by subsequent collectors.
"A__________ University"? It is not unheard of for museums and universities to mark their collections in some damaging manner.
Similar to the defacement on a coin I was gifted by another CT member: LIVIA AE Dupondius OBVERSE: IVSTITIA, draped bust of Livia as Justitia right, wearing stephane REVERSE: IMP T CAES DIVI VESP F AVG REST, around large SC Restoration issue under Titus. Rome, AD 80-81 9.9g, 27mm Cohen 9, RIC II 424 (Titus), BMC 289 (Titus), Komnick 15 Modern stamp, 7 over 36 on obverse
Here, Marc Breitsprecher is selling this coin with an old tag glued to the reverse. This is the type of stuff I've seen on rare occasions before, tags glued to the reverse of coins. I suspect this was a more common sight many decades ago, before more modern collectors decided to remove them. Unlike punchmarks which are permanent, at least this has a chance of being undone. I don't know why a collector would have chosen a punchmark over gluing a small tag to the reverse....but then again, with my modern collecting mentality I don't understand either method.
There is one type of owner-applied damage I'd love to have... anything with the inlaid silver Gonzaga countermark. Here's an example from a Kunker auction: Lot 1121. MÜNZEN AUS DER WELT DER ANTIKE RÖMISCHE MÜNZEN MÜNZEN DER RÖMISCHEN KAISERZEIT Septimius Severus, 193-211 Æ-Sesterz, 193, Rom; 23,64 g. Kopf r. mit Lorbeerkranz, im Feld ovale Sammlermarke: Adler//LEG-XII[II GE] MMV Legionsadler zwischen zwei Standarten, im Abschnitt TR P COS, im Feld S-C. BMC 471; Coh. 275; RIC 652. R Im Feld des Averses Sammlermarke der Familie Gonzaga, sehr schön Die Sammlermarke wurde vermutlich im 16. Jahrhundert auf den Münzen der Sammlung der in Mantua regierenden Familie Gonzaga angebracht. Im Verlauf des Mantuanischen Erbfolgekrieges wurde die Sammlung zerstreut. Siehe zur Zuweisung und Datierung der Sammlermarke auch Simonetta/Riva in Quaderni Ticinesi VIII (1979), S. 359 ff. More info about the Gonzaga countermark can be see in this from a CNG listing. Until relatively recently the mark was thought to be from the d'Este family. These inlaid countermarks were applied in the 1400s. Cool!!
The 500-year provenance is great and I definitely wouldn't turn one down, but if I have to decide between two identical coins, and everything else is equal, I'd rather have one without the 500 year-old mark.
Wonderful Nero coin! Sure looks legit to me. Just some @$$ umpire making the coin much more affordable. I've always felt this "R", that is labeled a bankers Mark, looks modern to me. But why and where???
Not mine, but just spotted on eBay, and thought of this post, although it looks hand carved rather than some kind of stamp, so I suspect it's simply graffiti rather than a collection mark? Anyway, MG aside, it's not my area of collecting so if you spot and want it, don't feel constrained about bidding for my sake! Vespasian AE Sestertius. IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M TR P P P COS III: Head of Vespasian, laureate, right. ROMA S C: Roma, helmeted, in military dress, standing right, holding Victory on extended right hand and vertical spear in left. RIC II 190.
That's quite unusual, and interesting. The sans-serif font is definitely modern, though, as mentioned.
Do you have the price realized for that sale? I am a famous cheapskate but would easily pay $2000 for the Gonzaga Septimius legionary sestertius. I suspect $5000 would be closer. I don't know of any reference listing all of the known Gonzaga coins but I suggest you need at least two to demonstrate the fact that the silver coins received a gold stamp. I recall seeing one sold where the foil had fallen off making a really defective bargain basement example probably not worth double the same coin that belonged to a 1400's collector who did not stamp his coins. My offering here is a Messembria diobol with modern circular stamp with points at top and bottom and the letter H. I read this H as the Cyrillic N and always worried that the coin had been market Nyet for no good. I was the only bidder in CNG 45 where it was well described to a clientele who would have nothing to do with such a damaged coin. I never did fit in with that crowd. I do suspect that Tsar Nicholas would have had a fancier N so this was some lesser Russian but I sure would love to know who and where the rest of his coins are today. I have other paint numbered coins but my best is the Germanicus dupondius. While I would never paint on my coins, I briefly considered kicking my coin 47 out of its place held for 33 years so this coin could be my 47. The kid's mother pointed out she was my number 46 but I was not sure I wanted to appear to be showing favoritism to a Julio-Claudian like Antonia even if correcting family separation seemed like the right thing to do. My 46 (no paint):
Here are two silver coins with gold foil Gonzaga inlays. Well, sort of. One is a fourree! https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=146920 https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=66111