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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 2764823, member: 19463&quot;]Just in case this was a serous request rather than trying to get or dander up:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]636226[/ATTACH] </p><p>This gold solidus of Theodosius II is one of the most common Roman gold coins. Before I got it for very little more than melt, it was removed from a four prong mount that held the coin so both sides could be seen.&nbsp; Jewelers will tell you their mounts are perfect now.&nbsp; They lie.&nbsp; I&#039;m not a rich person so the person who mounted this coin actually did me a favor since I would not otherwise have bought a gold coin even one with a missing nose and four little dents on each side. </p><p><br /></p><p>I am even more sensitive about this matter because of something I once did that came way too close to a capitol offence.&nbsp; I found a coin in a junk box that had the portrait side pretty much destroyed but had a decent reverse I though my wife would enjoy as a pendant.&nbsp; At the time I did not collect late Roman to any degree but the coin had a nice Christian symbol and the diameter fit a cheap quarter mount quite well.&nbsp; My wife wore it many times back in the 80&#039;s and 90&#039;s and stil does on occasion but I would prefer she not lose it.&nbsp; One day we went to a dinner at a friend&#039;s house who introduced us to a friend of his (who posts here now) who was an expert in late Roman.&nbsp; He noted the coin and pointed out that the type was not known to exist from the mint shown in the mintmark (Siscia).&nbsp; For a brief moment I had to address the possibility that I had made jewelry out of the only coin of Magnentius from Siscia that survived antiquity.&nbsp; We went on to determine that the coin is unofficial or barbarous so while it may quite possibly be the only one of its kind to exist, it does not have a huge place in numismatic scholarship.&nbsp; Perhaps my suitable punishment is to be drawn but not quartered???&nbsp; I plead ignorance and really did not know it was in any way different from ten thousand other Chi-Rho reverse coins so destroying it was no big thing.&nbsp;&nbsp; Enjoy your ring.&nbsp; Sell the tetradrachm to someone who collects Alexander and would appreciate it.&nbsp; </p><p>[ATTACH=full]636239[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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