Here is a Trajan foureé, you can see some bronze showing in a few spots. The obverse was used in A.D. 116 (cf. RIC 362); while the reverse is from A.D. 101-2 (cf. RIC 52). Also note the spelling on the obverse of O[P]TIMO. Trajan circa A.D. 116 Foureé denarius 17mm 2.7gm IMP CAES NER TRAIANO O[P]TIMO AVG GER DAC; laureate and draped bust right. P M TR P COS IIII P P; Mars walking right, with spear and trophy.
Cool! Here's the same obverse type with the proper reverse type: Trajan, AD 98-117. Roman AR denarius, 2.95 gm, 20 mm. Rome, AD 114-117. Obv: IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC, laureate and draped bust, right. Rev: P M TR P COS VI P P S P Q R, Mars walking right with spear and trophy. Refs: RIC 337; BMCRE 536; Cohen 270; RCV --; Woytek 520v; Strack 230; BN 819.
Help me understand the so-what of what I'm seeing. The mismatched obverse and reverse are further indications of counterfeiting the coin? The misspelling wasn't a counterfeiter's error, though, correct? Just an official mint error that happened to be reproduced by the counterfeiter? Or is the misspelling also a sign of some uneducated mint workers gone rogue?
That is a great example of a fourree. The style is just enough off normal that I would be worried about the coin but spelling and core exposure all add to the certainty of it being 'funny'. There are enough unofficial coins that mismatch dies that I can not help thinking they were made that way on purpose. I can't prove why that might be but I always wondered if the maker snuck in some clues to prevent himself from falling prey to his own handiwork later. Of course it could just be that the two dies were copied looking at different coins but this is not an example of mechanically copied dies so there is no obvious reason for the mismatch. I would guess the spelling error was simply a matter of poor copying since it does not show, for example, a substitution of a Greek form for a Latin one. Lets remember that there were not standard rules for making unofficial coins. You did what you could and hoped you could get away with.
I got a Trajan fourreé a while back - it has rather dramatic core exposure (to put it nicely). The style looks pretty good to me, especially the portrait. The silver part got washed out in my photos - it has a nice darkish cabinet tone. RIC 116 or thereabouts:
