This was my first denarius purchased, which I've had for nearly six years now. For the last couple of years however I've had some doubts about it. Not that its a modern fake but rather that it possibly might be a fouree. I don't know about the weight ranges of Vespasian denarii but 2.99 grams seems a bit low, and also on a couple of the devices I see a faint glint of orange/light orange (it can best be seen where the spear and the chair meet on the reverse, the arm holding the spear, and the T and X in the reverse legend; I'll see if I can photograph this accurately). I'm probably making a big deal out of nothing but this doubt about my first denarius and a decent one to boot is kind of annoying. Hopefully it is official since I don't collect fourees, and the fact that it has no breaks in the surface that expose the copper core like a lot of fourees have is encouraging. Thanks for any help!
I see nothing to make me believe it is a fouree. Short of cutting it open I don't see how you can tell. The weight is within known standards. All of mine weigh in the range of 2.9 - 3.4g with the average being 3.1g.
Looks fine. I cant see where it might be a fouree. The weight is fine as well and falls into the range. People put too much attention on weight anyway.
Could be a surface deposit of copper based corrosion if this coin was buried with bronzes or in a bronze vessel.
