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Message:: [QUOTE="IdesOfMarch01, post: 1697751, member: 39084"]This is a sensitive topic, I realize, and will elicit a lot of strong opinions during its discussion.  It's not my intention to create any ill will among the responders, and I trust the collectors who frequent this site and post their opinions will exercise their customary tact and diplomacy while rendering those opinions.  But it's a topic that I believe most collectors of ancients will find interesting and possibly enlightening. The impetus for starting this thread has come from pictures of the various bronzes that members have posted.  While my expertise in detecting tooling is still improving, it's my observation that 80% - 95% of this site's posted bronzes are tooled -- many very heavily tooled.  Occasionally I will ask my dealer's opinion on such a coin, and he'll be even harsher in evaluating the tooling than I am. This made me wonder if the owner still would have purchased the coin, had he/she known the coin was tooled.  Thus this thread. For reference, I wanted to illustrate what happens in high-quality auctions when the auction site has the integrity to acknowledge that a coin is tooled.  Here's an example of a Nerva sestertius from a 2012 auction: [ATTACH]258266.vB[/ATTACH] The auction house described this coin, in part, as "Very rare. Olive green patina somewhat tooled on reverse, otherwise extremely fine."  In fact, I believe the coin has also been tooled on the obverse, especially the neck and wreath of Nerva. The estimated price was approximately $10,000 (not including the auction house buyer's fee of 18%) but not surprisingly, the coin went unsold -- it didn't even receive the opening bid of about $8,000. Again, no ill will intended; I very much appreciate serious, thoughtful input on this topic.[/QUOTE]

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