Coinery

Just thought I'd share this! The B in Britannia has either been repaired on the die (top and bottom), or a blocked die has been dug out as a quick fix? Either way, it would be easy to see how some of the worn examples of this die could start to look a little like a RRITANNIA coin? Might be worth saving the image, if you're a variety collector, just as a rule-out coin? 381141242626

Oooooooh, someone got that cheap! Colin? 191497832231 Original tinning too! £180 the other week, £80 this! Goodness knows how cheap it would've gone for if I wasn't the underbidder?

I love these big young-Vicky coins!

Just out of interest, was this an LC purchase? It's a lovely coin, but It's been very much contrasted out (if that's the right term) on the reverse right field! Only of relevance if it's an LC coin and we are maybe beginning to see a photographic bias on their part? Yet another conspiracy!

Get rid, Goom! Too much money! That isn't the coin we see in the sellers photos, which, I may add, was probably not meant to deceive, just how photography works sometimes...just not a class coin by your images! Sorry!

Virtual drinking?

Cheers, Peck, I'll make that my first Roman purchase!

If you cracked it out of the slab, you'd probably get £1.00 for it on eBay. If you recycled the plastic at your local tip, you might even cover the eBay fees?

This is special! Misattributed NGC slab! Cheap, though! On the obverse, am I seeing the pointed crown of a Type 3 Rose farthing, rather than the rarer Type 1 (S3201). Crown and rose proportions are all wrong for Type 1 http://www.ebay.com/itm/1636-44-England-1-4P-Farthing-Copper-Coin-S-3201-Charles-I-Fine-Dtls-Env-Dmg-AKR-/191173161427?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c82cef1d3

I think the most important feature of goom's coin (regardless of how it's came about) is that there 'appears' to be no significant lustre in the fields! You can see some toned-lustre around the devices but, the tone that can be seen in the central fields, is not the luminous-looking tone you'd expect to see over big lustre, which a coin of this grade should be showing bags of! Then the question comes regarding how that could've come about and, most importantly, can you live with it? I don't know how much Dave paid for his, but I'd rather add whatever I had to to your £107 to have one like that instead? I'm thinking you probably would too?

He did take his own images, they can be found in the 'coin acquisition' thread.

Not sure, Charlie, to be honest? Having found acetone does a brilliant job I've never ventured further. Also, a quid's worth of acetone will easily do 50-100 coins, so it's always been cheap enough to use anyway.

I wonder, with CGS taking 9 weeks to process a coin (Paulus recently), how you'd then stand re opening a case against a seller?

That's what I'd do to be honest! It's unfortunately had a mixed and limited response re the 'clean' and retone on here, so you really have to take stock and review the coin using your own judgement (or get someone else to look at it in-hand). What do you truly think about the surface?

Is there a local coin club or dealer near you that could take an in-hand look at it?

His pictures look so much better than your's, in terms of how the coin looks!

Will the seller be refunding the CGS submission cost (post, etc.) if it is returned unslabbed?

Squash tomato and stew! Happy Birthday, guys!

The purple dye used is called Methyl Violet and is a triple benzine ring molecule. As such it isn't going to evaporate quickly as its basically a solid at room temperature. However, pretty much all solids have some sort of natural vapour pressure, so it may well disappear over time. In the meantime, however invisible it may be, you will still have a slight purple layer on your coins. I'd avoid dyed meths if at all possible. I think I would too!

Thanks, Peck! I might just do that later this year! I really fancy a cheap ancient sideline, and I love the Roman period! Just unfortunate I barely know a denari from one of those copper things???

Interesting, thanks, Oz! Any idea what happens to the purple dye when the solvent evaporates?

It would be interesting to know what all these various solvents DON'T have in common? Meths Acetone Surgical Spirits ???

Ooosh. That's a difficult one. I would personally say that they're not much different really, but Roman fakes are less likely to occur due to the lower catalogue value? As always though, if you can find a good dealer that will go a long way towards putting your mind at rest. Cheers, Peck! I guess you know where I'm coming from however when we see major auctions AND TPGC's all offering fake coins!If it is a simple matter of ruling out the obvious inconsistencies of being hammered, plus appropriate devices/punches then maybe I'm in? I noticed Rob recently bought a nice bit of Roman, so I guess there's enough info on here to muddle 'safely' through it? (Screwed up face)

Peck, do you think identifying Roman fakes is any different to spotting hammered fakes of the medieval period? I only ask because I am really attracted to the Roman period, but can't afford ( or want to) go through another 20 years of unpicking what's genuine or not?

OK, phew, blimey!Right! So, yes, the ear-cleaning thingies! Re the mopping, it was a term I used to differentiate from the term 'scrub'! Essentially, I saturate a bud and swab the area as much as I dare, and this is determined by the coin (hammered, BU 20th C), and also from my personal experience. Now, the personal experience bit comes from the artificial light thing I spoke of and, essentially, a decision about what moves the coin between desirabilities? What I mean by this is, would you decontaminate a little more aggressively on a C1 farthing punctuation to better reveal it, for the overall historical value, and personal (maybe commercial) value of the coin, against the gentle acetone 'wash' of a BU e7 penny? I confess to 'wiping' my coins with a Q tip saturated (soggy) with acetone, and have arrived at how vigorously I can do this on account of my watching the effects on lesser coins! Please don't use daylight as your measure for hairlines! Use artificial light! Everyone, get a lamp, a cheap BU coin, and check out the effects of a Q tip on the surface! For myself, I have never noted an affect! Also, I consider, re acetone, that I've preserved the present state of a coin by preventing further 'undisclosed' deterioration! To further add, I'd happily give a man a Qtip, a hammered coin, 24hrs, and defy him to show me a difference! For every coin thereon in, it's a measure of gentle respect thereof! Love coins!