FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board
Numismatic and History Discussion Forums => Roman Coins Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Ginolerhino on January 13, 2012, 12:05:10 pm
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Hello. The reverse die of this small IVth C. coin is puzzling me. When looking at the soldiers' faces, it looks like there are four of them instead of the usual two. Has anybody seen such a fantasy on this kind of coin ?
Thanks.
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it could be a double strike
or alternatively it could be an imitaive coin struck after the fall of magnentius
they tend to turn up.
your coin has a very crude design , so i would not be surprised if this was an imitative.
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Thank you.
I too suspected a double strike but at second glance it does not seem so. Only the faces of the soldiers appear to be double-stricken, nothing else, and it is symetric... The coin may be an imitation, why not? it was found in the near East.
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The soldiers simply have rather large heads. It is a two soldiers and 1 standard type. Nor does the coin look like an imitation - and these coins were not imitated in the near east but rather in Britain and norther Gaul.
Regards,
Adrianus
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They were also imitated contemporaneously with the official types (i.e. 330-341) or slightly after (341-348) not as far after as Magnentius fall (353).
I think what you see instead of a double strike is odd engraving. It looks like this engraver liked to use a small round punch or drift and has used it for the eyes but also in a row of three nearly vertical dots for nose, mouth and chin.
Shawn