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Author Topic: Rhodes drachm real or fake?  (Read 1174 times)

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Offline john3030

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Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« on: July 03, 2015, 03:54:15 am »
Greetings friends, i purchased this Rhodes drachm 2 years ago. i am hoping its real. its 6.70g and 20mm. im concerned with the bubble marks. im not quite sure exactly how to describe them.

Offline Lee S

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Re: Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2015, 09:08:56 am »
To be honest I don't like the look of this coin at all... I suppose it could be badly corroded, but I am dubious... Is there any sign of a casting seam on the edge? And have you checked the fake coin reports?

  Best wishes,

Lee.

Offline Joe Sermarini

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Re: Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2015, 10:03:28 am »
I agree with everything Lee S said.
Joseph Sermarini
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Offline john3030

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Re: Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2015, 04:25:59 pm »
No i cant see a casting seam. The flan thickness is quite irregular also.

Offline sagit

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Re: Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2015, 01:23:17 pm »
I would recommend to explore the arrowed area - is it an edge of a layer of real horn silver or only the track of it that was transferred from the original when copying.

Offline djmacdo

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Re: Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« Reply #5 on: July 04, 2015, 06:50:52 pm »
That is exactly the detail that bothers me also.

Offline john3030

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Re: Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« Reply #6 on: July 06, 2015, 12:16:21 am »
sagit says ''is it an edge of a layer of real horn silver? or only the track of it that was transferred from the original when copying?'' can some one explain further

Offline john3030

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Re: Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« Reply #7 on: July 06, 2015, 01:50:17 am »
here is afew photos of the coin edge. do they look ok?

Offline Lee S

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Re: Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« Reply #8 on: July 06, 2015, 02:26:15 am »
I know it's not a decider, but do you see any signs of crystallisation under magnification?
   

Offline john3030

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Re: Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« Reply #9 on: July 06, 2015, 02:45:32 am »
Hmm no i cant see any crystalisation. Perhaps i need a microscope for that. i dont have one. What does crystalisation indicate?

Offline clueless

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Re: Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« Reply #10 on: July 06, 2015, 03:48:55 am »
Hmm no i cant see any crystalisation. Perhaps i need a microscope for that. i dont have one. What does crystalisation indicate?

Crystallisation of silver does occur over time, so if you can find it on the coin it is a good indicator that the coin is ancient.

Clueless

Offline Lee S

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Re: Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« Reply #11 on: July 06, 2015, 06:31:31 am »
Hmm no i cant see any crystalisation. Perhaps i need a microscope for that. i dont have one. What does crystalisation indicate?

Crystallisation of silver does occur over time, so if you can find it on the coin it is a good indicator that the coin is ancient.

Clueless

What cluless just said!

  Unfortunately ( or perhaps fortunately !) an absence of crystallisation doesn't automatically condemn the coin either...

   Do you have any dealers  who specialise in ancients you can have examine the coin in hand? I don't think any firm decisions can be made from the photos... But there is enough doubt to make the effort worthwhile.

Offline Lee S

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Re: Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« Reply #12 on: July 06, 2015, 09:12:02 am »
One more thing to try is to wipe the coin with acetone, ( or acetone based nail varnish remover )
  There are certain fake patinas which come off with acetone.... If nothing happens it doesn't mean the coin is genuine, but if it does come off it is a big mark against the originality of the coin.

Offline john3030

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Re: Rhodes drachm real or fake?
« Reply #13 on: July 10, 2015, 07:31:31 am »
I gave the coin a wipe with acrylic paint thinner. Used in auto paints.  A little bit stronger solvents than acetone; xylene & tolulene. Found some in my dads garage.  I used a cotton bud. The patina ie toning is not being removed; but rather surface dirt from handling over the years.
Thanks for the tip Lee  ;D

 

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