Republic denarius Imitation?

[VCollector]

weight: 2.61 gr

[Pekka K]

Original:

L. Valerius Acisculus. 45 BC. AR Denarius (3.77 g, 3h). Rome mint. Radiate head of Sol; acisculus behind / Diana Lucifera (or Luna) driving galloping biga right. Crawford 474/5; CRI 94; Sydenham 1002; Valeria 20.

[VCollector]

Thank You Very Much!

[Andrew McCabe]

I'm pretty sure it's plated, silver foil wrapped on a bronze core before being struck. Which is not a problem, many collectors like ancient silver plated imitations. It's a nice coin.

[VCollector]

I think this plated denarius is very rare. Right? Thank You!

[Andrew McCabe]

I think this plated denarius is very rare. Right? Thank You!

No. Plated denarii are common, and virtually every type from the first century BC is found plated. Whilst they are popular to collect, still most collectors prefer to have a solid silver example of the same type, and plated coins typically sell for about one third what a good silver coin realises. It's still nice to collect, but not a rare thing.

[Ted]

It's not more valuable, but in terms of rareness as a separate trait for a given coin, individual fourrees are generally rarer than the solid coins they copy; if a fourree isn't rare because many fourrees exist, you may as well say a non-plated Labienus isn't rare because lots of denarii exist. I personally am searching for some specific fourrees that I've had trouble coming across; I had good luck finding lots of clearly fourree examples of quinarii, but have yet to buy any undisputably plated dioscuri quinarii (I have some possibles, but I'm hesitant to clean certain spots enough to confirm.)