@Hydatius:
Thank you for the catalogue attribution! So the original is Mediolanum mint, struck 395-402 AD. Is this correct?
How many of these gold fourrées do you have in your collection? Are there any theories by whom they were struck?
By the way, I also bought this one because it was cheap: I got it for 1 Euro on a flea market!
Yes, that's correct. I have only three: Constantius x 2 and Julian (I'm always looking for more!). They were struck by forgers, just like today, who wanted
money for nothing, though I can't believe they ever fooled anyone in hand. I suspect they must have been added to
bulk lots of coins where their appearance wouldn't catch anyone's eye. That's one of the main reasons why
Gratian bumped up the
quality of the coins and mandated that taxes
had to be paid by
weight in gold, not just in the correct number of solidi: i.e. if you owed 72 solidi in taxes, you used to be able to pay 72 solidi. After the new law (when the OB was added to the
exergue of coins) you
had to pay one pound of gold (= 72 solidi) and if 72 solidi didn't make up one pound, you
had to add the extra. A great coin for a
Euro! (What's the smiley for envy?)
What is the difference between RIC 1206 and RIC 35c ?
Do you think, our two coins are die matches ?
There is no difference; they are the same. The minting of that coin extended from the end of
RIC IX to the beginning of
RIC X so it has two numbers.
And yes, I think your coins are died matches, which suggests that they came from the same source/hoard. Where was your flea market?
Rugser, where did yours come from?
Richard
