On several occasions we have seen discussions here on
Forvm of
Republican denarii weight adjusted by scooping out a
bit of silver with a gouge. It has been established by Clive
Stannard that these coins were issued 'al marco' or on a
standard of so many to a given
weight of metal so exact individual
weights for each coin was not important but great care was taken that a batch of coins weighted what the
standard required. This was accomplished by making a batch of blanks very slightly over the target
weight and then scooping out a
bit of silver from enough coins to bring the total
weight down to the exact
weight desired. It is proposed that a worker would grab a
flan adjust it and throw it back in the group on the
scales repeating until the total was correct. Since blanks were selected at random, this system would allow the same blank to be grabbed more than once and even gouged a second time without the worker noticing that it already
had a gouge mark on the other
side. I am asking if the coin shown here is the result of a double scoop.
L. Julius Bursio 85 BC 3.85g
Julia 5
Crawford 352/1c control HE at top of
reverse (what is the
obverse minor device?)
Most
Stannard scoop coins will show a depression or flat spot on the
side opposite the scoop but a double scoop would not show this second depression aligned with the first. That appears to be the case the case with this coin at first look but there is another problem that prevents me from being certain. The coin has a banker's mark placed exactly in the
reverse scoop distorting the overlapped
part of the
obverse scoop. At first look, I tried to convince myself that the
obverse scoop was made with the tool held upside down causing a dome rather than a recessed center but now believe the dome was caused by deformation by the banker's mark. My photo is not as
good as I would like to show the
reverse scoop (I always have to reshoot strange coins a few times to show all their features to best advantage and the uneven
toning is not helping this specimen). There will be more as I try to convince myself what I am seeing here. Opinions from others interested in technical matters would be appreciated.
I would enjoy seeing images of
Stannard scooped coins that are either doubled or deformed by banker's marks that my be available.
