Conditions of Manufacture
Ancient coins were struck with varying degrees of excellence. Some mints exercised excellent quality control so nearly every coin was perfect when it left the mint. Others worked in such a haphazard manner that a well struck, well centered specimen is a great rarity. Flan preparation, alloy mixing, die condition and pure luck all conspired to make each coin an individual effort. The following table addresses conditions that have existed on the coin since the moment of striking. These factors do not change as result of the passage of time but some of their signs can wear away. In low grade coins it is hard to tell the fullness of the strike. Many coins will require separate grading and description for each side.
F Well Centered Titus sestertius Ancient coins are frequently slightly off center. It can be worthy of note when a coin is struck well centered on a perfectly round flan. VF Off Center |
VF Small flan Septimius Severus denarius Unofficial mint This coin was struck on a small flan losing most legends.
VF Bold |
VF Boardwalk flan Numerian antoninianus This coin was struck with 'boardwalk' margins on an oversize flan.
VF Incuse square |
aVF Wide flan with weak centers Gordian III antoninianus Many coins on wide flans were softly struck in the centers (here the ear) due to the excessively thin flan. There was not enough metal for either side.
aVF Flat spot opposite head |
F Soft Vabalathus antoninianus Antioch mint This coin shows little wear but has mushy details from a soft strike or a worn die. VF Ragged flan |
F Squared flan Marcus Aurelius sestertius Some flans seem to have been cut from larger pieces and have squared shape. Much legend is lost on such coins. aEF Normal strike |
VF Legend weakness Allectus antoninianus There is an area of striking weakness but not to a bothersome degree. Frequently this will show only in a few letters of the legend. Few dealers will bother to mention this condition. VF Filled die |
aVF Minor striking cracks Septimius Severus denarius Most coins have one or more minor edge cracks which have little effect on value aVF Severe striking crack |
VF Die break/crack Gordian III antoninianus The line running across the forehead is the result of a crack in the die. VG Die cud |
F Uneven strike with flat areas Constantius Gallus centenionalis Siscia mint Spearing rx. This example is unevenly struck to a distracting degree with loss of significant details at the top the Roman soldier's body. F Uneven flat strike |
Hadrian sestertius |
VF Casting voids Septimius Severus AE 32 Amasia, Pontus Eagle/Wall rx. Flan flaws (of manufacture!) detract from the appearance of the coin. The example shows flan casting voids severe enough they were not erased by striking.
VF Flan flaws |
VF Crude Severus Alexander AE20 Nicaea Some coins are notably more poorly produced than others of their type. Many are from unofficial mints. VF Flow lines |
VF Casting sprue Istros cast AE14 Coins that were cast rather than struck from dies can show remnants of the sprue where metal entered the mold.
F Flan casting sprue |
VG Double Struck Constantius II centenionalis When a flan shifted between blows of the hammer, doubling resulted. Minor doubling is undesirable but extreme examples are collected as mint errors. F Overstruck |
VG Flipover doublestrike Claudius II antoninianus Pax rx. Even normal ancient coins show variety that would be considered errors on modern coins but sometimes this can be of an extreme nature. These coins were struck twice flipping over between the two strikes. F Flipover doublestrike |
F Centration Dimple Gordian III AE28 Nicopolis ad Istrum This is NOT a fault. Some Greek Imperial mints smoothed flan surfaces on a machine that left a shallow hole in the center of the flan. These vary in size and depth but must be present on these issues. F Centration Dimple |
F Brockage Septimius Severus denarius If a coin stuck in the reverse die, the next coin struck would show an incuse, reversed design of the obverse F Clashed dies |
F Incuse design Kroton, Bruttium, stater A few coins were intentionally designed with the design recessed into the coin surface rather than raised. This is NOT a fault. VF Layout circle |
F Flan file marks Alexandria Troas AE20 Some flans were filed flat before striking. A weak strike might fail to erase these marks. VF Adjustment marks |
VF Serrate edge C. Sulpicius denarius Some coins were issued with notched edged to discourage trimming of silver or to show the interior of the coin. This is NOT a fault. F 'Bottle cap' edge |
These are by no means all of the factors of coin manufacture to consider when grading ancient coins. Please let me know what conditions I should add to this list. It is hoped that these examples will make you think about what makes a coin appealing, attractive or desirable and cause you to lighten up a bit when criticising dealers who have to grade using the woefully inadequate current grading system.
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