"Thanks, Din, for your informative posts but I
still don't know why you believe that
Rauch medallion (second picture in this
thread) is authentic?"
To find same scratch on modern die
fakes is actually not making sense, same scratch is only making sense for transfer die,
cast and
electrotype fakes.
The same scratch is enough for the condemnation of coins of the same
type.
No one really no one would later intentionally melt metal and add this in shape of a line to the
matrix, because this would mean that all coins minted with this die will have an idential line looking like a scratch and identical scratch is resulting in the condemnation of all this coins as
fakes. To produce a modern die you only need metal blanks and some cutting
tools, no melting of metal is necessary only later to produce planchets. So why would a forger wants that all
fakes have an identical line that looks like a scratch if it is only bringing him disadvantages?
There are many
good reasons and they have soemthing to do how modern hand cut dies and transfer dies are produced and typical problems of transfer die
fakes.
1. We have a scratch in shape of a line on the
reverse present on all of these
fakes one some better visible as on others.
That scratches are copied from the mother is a typical problem of transfer die
fakes, identical contact marks (scratches) is one of main reasons to condemn transfer die
fakes of modern coin (Thalers,
Morgan Dollars etc.) and it is used for condemnation of
ancient coins, too.
Same scratch is an identical individual characteristic from circulation and it is pretty much impossible to a completely identical scratch on two coins from the same
type and the more individual the scratch is and the more identical scratches we have on coins from the same
type the lower the chance that both can be authentic.
And we have this rough areas on
fake of
Constantine too which can bee seen on all and I think that they are either an individual characteristic from circualtion or environment and sould so not be present on two coins of the same
type.
Such problems like same scratches etc can not be found on original modern die
fakes, except these
fakes are
fakes of
fakes.
Now we have to know more about dies/matrixes.
The coin is positve and the
matrix is negative
If we cut something out of die/martrix this
area will be later higher than the
field.
If you make a scratch in shape of a line in the dies then this line will be later on the coin as a rised line which is higher than the fields.
If you want to have later a line on the coin that looks like a scratch and is lower than the
field you would have to melt metal and add this melted metal in shape of a line to the
matrix.
If you cut a detail out of the die this details will be later higher than the
field on the coin, if you add details by adding metal to the die this details will be lower than the
field of the coin.
You can buy round steel blanks where you cut out the details and which will be at the end the
matrix.
Ok let´s think a forger cuts a die that would pretty much fool everyone and then he has different options:
1. He mints
fakes and he will become rich
2. he is a
good guy and marks them as replicas
3. he is completely stupid and adds metal in sape of a line and he adds metal later visible on the coins as rough areas that this coins can be alter easily condemned by experts as transfer die
fakes.
The coin itself looks convincing, too.