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Author Topic: Trajan Virtus denarius  (Read 481 times)

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Offline DzikiZdeb

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Trajan Virtus denarius
« on: January 03, 2022, 11:59:03 am »
Can you confirm my suspicions that it is a fake? I don't have hard evidence, but
1) I have never seen a mule of Trajan from different periods of the Roman mint's operation - here we have the obverse - Woytek group 10 (107-110) or 11 (111); reverse - not earlier than summer 114;
2) inept, too wide bust;
3) spilled first three letters of the obverse legend
4) a coin with such well-preserved details of the bust (no frayed hair, full wreath) should have impeccable lettering.


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Offline Ron C2

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Re: Trajan Virtus denarius
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2022, 11:25:37 am »
The image isn't great in terms of sharpness. But I don't see enough to condemn it from the photo alone.

Fwiw, Leu is a reputable house. But all reputable auctioneers make the odd mistakes. If in doubt, don't bid.
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R. Cormier, Ottawa

Offline Ron C2

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Re: Trajan Virtus denarius
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2022, 11:30:59 am »
FWIW, this is the original catalogue description, so they are hardly deceiving anyone:

Quote
Roman Imperial
Trajan, 98-117. Denarius (Silver, 20 mm, 3.10 g, 6 h), Rome, 114-116. IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P Laureate head of Trajan to right, with slight drapery on his left shoulder. Rev. P M TR P COS VI P P S P Q R Roma or Virtus standing front, head to right, holding inverted spear in her right hand and parazonium in her left. BMC -. Cohen -. RIC -. Woytek -. Apparently unpublished. Struck from a somewhat worn obverse die, otherwise, about extremely fine.
This is an odd coin in that it combines an obverse of 107-108 with a reverse of 114-116! While such a coupling is certainly very unlikely on an official coin, style and metal of the coin are excellent and this cataloguer is therefore inclined to accept it as the product of the mint in Rome. If this is true, it does explain the difference in die wear between the obverse and the much fresher reverse. Clearly the striking of the coin cannot have been intentional, however: it must have been an error by a mint worker, who used an old obverse die that somehow escaped destruction.
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Offline DzikiZdeb

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Re: Trajan Virtus denarius
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2022, 11:22:37 am »
This description looks like they are trying to convince themselves in the first place ... It's a pity the Fake Gallery doesn't have a section on "possibly fake coins". From the photos alone, this denarius cannot be classified as fake, but as the original it is completely unconvincing.

 

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