Joe,
Your English is more than sufficient to convey the concept (and much better than my virtually non-existent Hungarian). Given that the phenomenon that I described as a “
brockage” (I’ll call it a “brockage-like-effect” for want of a better term) is very common on certain emissions but does not exist on others, it makes logical sense that the effect must be caused by a regular minting process, and not by random minting errors.
My coin is indeed very thin, as are the other
types on which the brockage-like-effect can be regularly observed (this is true both for the earliest coins of the Arpadian kings on which I was focusing and on the late 12th century coins to which you point).
If I understand you correctly, the phenomenon is caused when the metal from the
flan is forced by the strike into the
obverse die. Since the
flan is so very thin, the contour of the
obverse design appears in mirror image on the
reverse. This is not because the
reverse was struck by the
obverse of a coin that remained in the die (as would be the case with a true
brockage), but because the metal of the too-thin
flan “follows” the contours of the
obverse die – a “suction” effect, as you called it. I wonder whether there is a numismatic term to describe this process?
Thank you for the explanation. I am a student of the coinage. Given the dearth of
medieval Hungarian collectors in the
United States and the dearth of dealers who regularly
handle or take an interest in this coinage here, I am essentially self-taught, and learn in a vacuum based on my own observations. This
discussion board is a valuable tool. You have clarified an esoteric question that I have wondered about for a long time. I greatly appreciate your explanation.
Steve