Roman coins with lead

[Matthew C5]

Hello, I posted a question under the uncleaned coin section, but thought to ask a broader question here.  Does anyone have general information about lead or leaded roman coins.  I suspect having one with a lead-based surface, and the center of the coin is clearly bronze colored.  What puzzled me is that unlike the small lead seals(tesserae I believe) which I've found in uncleaned lots, this one seems to have a durable 'lead-like' appearance.  Could this be my misinterpretation and it is simply a worn fouree?  I had supposed that the bronze had a high content of lead and that over time came-up to the surface of the coin.  Some insight into lead Romans would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Matt

[SC]

I'd be curious to see a photo of the coin you are talking about.

I don't think that lead can just "come-up to the surface" like that.  Certainly not in measurable or visible quantities.

There are some Roman lead copies.  Usually these are poor quality cast coins, like limes falsa.  They occur in both denarii and larger bronze (as and sestertius) sizes. 

It is also possible that coins with a very high lead content could feel or look a bit "lead-ey".

Shawn

[Matthew C5]

Thanks Shawn. I will try to take a photo, but the coin is quite rough with pits showing just part of the face of the emperor and a few undefining letters of legend.  I believe that I see a crescent moon on the reverse as well.  There is always a chance that the manual cleaning process gave the surface a metallic luster.  I also forgot to add that the coin felt 'slippery' when cleaning the surface, but only at the start.

This is what matches the size of 16 to 17mm and details best:

http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/diadumenian/_markianopolis_AE17_Moushmov_602-A.jpg

Perhaps this might help as well as the fact that the mint was situated in modern day Bulgaria which has a large amount of lead-bearing minerals.

Matt