I have just acquired this interesting piece that I hoped would add variety to my Trajans.
It appears to be a contemporary forgery with visible base metal core and muling of obverse and reverse types.
While the portrait style is fine the latin in the legends has numerous errors. "OPIMO", "PRIMC" and "SPOR". This seems to rule out counterfeiting that uses authentic coins.
The coin raises a few questions: how "official" is this forgery? The portrait style is extremely convincing but the blundered legends surely mean no official mint was involved?
Do we know who was making such forgeries - presumably this coin could have been created anywhere in the empire?
Gallery View: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-131105
Plated coins in the republic and early empire were generally made by using a genuine coin impressed into a piece of metal to make the die, and then touching up the details such as the lettering on the forger's die. And then striking flans made of bronze cores wrapped in silver foil to produce the
plated coin. So it is normal that the general
style of the
plated coin is correct, but details are often wrong, especially those which were perhaps off-flan in the coin used to make die, or worn on the original coin such as hairlines which are sometimes reengraved on the forger's die.
So, your
plated coin is quite normal in that way - usual
style, wrongly finished details. It was an ancient imitation, intended to deceive in ancient times and in no way official.
I've a web-page about this
http://andrewmccabe.ancients.info/Plated.html
