Antiquities Discussion Forums > Seals and Tesserae
Spintria: Hot or not?
Rupert:
Now here's a type of „coin“ (strictly speaking, it’s not a coin of course but a tessera, probably a gaming token) that I had always wanted. Unfortunately, about everybody wants them, so these aren’t cheap even on Fleabay (it’s the first specimen I’ve ever seen there). Now it was in my mail today.
Tessera („spintria“) in orichalcum, early 1st century AD
Obv. Symplegma scene (apparently, a woman to right, straddling a man reclining left) on a bed ornamented with a garland
Rev. Numeral XV in a beaded circle within a wreath
Condition: Well, you see it... :(; also, the flan is not completely flat but slightly bent
Technical data: 21 mm, 4.23 g, die axis 6 o’clock
Of course, a spintria is always a rewarding object of forgery, and doctored fakes are often harder to tell than like-new ones. To me, the „coin“ looks genuine in terms of style, manufacture, and aging. But since a very knowlegdeable friend from the German board expressed his doubts, I’d also like to hear your opinions. He doubted it (from the seller’s pictures) for the blurry figures and for its provenance. I think that the figures are no more blurry than would correspond with wear and corrosion. I also asked the seller (since this was not stated in the Ebay offer) whether he would guarantee for the authenticity, on which he answered (translation from German by me):
„Hello,
The coin is authentic. All coins I’m selling are authentic. Especially, this coin luckily turned up in a heap of uncleaned coins. I found it myself, so I guarantee its authenticity 100%. It’s a pity that it’s not more beautiful.
Best regards,
...“
So I’m waiting for your opinions. I’ve ordered Buttrey’s article on spintriae from 1973 in our university library but don’t have it yet. Maybe it can be attributed to one of the known dies for this type.
Best regards,
Rupert
quisquam:
It looks quite convincing to me. The main reason which kept me from bidding on this tessera is the very round hole without notable deformation. It looks more drilled than pierced to me. A drilled hole wouldn't make the spintria definitely modern, but it made me feel uncomfortable. Maybe my feeling is completely wrong and it isn't drilled at all, since the flan is slightly bent, as you say.
Regards, Stefan
gallienus1:
Congratulations Rupert, on purchasing a highly interesting and desirable piece, illustrating the mostly unwritten social history of Rome.
I would have bought it as a genuine tesserae. I’m not sure I agree with Stefan, that the centre has been drilled using modern equipment. In fact the “obverse” with the happy couple seems to show a lip surrounding the hole suggesting metal has been pushed through as you might expect if it was pierced using a low speed twisting action.
Some for comparison can be seen at the acsearh.info site at- http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?search=similar%3A116308&view_mode=1#0
The reverse of the example from the Gemini, LLC Auction I (11.01.2005) Lot 309, is the most similar to yours and I think the Numismatica Ars Classica Auction 29 (11.05.2005) Lot 463, has the more similar obverse.
Best Regards,
Steve
Heliodromus:
Looks good to me - nice find!
Ben
Rupert:
Thank you!
I was quite confident from the seller's pictures on Ebay (or else I wouldn't have bid!), then had slight doubts when I saw that the seller has a Bulgarian-sounding name. With the coin in hand, I was rather assured again that the coin and its traces of aging are genuine, and today this confidence was strengthened again when I got my copy of Buttrey's article from NC 1973. Though the quality of the plate photocopies is as deplorable as the condition of my piece, it's plain to see that it is die-identical to his obv. 5. The weight is right as well, since most of the specimens on acsearch are in between 4 and 5 grams, so 4.23 is quite correct for a corroded and pierced spintria.
Comparing to the two spintriae (which are hardly better except for the fact the they are not holed, but cost €2,600 and $4,125 respectively), I'm very happy with my purchase at less than 10% of these prices!
Best regards,
Rupert
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