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Agrippa Countermark: TI AV or TIN

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Bogdan O:
I picked up this Agrippa counter mark. Now I know that the common interpretation of this would be TI AV for Tiberius AVG. But all the examples that I've seen have the AV look more like  :AV:. To me this looks a lot more like an N, and the only other example that I found where it looks like an N is in an old post on this forum: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=86907.msg542236#msg542236

Is it just a different style, a barbarian counter mark, or a different type of countermark?

And is there a consensus on whether a countermark adds or subtracts from a coin's value?

Thanks for the help!

Meepzorp:
Hi BO,

In this case, I think that the countermark would add to the coin's value. It appears to be sharp, clear, and deep.

Meepzorp

Bogdan O:

--- Quote from: Meepzorp on October 22, 2021, 01:45:53 am ---Hi BO,

In this case, I think that the countermark would add to the coin's value. It appears to be sharp, clear, and deep.

Meepzorp

--- End quote ---
Thank you, that's good to know.

Any thoughts on the TI AV vs TIN?

PMah:
Countermarks, on Julio-Claudian coinage, were applied to coins that had lost sufficient weight and definition so as to raise concerns about acceptability.  So almost all countermarked specimens are lower "grade" in collecting terms.  As the countermarked coins are relatively less common than the unmarked coins with simikar heavy wear, the countermark is a "plus" in terms of collecting.  Of course,  some countermarked coins were immediately lost and avoided further wear and retain crisp countermarks, and some carried out their function for decades to come, and were often much more worn, re-marked and re-valued.  So a crisp countermark on a worn specimen is a collecting plus. 
That being said,  there are both ancient and modern fake countermarks.  It is usually a rudimentary punch mark, easily imitated.  The leading article is still, I believe,  TV Buttrey, in the ANS Museum Notes, 1970, available online.  It is at least a good place to start. 

Bogdan O:

--- Quote from: PMah on October 22, 2021, 11:52:25 pm --- The leading article is still, I believe,  TV Buttrey, in the ANS Museum Notes, 1970, available online.  It is at least a good place to start.

--- End quote ---

Found it: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43574030

Interesting read. Thank you for pointing me to it. I had not realized how much there was to countermarking. That said, I'm still looking for some clarification on the lettering on this particular specimen.

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