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Author Topic: plugged hole in an AE coin  (Read 2478 times)

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Offline areich

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plugged hole in an AE coin
« on: September 23, 2009, 05:06:22 am »
Hi all,
I just got this coin (seller's picture) that was described as having a plugged hole.
I get the impression it hasn't been plugged by anyone but filled by time.

I'm left wondering, which is more 'authentic', opening the hole (it certainly would be if it had been plugged by man although
if that had happend long ago (how long?) it would be a different matter) or leaving it as it is now.

One could argue that removing the sediment is just cleaning or that it would be similar to removing patina.
What do you think?

Andreas
Andreas Reich

Offline Jochen

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Re: plugged hole in an AE coin
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2009, 05:17:29 am »
I would leave it as it is. I think the filled hole belongs to the history of this coin.

Best regards

Offline Danny S. Jones

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Re: plugged hole in an AE coin
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2009, 05:58:48 am »
I bet if you poked at it, the stuff would come right out. And I also bet that once you did, you'd see that the coin looked nicer with it filled in. I agree with Jochen. I'd leave it alone, not for historical significance, but for aesthetics.

Danny

Lloyd Taylor

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Re: plugged hole in an AE coin
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2009, 06:11:19 am »
Plugged by natural accretions over millennia, not by the hand of man. There is no value to be had in plugging a bronze coin, but the natural plug is part of its history.  In my opinion to remove the plug degrades its historical merit.  If you remove it you might as well completely remove the patina of age over the totality of the coin.

Offline Danny S. Jones

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Re: plugged hole in an AE coin
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2009, 07:41:30 am »
It looks like dirt to me. With all due respect to the opinions of others, I don't see any historical value in dirt, even if it's stuck to a historical object. (Wow! This dirt is old! Isn't all dirt?) I remove dirt all the time from uncleaned  coins... which actually increases the value of the coin. I don't see how taking some dirt out of a hole can be equated to removing the patina of the coin.

There are a lot of times that over-cleaning makes the coin look worse, and some deposits can serve to highlight the details of a coin. Other times the deposits can serve to cover up imperfections and make the coin more aesthetically pleasing. I think that this is the case here.

On the flip side of this coin (pun intended), you could also argue that the hole is also part of the history of the coin, maybe being bored into the coin to be used as jewelry or to be hung up as a charm, souvenir or religious amulet.  By covering up this hole, you are concealing a historically important piece of this coin's heritage.

I don't mean to come across as sarcastic, but re-reading this... I guess I am. The fact of the matter is that the coin looks good as it is. The rule of thumb that always seems to apply is, "If it ain't broke..."

Regards,
Danny 

Offline areich

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Re: plugged hole in an AE coin
« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2009, 08:05:46 am »
I agree on all counts. I think there's a difference between clearing the dirt from his hole and removing patina.
I'm not the kind of collector that's turned off by something like a (well-placed) hole but from an aesthetic point of view
I have no problem with a filled hole either. So I will leave it as it is which is usually the best course of action anyway.

Thanks for all your input!
Andreas Reich

Offline moonmoth

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Re: plugged hole in an AE coin
« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2009, 12:56:43 pm »
My own course of action would be to remove the dirt to see whether the patina inside the hole matched that elsewhere on the coin.  This might give a clue as to the age of the hole.  (And, indeed, to see if the hole goes right through.)

Bill
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Offline curtislclay

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Re: plugged hole in an AE coin
« Reply #7 on: September 23, 2009, 01:05:30 pm »
Surely that hole is ancient, so I agree with moonmoth and with goldenancients' first paragraph: remove the dirt!
Curtis Clay

Offline areich

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Re: plugged hole in an AE coin
« Reply #8 on: September 25, 2009, 01:40:43 pm »
It wasn't such a big deal after all. It came out easily with a nail and then a wooden skewer.
In case someone cares, it's Attaleia in Pamphylia, bust of Poseidon left, with trident (dolphin around) / Nike with wreath and palm branch right, a cute little AE15.
Andreas Reich

 

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