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#1
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Counterfeits: What was done
Besides counterfeiters having their hand chopped off or losing their
lives, another consequence of counterfeiting has been the defacement of coins. In ancient times, people would sometimes slash a coin with a blade to reveal if there was good metal (silver or gold) underneath the surface, creating a "test cut." Other times, an official would stamp the coin with a "banker's mark," certifying it was of proper weight and good currency. Almost always, defacements like these reduce the value of a coin. But sometimes they can be visually interesting. I wanted to share a classical Athenian Owl I recently picked up that has both a test cut and a banker's mark, both on the reverse. The test cut is particularly interesting, bisecting the owl's head and body nearly exactly in half and confirming to the curve of the owl's body: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/reidgo..._test-cut.html -- Coin Collecting: Consumer Guide: http://rg.ancients.info/guide Glomming: Coin Connoisseurship: http://rg.ancients.info/glom Bogos: Counterfeit Coins: http://rg.ancients.info/bogos |
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#2
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Reid Goldsborough wrote:
[...] Almost always, defacements like these reduce the value of a coin. But sometimes they can be visually interesting. I wanted to share a classical Athenian Owl I recently picked up that has both a test cut and a banker's mark, both on the reverse. The test cut is particularly interesting, bisecting the owl's head and body nearly exactly in half and confirming to the curve of the owl's body: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/reidgo..._test-cut.html Interesting, how much is such a coin? Just curious. Wolfgang |
#3
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On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 16:46:57 -0400, Reid Goldsborough
wrote: Besides counterfeiters having their hand chopped off or losing their lives, another consequence of counterfeiting has been the defacement of coins. In ancient times, people would sometimes slash a coin with a blade to reveal if there was good metal (silver or gold) underneath the surface, creating a "test cut." Other times, an official would stamp the coin with a "banker's mark," certifying it was of proper weight and good currency. Almost always, defacements like these reduce the value of a coin. I have found that coins with the bee counterstamp cost twice that of those without. beekeep |
#4
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I wouldn't buy a coin that looked like that. The coin has been destroyed
by an ancient a-hole. Yup they were around then and they live on today. |
#5
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On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 16:46:57 -0400, Reid Goldsborough
wrote: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/reidgo..._test-cut.html Who'se banker's stamp is it? |
#7
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On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 23:15:39 +0200, "Wolfgang Haeupler"
wrote: Interesting, how much is such a coin? This one cost me $270 through eBay. Without the test cut the hammer price would probably have been about $450. It's a coin that's more than 2,400 years old, minted at the apex of ancient Greece and the first widely circulated international currency. Slightly larger than a U.S. quarter and maybe four time thicker. About 98 percent pure silver. -- Coin Collecting: Consumer Guide: http://rg.ancients.info/guide Glomming: Coin Connoisseurship: http://rg.ancients.info/glom Bogos: Counterfeit Coins: http://rg.ancients.info/bogos |
#8
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On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 19:36:32 -0400 (EDT),
(Edward McGrath) wrote: I wouldn't buy a coin that looked like that. The coin has been destroyed by an ancient a-hole. Yup they were around then and they live on today. You have to remember that these coins weren't approached in ancient times as we approach them today, as collectibles. They're were money, and people needed to know if they were good money. Many, many ancient coins have test cuts or banker's marks on them, not because people were jerks or whatever back then and wanted to ruin a piece of numismatic artwork for future generations but because they didn't want to be cheated by a counterfeit plated with silver or gold with a base metal interior. -- Coin Collecting: Consumer Guide: http://rg.ancients.info/guide Glomming: Coin Connoisseurship: http://rg.ancients.info/glom Bogos: Counterfeit Coins: http://rg.ancients.info/bogos |
#9
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On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 18:48:57 -0500, Jorg Lueke
wrote: Who'se banker's stamp is it? As far as I know, it was the First Bank of Athena, which was located on Zeus Blvd. at the base of the Acropolis right next to Starbucks. (Typically, these banker's marks are unidentifiable, as is this one. Very little surviving documentation survives that could link this with a particular banker or official.) -- Coin Collecting: Consumer Guide: http://rg.ancients.info/guide Glomming: Coin Connoisseurship: http://rg.ancients.info/glom Bogos: Counterfeit Coins: http://rg.ancients.info/bogos |
#10
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On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 22:59:13 GMT, (beekeep) wrote:
I have found that coins with the bee counterstamp cost twice that of those without. Interesting. You would know. g I have one Ephesos "Bee" drachm and one Alexander the Great lifetime tetradrachm from Babylon with a bee in the reverse left field, but that's about all the bee coins in my collection. No bee countermarks. -- Coin Collecting: Consumer Guide: http://rg.ancients.info/guide Glomming: Coin Connoisseurship: http://rg.ancients.info/glom Bogos: Counterfeit Coins: http://rg.ancients.info/bogos |
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