"greek" Bronze Patina Shows White Metal Underneath - Fake?

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Author	Replies: 3 / Views: 599
gerio2 Valued Member United Kingdom 112 Posts	Posted 08/10/2022 12:17 pm I bought this for £2 just out of interest to find out what it was. It arrived oily. But the oil left had light brown stains on the tissue wrapping it. That made me wonder. I could see a slight silver glint in parts on the obv and the reverse had the same feel as a fake I bought early on in my collecting. I rubbed it a bit (no need to worry about damage at that price) and more white metal appeared. The close up is taken with my phone through a 10x lens. Its quite heavy though. 21mm diam, 5.7 grams. 2% chance it's dirty silver (its def not lead), 98% it's fake. Thoughts anyone? Photos: 1 & 2 as advertised 3 As it arrived - silvery highlights visible 4. After rubbing - more visible 5. Close up through a 10x lens Report this Post to the Staff

Kamnaskires Pillar of the Community United States 7053 Posts	Posted 08/10/2022 2:08 pm Putting aside the authenticity issue for now, the coin resembles an AE issue from Synnada, Phrygia, with Zeus obverse, and for the reverse: poppy and grain ear, between the caps (pilei) of the Dioscori. Report this Post to the Staff
gerio2 Valued Member United Kingdom 112 Posts	Posted 08/10/2022 2:39 pm Putting aside the authenticity issue for now, the coin resembles an AE issue from Synnada, Phrygia, Yes, you are clearly right. Thanks! https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=144239 So I ask myself why anyone would bother forging that, it is it a forgery. Or is it real? Mine is the same diam (21mm) My wt 5.69 gm to the example's 7.55 gm but my flan is much thicker on one side than the other and more worn so that might account for the lost weight. Most other examples are c.7 gm but I have found one at 6.5 gm. Edited by gerio2 08/10/2022 3:00 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Kamnaskires Pillar of the Community United States 7053 Posts	Posted 08/10/2022 3:35 pm You may have discovered the first "reverse fouree"! I recommend continuing to clean away whatever you suspect has been applied, just to see what the surface below looks like. With some of the dark material removed, get a good look at the edge to see if there may be signs of casting. Could be that somebody created light-colored metal cast (e.g. tin), then tried to make it look AE to match the source material. But, again, one step at a time. Recommend removing the "make-up". Report this Post to the Staff
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"Greek" Bronze Patina Shows White Metal Underneath - Fake?