Contemporary Counterfiets
and Copies
This is a very special group of ancient coins that
has piqued my interest in many ways (other than being affordable). Each
one is quite unique and has even more of a story to tell than your average
ancient coin, having been produced outside of the standard system.
Most folks seem to agree on a few main categories of contemporary copies:
1) Fourres: A fourre coin is an ancient counterfeit
of a gold or silver coin that has been produced by covering a bronze or
other base metal flan with a thin layer of precious metal, and then striking.
Seen
in all periods, but become especially common during Rome's Severan
Dynasty.
2) Cast Copies: These occur in all places, times
and metals. They are characterized by a "soft" feel to the images and sometimes
casting spurs. The style is usually very good, since most appear to be
cast from official pieces. Fairly common in the Byzantine era and with
Augustan bronzes.
3) Struck copies (or sauce): Coins struck via a
more or less normal process, but outside of the official mint system and
from debased metals. Resonably rare, it seems to me (or else hard to
distinguish from official pieces).
4)"Barbrous" Imitations: Coins imitating those produced
by a larger state, made by groups either living outside of it's borders
on unable to receive a sufficient supply of proper coinage. Style, size
and purity of metals range from nearly perfect matches to quite absurdly
under par. Alexander the Great drachms and Macedonian River God/Trident
bronzes copied by the Danubian Celts are common
examples, as well as the "barbarous radiates" of Gaul and Britain.
5)"Limes" denarii: The debates continue about what
exactly this term designates, but it is essentially copies of denarii produced
on the borders of the Roman Empire (limes=border in latin). Most
commonly these are cast denarii with varying levels of silver purity.
For some examples, see below:
Fourres/Limes
Denarii
Cast
Copies
"Barbarous"
Imitations
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