The story of a Nero fourree denarius

Tempo di lettura 2 min

Hello friends,

Let me tell you about the story of the following Nero denaius:

Rome mint, AD 64/65
NERO CAESAR, Laureate head of Nero right   -
AVGVSTVS GERMANICVS, Nero standing facing holding a laurel branch in right hand and a Victory on globe in left hand
3,32 gr
Ref : RCV #1941, Cohen #45, RIC # 47

Below is a comment about a similar example in the NFA auction catalog # XX/118 : "Nero's coinage reform of A.D. 64 saw a reduction in the weight standard of both the aureus and denarius denominations. A whole new range of reverse types was introduced with an unmistakably imperial flavor, in marked contrast to the senatorial types of the pre-reform coinage. This coin depicts a standing figure of the emperor, wearing the radiate crown of the sun god Sol, holding a branch of peace and a small figure of Victory. An allusion to the settlement of the Parthian question, following Corbulo's successes in Armenia in A.D. 63, seems unmistakable. It is tempting to identify this reverse type with the statue of the sun god, with the facial features of the emperor, erected by Nero in front of his Domus Aurea (Golden House), which was one of the principal features of the reconstruction following the Great Fire of Rome in A.D. 64. The Flavian Amphitheatre (Colosseum) was later erected on the site of the Domus Aurea's ornamental lake, and received its popular name from its close proximity to Nero's statue"

I acquired this denarius in 2006 from a reliable dealer on Vcoins. Many advanced collectors and some professionnal dealers have seen it and no one felt uncomfortable with it so far. I have thus been very happy until I decided to part with it a few weeks ago, here at Colleconline Marketplace.

Even though the asked price was quite high, I had someone interested at acquiring it : Yeepee, coin sold !!

Because they thought it might be "to good to be true", the potential buyer legitimately wanted to know more and asked for a professionnal advice, who expressed doubts about the coin being possibly tooled on the portrait. Geeeesh, coin unsold !!

A quick search in CGB archives allowed me to find another specimen sharing the same obverse die, with more wear to it, but with enough to compare and make sure they share the same details, especially on Nero's hair. Doubts are now on the other side.... 🙃 !

Meanwhile, as a member at Cointalk forum, where a lot of very knowledgeable people, and even scholars, such as Mr Barry Murphy or Curtis Clay among others participate. I created a thread to try to clearing up doubt, as I didn't have any evidence of the coin being tooled, even under magnification (you will find a link to this conversation at the bottom of this page).

One of the first answers pointed to a fourre denarius obviously minted with the same dies. Frankly, it's not a route I had considered, having no evidence of my coin being a fourree either, with nothing like a core under the silver layer. The CGB example also doesn't show any evidence of it being a fourree, and the description doesn't mention it. But at browsing the internet I found another obvious fourree, being again a double die match.

We face now an interesting case, with a coin made of solid silver sharing the same dies as, at least, two obvious fourrees. Explanations have sometimes arose in the past :

• an official workshop minting fourrees denarii together with solid silver ones, either under authority or by fraud
• counterfeiters using stolen official dies to mint fake coins

At this point I'm not sure I still want to sell the coin, thinking I might be lucky enough to find the fourree sister coin to mine and keep both. But with this twist of fate my potential buyer decided they finally want the coin, and I only have one word : finally, the coin is sold !!

Here comes now the good idea no one has had before, including me : a specific gravity test (see here) ! I quickly build a stand with my precision scales, a pot of distilled water and a sewing thread to have it done, and here's the result : a little bit under 9, which is consistent with my coin being a fourree too. The other coins I have tested, which I know for being solid silver are all above 10.

In a hurry, I then called the buyer on the phone, just in time, as they were preparing the bank transfer, to tell them the result.... Well, that time, I really think the coin will remain unsold !!

Morality : better explore every path before buying, even from a reputable dealer !

Thanks for reading me

Pot'

Link to the Cointalk conversation : https://www.cointalk.com/threads/my-nero-denarius-being-challenged.368690/.