Republican Bronzes - Altered / Tooled

[ahala]

Sorry for writing in English, but this is difficult to explain in Italian.

This is a warning against anyone considering bidding in upcoming auction, which finishes on 16th July. A large proportion of the Republican bronzes in the sale are tooled (altered). So they are not what they are described as in the catalogue. Some of these objects have been used to illustrate the German language handbook by Albert, which is full of pictures of fakes and altered pieces.

See some examples below. The quality of the re-engraving on the first "GEM" coin is very bad. The original coin may have been something different. The "Quinctia" - second coin - is terrible. The style is completely unrelated to a genuine coin. It might have been made-up (engraved) from an imitative. For the third object the prow style cannot be from RRC145 nor can the weight. I cannot be sure what it was. Perhaps it is a re-engraving from C.CVF.F. which has a victory statue. Perhaps it is from another light semis of about 125BC. I also have doubts about a very large number other bronzes not shown below. Almost all in the sale are re-engraved.

I have not included the name of the auction, but anyone who is considering bidding will probably recognise these objects.

Andrew McCabe