Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Odd surface on presumably fake coin

I show here two coins from the same die pair. The high grade example is a Bulgarian replica of a Neapolis stater. The damaged example was sold as genuine on eBay this spring.

This replica shows up being offered from time to time as genuine. This new example surprised me because the damage is so strange. Here is a close-up:

Several things are going on. Pieces are broken off! There is strange cracking that follows the shape of the gorgoneion. There is a lot of wear both normal and strange looking.

Has anyone else seen a coin with this coin of surface?

Friday, December 23, 2016

3D model of Kushan coin

The Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw has provided a remarkable 3d scan of a Kushan bronze coin. The model was done by Otto Bagi and Sergi MaƱas Jolis. Apparently photogrammetry was used to to infer the 3D coordinates.

I am inquiring what kind of equipment and software is needed to produce such models.

The team also has a nice model of an Alexander tetradrachm and a cupped Byzantine coin. All the models can be rotated and zoomed with your mouse or trackpad.