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- ID: 390
Submitter: Jean-Luc
Added: 1998-04-21
LUCANIA. Thurium.
AR-Distater.
Av.: Head of Athena to r., wearing helmet adorned with olive wreath.
Rv.: Bull butting to r., in exergue, fish.
15,00 g. c. 26 mm.
Ref.: cf. Noe, The Thurian Distaters, ANSNNM 71, 1935, A2.
BoC: 8/1-2, 1983, p.12 and 20/2, 1995/6, p. 16.
FAKE – Cast. The fish in the exergue, if actually originally present, is off the flan on all known specimens.
The early distaters of Thurium have been much counterfeited. A large hoard discovered somewhere near Taranto in 1937 not only increased the existing number of these early coins by nearly 50%, it provided readily available models for a local artisan (supposedly named Festa) to create even more. F´s copies seemingly began circulating at roughly the same time as the real ones did. F did not only make casts, he also made his own dies. Characteristic of these fakes are a wavy reverse field and a considerable number of tiny edge cracks which are quite different from the type of cracks one expects to find on genuine pieces.