Now here are some folks that enjoy a good relic. They enjoy them even if they are scraggy. After all, many relics are found at the broad end of a shovel (a trowel, actually).
Discovering a coin on a dig is a prize. Unlike rusty nails, coins are complete time capsules, or nearly so. Images and legends tell you where it came from. Plus, coins have dates!
Everyone loves dates.
For archeologists and curators, a relic coin tells a story regardless of its condition. Corrosion is expected. And, it is analyzed to see what happened while it rested in limbo.
Of course, most of us would prefer a well-preserved coin versus one with damage (environmental or otherwise), but any coin excavated on a dig is worth a "shovels-up" celebration.
Dug coins have authority.
Many collectors miss this. Instead, they are concerned about authenticity -- as well they should for rare items that are counterfeited. But what I am referring to is different. Put another way, collectors like to play authenticator. For example, they purchase a large cent of a particular die-variety and then re-attribute it over and over. Taking this a step further, some collectors determine the die-state as well. All of this is great fun! It tells you about what was happening in the mint.
But what about afterwards? What about all the other history?
This is where relic coins come in (stage left). Their corroded surfaces announce their authority, as if to say: "I go with the nail."
Herein lies the heart of the necromancer's approach to collecting.
I want coins that go with the nail!
No comments:
Post a Comment