Julia Mamaea Sestertius

Julia Mamaea Augusta AE Sestertius 9.44g / 29mm Ob: IVLIA MAMAEA AVGVSTA - Diademed and draped bust right Rv: FELICITAS AVG - Felicitas standing left, holding caduceus & cornucopia Mint: Rome (228 AD) Ref: RIC 670, Cohen 10, BMC 527 Possibly a cast ancient fake due to light weight and soft devices, per Curtis Clay. Limesfalshung (singular), Limesfaschungen (plural), Limesfalsa (plural). Originally a modern term for lightweight cast copies of AE (not silver or silvered) Roman coins found along the northern borders ("limes" = pathways) of the empire, especially along the German and Pannonian frontiers. The term was introduced by Anton Kubitschek (1858 - 1936). In Britain, they are called "light-weights." They could hardly have been deceptive and must have served as small change. In the last decade huge numbers of ancient imitations of Roman silver denarii have come out of the Balkans and Bulgaria. These are sometimes fourrées and sometimes casts and not what the term limesfalsa referred to before very recent times (late 1990's). However, sellers on ebay have been using this term to describe imitations of denarii, and that usage of the term has become established in the trade. Actual "light-weights" (a term not used for fourrées) are uncommon in trade. Therefore, it seems likely that the term limesfalshung will continue in it new meaning -- any imitition, including silver-plated and base metal imitations of denarii, struck or cast along the frontier in regions where the regular coin supply was insufficient and supplemented by counterfeits.