Analiza tetradrahmelor de tip „Huşi-Vovrieşti” pe baza noilor descoperiri
Analysis of “Huși-Vovriești” type tetradrachms based on new discoveries

Summary/Abstract: This article addresses a number of questions about the characteristics of this type of coin: dating of the issues, original prototype of the imitations, distribution area, reasons for the cuts and countermarks, composition of the coin alloy. H-V coins were sometimes counterfeited. The copper counterfeits were cut and then covered with silver foil, including the cut. The cuts were applied to check the quality of the metal. Coins with a more primitive design were cut more often. The countermarks checked the quality of the metal and confirmed the ‚authenticity’ of the cut. Multiple cuts caused the coin to crack, while countermarks allowed the coin to be checked repeatedly without risking destroying it. Sometimes the countermarks were applied before the stripes, serving as a signature of the person who checked the coin. The countermarks and the weight of the coin were not correlated. Even light coins, weighing about 10 grams, were struck several times. There are hybrid H-V eagle issues. A hybrid example from an H-V hoard confirms Sergheev’s theory of the Epirus drachma as a prototype for hybrids. It is likely that the imitation was made not only from the original coins from Epirus, but also from imitations produced south of the Danube. The H-V coins continued to be minted after 238 BC, when the Epirus drachms began to be minted. This confirms the accepted dating of H-V issues: late 3rd and early 2nd century BC. The core of the coin was not different in purity from the surface silver. Analysis of a damaged part of the coin with prior mechanical cleaning showed no differences in metal purity.

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