A cliché coin forgery is a type of
counterfeit coin (a subtype of
fourrée
A fourrée is a coin, most often a counterfeit, that is made from a base metal core that has been plated with a precious metal to look like its solid metal counterpart; the term is derived from the French for "stuffed". The term is normally appli ...
) produced using a genuine coin to impress a design into silver
foil
Foil may refer to:
Materials
* Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine
* Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal
* Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food
* Tin foil, metal foil ma ...
. Evidence of the probable manufacturing technique are finds of small lead sheets with multiple coin impressions and also fragments of impressed foils or complete 'coins'. The process seems to have involved the following steps. First, sandwiching a genuine coin between a fold of foil, generally silver, with a thickness of 50-100
microns
The micrometre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a uni ...
. This was then placed between lead sheets (or a folded sheet) and the pile struck with a hammer. This resulted in the foils taking an impression of each face of the coin simultaeously, also incidentally transferred to the lead sheets (in
incuse
This glossary of numismatics is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to numismatics and coin collecting, as well as sub-fields and related disciplines, with concise explanations for the beginner or professional.
Numismatics (a ...
). The folded foil (retaining the coin impressions in register) was then removed and the resulting
obverse and reverse
The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' mean ...
impressions were then simply soldered together, usually with tin-lead solder. The final sandwich was then trimmed to size, possibly with a 'pastry cutter' type tool, forming a circular coin.
It is possible the foils could have been soldered around a copper or other metal core.
Scanning electron microscope
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron microscope that produces images of a sample by scanning the surface with a focused beam of electrons. The electrons interact with atoms in the sample, producing various signals that ...
examination of the surface of these items clearly shows the coin design has been formed from the reverse of the foil (effectively in
repoussé) instead of the front as would be the case with normal coin striking. This type of forgery is particularly suitable for the manufacture of small, thin coins. Counterfeits of this type have been found both from
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...
and the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. Unlike most fourrée coins, the technique does not require a press and counterfeit dies in order to manufacture the forgeries.
Chemical analysis of the silver foils and also the equivalent genuine coins shows them to be the same. This strongly suggests that the forger used genuine coins, or metal cut from them (
clipping
Clipping may refer to:
Words
* Clipping (morphology), the formation of a new word by shortening it, e.g. "ad" from "advertisement"
* Clipping (phonetics), shortening the articulation of a speech sound, usually a vowel
* Clipping (publications ...
), to supply the material for the foils. This also ensured that the colour of the forgery matched that of the genuine coins. It is likely that 3 or 4 forgeries could be made from one genuine coin.
Etymology
A single coin is used to make multiple counterfeits, analogous to a ''
stereotype
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...
'' or ''cliché'' printing plate. The term "cliché" is used in French
numismatic
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...
s to refer to a thin
electrotype
Electrotyping (also galvanoplasty) is a chemical method for forming metal parts that exactly reproduce a model. The method was invented by a Prussian engineer Moritz von Jacobi in Russia in 1838, and was immediately adopted for applications in ...
copy of a coin or medal with the sides displayed separately so that they can both be seen at once.
Cliché pair
A cliché is also a pair of thin blanks struck in a press with a mated pair of dies. They are used as
proof
Proof most often refers to:
* Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition
* Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength
Proof may also refer to:
Mathematics and formal logic
* Formal proof, a co ...
impressions for the artist. Like many proofs, however, these have become desirable in themselves, and are acquired by museums specifically to allow the display of both sides of a coin or medal at once.
[Hanscom, Dick (October, 2009) ''E-sylum'' Vol. 12 No. 43, The Numismatic Bibliomania Societ]
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cliche forgery
Money forgery