This selective list of English language references is intended to provide information on the scientific examination of counterfeit coins. Ideally it should only refer to articles involving the examinations of counterfeit coins. However there is a paucity of published articles and research in this field. Due to this the list also contains key references to advances in scientific technique that were subsequently used in counterfeit coin examinations and to references that are available on the web.
The references listed are classified according to the year in which they were published. They can further be sub-divided according to four main categories. These are: Classical techniques known and used prior to 1939; spectroscopic techniques, which although the principles of some may have been known before 1939 required the post war advances in electronics to be useful; post second world war Nuclear techniques that often give whole sample analysis; and finally Miscellaneous techniques not covered by the previous three categories.
These references have been obtained from a number of sources including: Analytical Abstracts, AATA Online, the ANS Library Catalogue, my own unstructured reading and my good friend Google. I have read all the abstracts of these articles. I have read the whole article where the reference number is marked with an asterick,*, and confirmed its relevance. Please contact me if you know of a suitable article which I have not listed or if one of the links does not function.
The list was first issued on 28th October 2004. Additional entry added 2nd November 2004
| Ref. no. | Year | Author(s) | Title | Journal or book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1* | 1945 | Caley, Earle R. | Methods of distinguishing cast from struck coins | Numismatic review, 2, no.4, pp 21-24 |
| Link | ||||
| 2* | 1946 | Caley, Earle R. | On the occurence of abnormally low weight and specific gravity in ancient coins | Numismatic Review, 2 |
| Link | ||||
| 3* | 1949 | Caley, Earle R. | Validity of the specific gravity method for the determination of the fineness of gold objects | Ohio Journal of Science, 49, pp 73-82 |
| 4* | 1952 | Caley, Earle R. | Estimation of the composition of ancient metal objects: utility of specific gravity measurements | Analytical Chemistry, 24, pp 676-681 |
| 5 | 1956 | Thompson, F.C. | The use of the microscope in numismatic studies | Numismatic Chronicle, 16, pp 329-338 |
| 8* | 1958 | Forbes, J.S. & Dalladay, D.B | Metallic impurities in the silver coinage trial plates (1279 to 1900) | Journal of the Institute of Metals, vol. 87, pp. 55-58 |
| 10 | 1962 | Day, M.D. & Hollander, D.F. | A simple method for the detection of forgeries by measurement of specific gravity | Seaby's Coin and Medal Buletin No.533, pp 386-388 |
| 11 | 1963 | Fuld, George J. | X-ray used to detect counterfeit U.S. gold dollars | Coin World, 154, pp 72 |
| 12* | 1963 | Banks, M. & Hall, E.T. | X-ray flourescence analysis in archaeology: the 'Milliprobe' | Archaeometry, 6, pp 31-36 |
| 13 | 1963 | Hornblower, A.P. | Some examples of work with the electron probe microanalyser | Archaeometry, 6, pp 37-42 |
| 15* | 1964 | Caley, Earle R. | "Analysis of Ancient Metals" | Book, Pergamon Press, 1964 |
| 16* | 1964 | Carter, Giles F. | X-ray fluorescence analysis of Roman coins | Analytical Chemistry, 36, no. 7, pp 1264-1268 |
| 20* | 1970 | Hughes, M.J. & Oddy, W.A. | A reappraisal of the specific gravity method for the analysis of gold alloys | Archaeometry, 12, pp 1-11 |
| 22* | 1972 | Oddy, W.A. & Schweizer, F. | A comparative analysis of some gold coins | In RNS Special Publication no. 8, "Methods of Chemical and Metallurgical Investigation of Ancient Coinage", pp 171-182 |
| 23* | 1972 | Meyers, Pieter | Activation analysis methods applied to coins: a review | In RNS Special Publication no. 8, "Methods of Chemcial and Metallurgical Investigation of Ancient Coinage", pp 183-193 |
| 24* | 1972 | Brill, Robert & Shields, William R. | Lead isotopes in ancient coins | In RNS Special Publication no. 8, "Methods of Chemical and Metallurgical Investigation of Ancient Coinage", pp 279-303 |
| 25* | 1972 | Green, L. & Moon, J.R. | A microscopic examination of an alleged 1933 penny | Journal of Microscopy, 96, no. 3, pp. 381-384 |
| 28 | 1974 | Terry, K.W. & Laeter, J.R. | X-ray diffraction analysis of grain size as a method of detection of reproductions among seventeenth-century Spanish silver reales | Numismatic Chronicle, 7th series, no. 14, pp. 198-202 |
| 31 | 1977 | King, C. | The alloy content of folles and imitations from the Woodeaton Hoard | PACT 1, pp. 86-100 |
| 33 | 1978 | Metcalf, D.M. | Another modern forgery of a sceat | British Numismatic Journal, 48, pp. 107 |
| 36* | 1979 | Andrasko, J.; Kylsaeter, P.; Maehly, A.C. & Knuuttila, M. | Analysis of counterfeit gold coins by scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction | Scanning Electron Microscopy, 1, pp. 455-458 plus 410 |
| 38 | 1980 | Archibald, M.M. | The Queenhithe hoard of late 15th century forgeries | British Numismatic Journal, 50, pp. 61-66 |
| 39 | 1980 | Oddy, W.A. & Archibald, M.M. | The technique of some forged medieval silver pennies | In book, "Scientific Studies in Numismatics", British Museum occasional papers, 18, pp. 81-90 |
| 40* | 1980 | Cline Love, L.J.; Soto, Luis & Reagor, B.T. | Surface studies of ancient gold coins and modern copies by x-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy and scanning Auger spectroscopy | Applied Spectroscopy, 34, no. 2, pp. 131-139 |
| 42 | 1981 | MacLeod, I.D. & Ritchie, I.M. | Detection of debasement in (forged) silver coins by means of corrosion potential measurements | Archaeometry, 23, no. 1, pp. 65-70 |
| 45 | 1982 | MacLeod, Ian D. | A study of some forged silver coins recovered from 17th century and 19th century shipwrecks | Chemistry in Australia, 49, no. 8, pp. 317-320 |
| 48 | 1983 | Thakur, Upendra | Problems of forgery in Indian numismatics | The Journal of the Numismatic Society of India, 45, no. 1-2, pp. 1-12 |
| 50 | 1984 | McLeod, I.D. | A genuine sixteen century forged coin | The Bulletin of the Australian Institute for Maritime Archaeology, 8, no. 2, pp. 1-9 |
| 51* | 1984 | Wharton, Glenn | Technical examination of renaissance medals the use of Laue back reflection x-ray diffraction to identify electroformed reproductions | JAIC, 23, no. 2, article 2, pp. 88-100 |
| Link http://aic.stanford.edu/jaic/articles/jaic23-02-002.html | ||||
| 55 | 1985 | Mitchiner, M.B. & Skinner, A. | Contemporary forgeries of English silver coins and their chemical compositions: Henry III to William III | Numismatic Chronicle, 145, pp. 209-236 |
| 56* | 1985 | De Jesus, A.S.M. | Authentication of gold products by nuclear methods: a feasibility study on gold coins and jewelry | Gold Bulletin, 18, pp132-139 |
| 57 | 1986 | Mitchiner, M.B. & Skinner, A. | Contemporary forgeries of late seventeenth-century English tin coins: the implications for the study of leaden tokens | Numismatic Chronicle, 146, pp 178-184 |
| 61* | 1993 | Oddy, W.A. & Cowell, M.R. | The technology of gilded coin forgeries | RNS Special Publication No. 24, Metallurgy in Numismatics, Vol. 3, pp 199-221 + plates |
| 62* | 1993 | La Niece, Susan | The technology of silver-plated forgeries | RNS Special Publication No. 24, Metallurgy in Numismatics, Vol. 3, pp 227-236 + plates |
| 66 | 1997 | Saryan, Levon A. | Chemical analyses of counterfeit Cilician Armenian coins | The Celator, 11, no. 7, pp. 14-19 |
| 67 | 1997 | Hida, Minemasa; Mitsui, Toshiyuki & Minami, Yukio | Forensic investigation of counterfeit coins | Forensic Science International, Issues 1-2, pp. 21-26 |
| Link to abstract | ||||
| 70* | 1998 | Grigorova, B.; Anderson, S.; de Bruyn, J.; Smith, W.; Strulpner, K. & Barzev, A. | The AARL gold fingerprinting technology | Gold Bulletin, 31(1), pp 26-29 |
| Link | ||||
| 71* | 1998 | Northover, J.P. | Analysis in the electron microprobe and scanning electron microscope | "Metallurgy in Numismatics, volume 4", RNS Special Publication No.30, pp.94-113 |
| 72* | 1998 | La Niece, Susan | Metallography in numismatics | "Metallurgy in Numismatics, volume 4", RNS Special Publication No.30, pp. 114-133 |
| 73* | 1998 | Stiegel, Mary F. | X-ray diffraction in numismatics: a review | "Metallurgy in Numismatics, volume 4", RNS Special Publication No.30, pp. 405-424 |
| 76* | 1999 | Bakrat, E.H. & Sarhell, A. | Analysis of Umayyad Islamic silver coins (Dirhams) by using instrumental neutron activation analysis | Nuclear Science and Techniques, vol 10, no. 1, (republish on-line in "The on-line journal of the Islamic Coins Group" 2002) |
| Link | ||||
| 79* | 2000 | Uzonyi, I.; Bugoi, R.; Sasianu, A.; Kiss, A.Z.; Constantinescu, B. & Torbagyi, M. | Characterization of Dyrrhachium silver coins by micro-PIXE method | Nuclear Instruments and Method in Physics Research B, 161-163, pp. 748-752 |
| Link | ||||
| 80 | 2000 | Constantinescu, B.; Cojocaru, V.; Bugoi, R. & Sasianu, A. | Material analysis in archaeometrical studies at Bucharest particle accelerators | Proceedings of EPAC 2000, Vienna, pp2574-2576 |
| Link | ||||
| 81 | 2001 | Hida, Minemasa; Sato, Hiroyasu; Sugawara, Hiroshi & Mitsui, Toshiyuki | Classification of counterfeit coins using multivariate analysis with x-ray diffraction and x-ray fluorescence methods | Forensic Science International, 115(1-2), pp. 129-134 |
| Link to abstract | ||||
| 82 | 2001 | Reiff, F.; Bartels, M.; Gastel, M. & Ortner, H.M. | Investigation of contemporary gilded forgeries of ancient coins | Freenius J. Anal. Chem, 371(8), pp1146-1153 |
| 85* | 2002 | Meng, Hsien-Hui; Cheng, Kung-Chi & Chen, Hu-Sheng | A systematic procedure for the forensic examination of questioned coins with a face value of fifty New Taiwan Dollars | Forensic Science Journal (Taiwan), 1, pp. 39-46 |
| Link | ||||
| 88* | 2003 | Constantin, Ciortea et al | Development of analysis methodology using Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) as a complementary method to determine some heavy metals | IDRANAP Report WP4 51-03/2003, pp. 1-11 |
| Link | ||||
| 89* | 2003 | Kochelmann, W.; Kierfel, A.; Linke, R.; Schreiner, M.; Traum, R.; Pantos, E.; Garner, R. & Prag A.J.W. | Genuine or fake? Neutron diffraction for non-destructive testing of museum objects | ISIS 2003 |
| Link | ||||
| 90* | 2003 | Holabird, F.N.; Evans, R.D. & Fitch D.C. | Western precious metal ingots: the good, the bad and the ugly | The Numismatist, August 2003 |
| Link | ||||
| 91 | 2003 | Linke, R; Schreiner, M.; Demortier, G. & Alram, M. | The determination of the provenance of medieval silver coins: potential and limitations of x-ray analysis using photons, electrons or protons | X-ray Spectrometry, 32, pp. 373-380 |
| Link to abstract http://www.fundp.ac.be/recherche/publications/fr/46098.html | ||||
| 92* | 2003 | Rössiger, Volker & Nensel, Bernhard | Non-destructive analysis of gold alloys using energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence analysis | Gold Bulletin, 36, no.4, pp. 125-137 |
| Link | ||||
| 93 | 2003 | Junk, S.A & Pernicka, E. | An assessment of Osmium isotope ratios as a new tool to determine the provenance of gold with platinum-group metal inclusions | Archaeometry, 45, issue 2, pp. 313-331 |
| Link to abstract http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/abstract.asp?ref= 0003-813X&vid=45&iid=2&aid=110&s=&site=1 | ||||
| 94* | 2003 | Ponting, M.; Evans, J.A. & Pashley, V | Fingerprinting of Roman mints using laser-ablation MC-ICP-MS lead isotope analysis | Archaeometry, 45, no. 4, pp. 591-577 |
| Link to abstract http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/arch/2003/00000045/00000004/art00005 | ||||
| 97 | 2004 | Kraft, Gunther; Flege, Stefan; Reiff, Fritz & Ortner, Hugo M. | Investigation of contemporary forgeries of ancient silver coins | Microchimica Acta, 145, no.s 1-4, pp. 87-90 |
| Link to abstract http://springerlink.metapress.com/app/home/contribution.asp?wasp= 46ghvpmrym23d0xtrlrl&referrer=parent&backto=issue,14,46;journal,9,37;linkingpublicationresults,1:103392,1 | ||||
| 98* | 2004 | Raub, Chistoph J. | The minting of platinum roubles Part 1: history and current investigations | Platium Metals Review, 48, issue 2, pp. 66-69 |
| Link | ||||
| 99* | 2004 | Lupton, David F. | The minting of platinum roubles Part II: the platinum roubles of Heraeus | Platinum Metals Review, 48, 2, pp. 72-78 |
| Link | ||||
| 100 | 2004 | Xie, Yanxia; Lutterotti, L.; Wenk, H.R. & Kovacs, F. | Texture analysis of ancient coins with TOF neutron diffraction | Journal of Material Science, 39, 10, pp. 3329-3337 |
| Link to abstract | ||||
| 101* | 2004 | Willey, David B. & Pratt, Allin S. | The minting of platinum roubles Part III: the platinum roubles of Johnson Matthey | Platinum Metals Review, 48, 3, pp. 134-138 |
| Link | ||||
| 102* | 2004 | Mandal, A.C.; Santra, S.; Mitra, D.; Sarkar, M. & Bhattacharya, D. | EDXRF as a routine tool for numismatic studies | Current Science, 85, no. 2, pp.134-135 |
| Link | ||||
| 103* | 2004 | Olariu, Agata | Study by the method of physics of some medieval coins | Journal not known (Cornell University e-print archive, arXiv) |
| Link | ||||
| 104* | 2004 | Paprotta, Tobias | Investigation of modified German 20th century coinage: using non-destructive synchroton radiation techniques | Presentation slides of summer program Hasylab |
| Link | ||||
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