I tend to shy away from fourrées as a general rule because of their unofficial status. However, there is one infamous fourrée type that is a must have for any serious collector of Flavian coins.
Vespasian Fourrée
Fourrée Denarius, 2.75g
Unknown mint, After 71 AD
Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG TR P; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: IVDAEA DEVICTA; Palm tree; to l., Judaea stg. l., hands bound in front
RIC 1120 (R). BMC 388. RSC 243. BNC 423. Hendin 1488.
Acquired from NumisCorner, June 2021.
Fourrées are ancient counterfeits composed of a copper core coated with a thin silver plating. The IVDAEA DEVICTA Flavian denarius type from Lugdunum is commonly found as a fourrée, so much so that the auctioneer Ira Goldberg states ‘Of the 12-15 specimens of this IVDAEA DEVICTA type that this cataloguer has examined, all have been fourrées!’ Personally, I have observed that nearly 60% of these denarii seen in trade are fourrées. Why this is so remains a mystery. Could the plated examples be the work of unscrupulous Lugdunese mint workers skimming profits? Or, did a talented forger in Gaul have a fondness for this one reverse type? The fact that there are no known die links between plated and solid specimens lends credence to the latter theory.
The evidence that this type was well know as a fourrée in ancient times can be seen from the test marks behind the neck and below the chin of the portrait on this solid example in my collection.
Either plated or solid the type is fairly scarce, so much so the as yet unpublished Flavian A&C changed the frequency rating from ‘common’ to ‘rare’. It also must be noted that many of the specimens in major museum collections are fourrées. http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.2_1(2).ves.1120
My plated specimen is an obverse die match with the Berlin coin.
Flavian Fanatic 