Collectors' Corner, John Boy's Ring Factory [UPDATED]

There is one born every minute, as metal detectorist 'johnboy2954 from Stockton-on-tees, United Kingdom (3558 sales) has found out. He's offering an 'ANCIENT ROMAN BRONZE 'GLADITORIAL' RING--DETECTOR FIND' that all those UK archaeologists who think metal detectorists are a jolly decent truth-telling lot ought to take a look at. It's going to sell, if EBay do not take it down, on 24th July 2019 at 10:08PM . He's been finding and selling a lot of rings recently, has John. Anyway, this one is:

A FANTASTIC HEAVY BRONZE ROMAN RING WITH A GLADITOR (sic) SCENE ON THE BEZEL. IT WAS FOUND METAL DETECTING IN EUROPE. I HAVE ONLY LIGHTLY CLEANED AND POLISHED THE RING TO BRING OUT SOME OF ITS ORIGINAL COLOUR. IT IS STILL VERY SOLID, FULLY INTACT AND WEARABLE. THE BEZEL MEASURES 19 MM IN DIAMATER AND THE RING IS APROX A SIZE '9 1/4' IN THE U.S. WHICH IS A SIZE 'S' IN THE U.K. AND IT WEIGHS 19 GRAMS. I HAVE INCLUDED A COUPLE OF PICTURES OF THE RING BEFORE CLEANING TO SHOW ITS PATINA. A GREAT RING TO ADD TO ANY COLLECTION. PAYMENT WITHIN 3 DAYS OF AUCTION ENDING PLEASE.

So, I guess 'found metal detecting in Europe' means not in England or Wales, which is why the PAS have not recorded it. So he'll have a search permit and an export licence from the source country then. Now this is not a gladiator's ring, nor is it Roman workmanship. It is a ring really rather inexpertly cast incorporating a cast (dendrites visible) representing the reverse of a republican denarius of L. Livineius Regulus (42 B.C.) showing a combat scene of bestiarii, one combatant attacking a lion with a spear, another, armed with a shield and sword attacks a panther, a wounded bear sits on the left, L.REGVLIS (sic) in the exergue. I do not have the relevant reference works to hand, so cannot say if REGULIS appears on any real coins. Anyway, the cast is unlike the 'stickmen style' of many of the examples of this coin online (except this one). That this is not a real coin is shown by the views showing inside the ring (the underside of the bevel) and its general profile. Also he fact that the whole ring is described as 'bronze' is a bit of a giveaway..

This nonsense about 'leaving the patina on' is a bit misleading. What the photos actually show looks for all the world like the ring has been scorched with a blowtorch, and nothing at all like what an object dug out of any European soil would look like. Indeed, if you look at his other objects, they all have a remarkably similar 'patina' - despite being attributed by the seller to different dates and cultures... Something for the seller to explain to the buyer, I'd say. And the emptor eager to part with their money to UK artefact hunters would do well to jolly well caveat a bit, I'd say. I'd not bid on this one, personally - and that's not just because the seller does not take his responsibilities carefully enough to say where he found the object and what paperwork will accompany it to the buyer.

UPDATE 24th July 2019
It's getting exciting now... Time left: Time left:32m 22s Current bid: GBP 124.00 [Approximately US $154.23] with as many as 51 bids. The bid that's leading at the moment is one 'h***4' apparently a newbie with only 20 comments and who's been bidding steadily away for the last few days. What a shame that collectors do not read this blog, they'd save themselves a lot of trouble when they want to sell their 'treasures'.

Of course, there is another explanation, the pattern of bids of 'h***4' could also be shill-bidding, but of course it cannot be because that's illegal, and we all know that metal detectorists are as pure and law-abiding as the driven snow. They'd never do anything like misrepresenting a findspot or shill-bidding would they? Anyway the auction is ending .... will it be a fingernail-biting faceoff between bidders?

UPDATE UPDATED 24th July 2019
Oh yes, nail-biting finish, for some reason 'h***4' who'd been pushing the price up and up, dropped out in the last few hours, and another two bidders competed for this ugly piece:

k***s(29) GBP 225.00 24 Jul 2019 at 12:45:05PM PDT
o***r(575) GBP 220.00 24 Jul 2019 at 1:08:19PM PDT
h***4(20) GBP 135.00 24 Jul 2019 at 11:33:15AM PDT

Well, k***s, let's hope it brings you 225 quid's worth of joy. Some people will think you bought an over-priced piece of crap, but it was you who set that price... I wonder what your antiquities collection looks like...