A lorica segmentata buckle on Ebay?

[Luca]

cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISA...3208383188<br>
<br>
do you think is a genuine find of a segmentata? <p></p><i></i>

[richsc]

It looks cast. Have any lorica parts been found that were cast? <p>Richard Campbell, Legio XX<br>
<br>
</p><i></i>

[Matthew Amt]

Avete!<br>
I would say, No, it is not like any lorica fitting that I've ever seen. It might resemble some later belt or strap buckles (horse harness fittings, maybe?), but it looks more like a medieval buckle to me! The very description is a good indicator--that BS about "the robust construction needed for direct riveting the plate armour", and the nice little rather loose history lesson that disguises the lack of actual facts about the piece itself.<br>
<br>
I have never shopped on Ebay (not a principle, I just don't need to!), and certainly not for antiquities, but every time someone shows me an antique on ebay, there is something dubious or downright fraudulant about it. Caveat Emptor! If you don't KNOW what it is, don't touch it.<br>
<br>
Valete,<br>
<br>
Matthew/Quintus, Legio XX <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Forget about that being an actual fitting of a <em>lorica segmentata</em> (I agree, Matthew, should be post-roman) and spare me to comment on the seller's description. Maybe some people need that kind of cure: 73 Dollars for an obscure piece accompanied by a made-up story. I wonder who wrote the "certificate of authenticity" and what its text is like...<br>
<br>
Greetings,<br>
<br>
Martin <p></p><i></i>

[Daniel S Peterson]

Wow, 73.00 bucks for a spurious lorica segmentata fragment. Maybe I should sell some of my absolutely authentic segmentata bits there. There were a few at the Konz (Trier) coin show a couple of weeks back, for between 2 and 5 Euros in the 'dug up bronze scrap boxes', from the ancient coin dealers. But even so, they are much, much rarer than the majority of Roman coins.<br>
After all, Roman soldiers occupied only a tiny percentage of all Roman sites.<br>
Dan <p></p><i></i>

[mcbishop]

Nowhere near as good as a cast 'lobate hinge' I was once shown - came from the same dodgy source as the dagger and sword scabbards I burbled about in an earlier issue of <em>Arma</em>. That had been quite deliberately made in imitation of the real thing, whereas this is just a misinterpretation of what appears to be a genuine (but not Roman) artefact. The dealer who was peddling these, once the error of his ways was pointed out, refunded the cost to the buyer and got his money back from the faker.<br>
<br>
Mike Bishop<br>
<br>
PS Dan - I'm still holding space in <em>JRMES</em> for you to publish your collection! <p></p><i></i>

[Daniel S Peterson]

Mike,<br>
The hangup is the drawings. I can scan all the pieces front and back, would that work? They come out 1:1 scale and look great.<br>
<br>
If that will work, I'll get them to you soon.<br>
<br>
Dan <p></p><i></i>

[mcbishop]

That would do the trick.<br>
<br>
Mike Bishop <p></p><i></i>