> It appears that many ancient counterfeiters used “fire gilding” to apply the coating. > Mercury readily forms a very soft alloy (called an “amalgam”, it has

> It appears that many ancient counterfeiters used “fire gilding” to apply the coating. > Mercury readily forms a very soft alloy (called an “amalgam”, it has the consistency of butter) with gold or silver. This was smeared evenly over the surface of the base metal core, which was then heated in a furnace to drive off the mercury as a vapor, leaving the precious metal firmly bound to the surface. An example is a gold plated quinarius of Augustus, described by the cataloguer as “amusing,” that sold for $254 in a recent auction. I didn't know that was around back then. Fire gilding is as bad as it sounds. I'm sure they were somewhat aware of the health effects of mercury as they were with lead. This process would absolutely destroy the brains of anybody doing it consistently, but I guess that was worth the risk (and counterfeiting would usually have been a capital crime anyway).