  High signal-to-noise integrated spectra of the metal-rich globular cluster 47
Tuc, spanning the H-gamma(HR) and Fe4668 line indices, have been obtained. The
combination of these indices has been suggested (Jones & Worthey 1995, ApJ,
446, L31) as the best available mechanism for cleanly separating the
age-metallicity degeneracy which hampers the dating of distant, unresolved,
elliptical galaxies. For the first time, we apply this technique to a nearby
spheroidal system, 47 Tuc, for which independent ages, based upon more
established methods, exist. Such an independent test of the technique's
suitability has not been attempted before, but is an essential one before its
application to more distant, unresolved, stellar populations can be considered
valid. Because of its weak series of Balmer lines, relative to model spectra,
our results imply a spectroscopic ``age'' for 47 Tuc well in excess of 20 Gyr,
at odds with the colour-magnitude diagram age of 14+/-1 Gyr. The derived metal
abundance, however, is consistent with the known value. Emission ``fill-in'' of
the H-gamma line as the source of the discrepancy cannot be entirely excluded
by existing data, although the observational constraints are restrictive.
