I have been collecting ancients for over 3 years now and there was 1 coin I had on the top of my wish list since I started. That was this empress, Orbiana. I can't say the exact reason why I have always wanted one of her, but I have. I do find her portrait to be one of the most attractive though but so are many other empresses. Some coins of hers have come and gone over time. One I came close to buying but it ended up being sold days before & not being labeled as sold till I inquired about it. But recently "the one" finally appeared. It was freshly listed on a respectable dealers site & I knew I had to pounce on it quick. It has everything I wanted. Good portrait, centering, toning, condition for the type & weight, especially for the time period at 3.8g. Only found two others on CNG heavier at 3.9. This coin also has a very high relief portrait which I love. It goes with my 2 Severus Alexanders as far as the high relief goes, especially my porous one. I may have to alter my top 10 list as this could very well be my #1 favorite coin I have now. Orbiana (225 - 227 A.D.) AR Denarius O: SALL BARBIA ORBIANA AVG, draped bust right. R: CONCORDIA AVGG,Concordia seated left holding double cornucopia and patera. 19mm 3.8g RIC IV 319, RSC III 1, BMCRE VI 287, SRCV II 8191
Congrats Mat on getting your black tulip. A nice portrait, good detail with toning that compliments. She is cute! And must have been so in real life.
That is a nice Orbiana, Mat! Her denarii are eagerly sought after, and yours is a well struck example, with an expressive portrait (much better than mine)
It looks like it paid off on waiting. This a great coin with a very nice portrait, great reverse, with nice toning and a good weight. Now I want one
Way to go, Mat. That is a great looking piece. Scarce and great looking is a nice combo! This is my first time over here in I don't know how long. I don't remember posting much here but I tried my usual username and password combo and whaddya know, it worked. Guess I must have been here before, huh. I might have to visit more often. I see several familiar usernames from some of the other sites I frequent. Edit- I see now that I joined up in 2007 and this was my very first post! Wow.
I bought my dream Roman coin almost two years ago, an aureus of my favorite emperor, one of the "good guys".
Congratulations Mat. It always feel good when you set your sites on a coin to finally get it. I am afraid I have been too stingy pursuing mine, one of the family portrait coins of Vahran II or a Constantine VII solidus with Christopher reverse. Maybe one day I will open up the wallet a little wider and get one of mine. Nice coin.
WB2, I remember your aureus well, and admire it very much. I just picked up a nongold example of the same "good guy".
