The Papia matter gets more interesting the more I look. Wildwinds has a great list: http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/rsc/papia/i.html Their type 122 is listed as snake/dog but if you click on text for that coin you will see that CNG sold the example under the name lizard which I consider a better answer. The two symbols on one coin are suppose to relate in some way but the relarion is not always obvious to us. One I like is a rectangle with letters on it (P for one) and an urn of some type. The rectangle is a ballot and the urn is a ballot box. The P on the ballot shows it was filled out to vote for Papius. I'd like to see a really clear one to see how much more is on that ballot. The Wildwind listing says PAPI but I don't see it on their photo.
Doug => that's a good/useful link ... #122 shows an example of my coin => yup, the good ol' infamous 'Snake & Dog-lizard' variety ... as you all know, Dog-lizards are now quite rare, so obviously this coin's value has risen significantly!!
I just purchased my latest Tribute Penny based on the style of legs. The other 4 I own are all straight leg. Typically I do not collect variations of a certain series, but I've always wanted a Tribute with the decorative legs.
The following is a great resource on the L. Papius Griffon types:- http://www.bonannocoins.com/l_papius/l_papius_db.php it gives a range of references and images where they have seen them
I am waiting for a camp-gate collector to admit he cares about the difference between a gate with 6 layers of stones and a gate with 7 layers of stones. Or, maybe they don't consider that a specialty within a specialty?
Now i'm going to go home w/ a magnifying glass and count the stones on my camp gates. I didn't know they varied in this way.
Is it me or have we heard less about campgates lately? A few years ago there were several name collectors with a lot of varieties but I recall a couple of the collections appearing for sale. I suspect campgates by layers is less fashionable now than it was so it might be possible to get some without the crazy prices. I do agree with Bing that doors are nice.
I always found campgates no different then Genius reverse...boring. But I do like the ones with open doors. I only have 1 campgate but its nothing special. One day I will get a open door one but not a priority.
Sorry, but I couldn't resist tossin' out a few of my campgates with doors on 'em ... Constantine I Constantine II Constantius II
Another lil' mini-specialty within' a specialty is C. Piso L.F. Frugi I only have one variety so far, but apparently there are several different varieties of these awesome coins: I have the variety with the rider crackin' a whip!! (plus there are a variety of symbols involved on the obverse and reverse) ... I'm sure there is a dude out there that'll know a whole lot more than I know about this super-cool series (please chime-in)
I am still wayyyy too newbie to have any sort of speciality. I mean sure I focus on Alexandrian tetradrachms when I am buying coins but that is just due to limited funds.
Alexandria is a dangerous specialty for those of us on a budget. There are some really special Alexandria coins. Certainly the later tetradrachms are still reasonable but any of the bronzes and the earlier tets are getting difficult.
My only subspecialty i study at the moment is my crazy little sogdian cross collection. They are the only ones i study die differences actively.
Here are a few of my Papius.... Symbol variety – RRC -. Babelon -. BMCRR -. Dolphin wrapped around anchor / Hippocamp The only known example. Symbol variety – RRC 19. Babelon 100. BMCRR 19. - hunter's net / 2 spears Symbol variety – RRC 150. Babelon 149. BMCRR -. Harpa / Winged Petasos Symbol variety – RRC 76. Babelon 76. BMCRR 12. Owl / Crow/eagle with opened wings Symbol variety – RRC -. Babelon -. BMCRR -. Shoe / Sandal. Another unpublished symbol pair with five examples currently known. This is likely the best of the five examples. (according to Richard Schaefer at the BM)