Well I haven't been coin cleaning in quite sometime. I placed this in the olive oil by itself 6 months ago. Today I removed it and rinsed with distilled while poking at the dirt the whole time with a toothpick. Check it out! I have yet to look up the coin, but there are substantial details to been seen. I know more work needs to be done but I was more than impressed with the outcome. Some one wants to try and attribute it please be my guess. 19.8 mm x 2.04 g bronze
Nice Scarce is music to my ears. I thought it looked like a bird maybe atop a coiled snake. Thanks guys.
I just looked it up and the first search result yielded Constans Siscia VIII 241.g. Dated 337-350 AD. The wildwinds listing describes the "coiled snake" a pyre. Which I suppose would make sense, a phoenix rising from the ashes.
It looks like you've got some VF detail under the crud. It might be worth some more work. But I don't think it's Constans - I think Ripley is right: Constantius II.
Looking forward to seeing how it turns out Anoob! It's not on a coiled snake/pile of rocks, but it's a phoenix and it's standing on something. In this case on a globe.
I love that coin VK. The reverse is really interesting. Proof the ancient knew the world was round. This coin could be categorized as phat!
Yeah, the ancients knew it was round. It wasn't until the christian destruction of learning and indoctrination that this knowledge was lost. I do love that one though. I should see if any of mine are on a globe. I honestly do not know. I had never paid attention. My only excuse is its because i don't collect romans.
[h=2]From my FTR page: Part 5 - The Phoenix[/h]Finally we consider the smallest denomination of the FTR series. Weighing half as much as the large (AE2) coins and containing only a trace (accidental?) of silver, these could not have been valued at over half the middle denomination. Obverses were right facing busts of either Constantius II or Constans but the type was discontinued before the first issues of the other rulers discussed above. The Phoenix coins were issued by ten mints in two major varieties. Six mints show the phoenix standing on a globe while five used a pile of stones (pyre). Thessalonica issued coins of both varieties. Our illustration shows reverses from Siscia (pyre, left) and Nicomedia (globe, right). Symbol of rebirth, the Phoenix type seems particularly appropriate for a series of coins issued on the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Rome.
While any well preserved globe type will show the details to some degree, I bought this Arles Phoenixbecause of how well it showed the bands and dots on the globe. These are regularly shown on globes from the time of the Flavians to this issue. There is dispute as to whether these make the round thing a armillary sphere rather than a representation of the round earth. I do not know. It is interesting how the same evidence can 'prove' opposite interpretations to those predisposed to proving their answer correct. I agree that the ancients knew the earth was round but I am less sure that this proves anything.
Agreed it is easy to draw ones own conclusions, but I would like to think the proof is in the pudding...globe or armillary sphere. from wikipedia.... The Greek astronomer Hipparchus (c. 190 – c. 120 BCE) credited Eratosthenes (276 –194 BCE) as the inventor of the armillary sphere.[SUP][1][/SUP][SUP][2][/SUP][SUP][3][/SUP][SUP][4][/SUP][SUP][5][/SUP] The name of this device comes ultimately from the Latin armilla (circle, bracelet), since it has a skeleton made of graduated metal circles linking the poles and representing the equator, the ecliptic, meridians and parallels. Usually a ball representing the Earth or, later, the Sun is placed in its center. It is used to demonstrate the motion of the stars around the Earth. Before the advent of the European telescope in the 17th century, the armillary sphere was the prime instrument of all astronomers in determining celestial positions. I thought it might be appropriate.
cool AN...keep on a cleanin'....looks like a SIS something or other mint mark? maybe gamma SIS like stevex's?
Unfortunately, I often "willie-nillie" do things and didn't think a head and take before photos. The had probably 1 mm of encrusted sand colored dirt on both sides with only the upper left quadrant of the obverse visible, and a very tiny part of the reverse. I could see enough details on it to warrant a decent soak. In the future I will take before pics. Thanks for chiming in though.
