In keeping with my desire to finish this year (or perhaps this life?) with no more coins than I own today I won't be having as many new purchases to share until I get rid of more of the old ones. Instead, I will be sharing new photos of some of my old coins hat ask nicely if I would rephotograph them. The most recent of these three joined me in 1989. I paid more for them than most of you would today but how many of you have shown any interest in old, worn sestertii at any price? First is one of my favorite coins. The sestertius of Caracalla as Caesar is from my favorite portrait die of Caracalla or any Severan. Another recent thread discussed style as it relates to Galba but I'll point out that the lowly Severans also have dies that are better and dies that are worse. This one is my favorite. About the same date (possibly from the same hand???) is my favorite Julia Domna sestertius die. I'd like to have one with less wear but we don't always find what we want. The same type also resides in my collection using a second rate portrait die. The coin has damage from deep scratches and uneven patina but a lot less wear. I could not bring myself to sell either of these coins unless I found one with this much wear with the dies and surfaces of the above one. I know it exists but I won't pay for it. All three here were reshot with very diffuse lighting. I am currently favoring softer light for coin photos but who knows how long that will last. The coins look rather like they do in hand observed out under the shade of a large tree. Few of us examine coins in that manner but maybe we should.
I very much like the portrayal of Caracalla here ! Great photography and lighting. The specular highlights at the back of the neck, the edge of the robe and the cheekbone, combined with the shadow under the mandible, give it a clear sense of depth. Makes it look a bit like the impressive high relief 17th century portrait medallions.
That Caracalla of yours has been one of my favourites too since I saw it on your old website back in 2003. So wonderful in fact, I even printed the article it was featured in!
Today's offering of new photos are the three coins I retained when I sold my collection in 1974. In a fit of poverty I sent all my coins to Joel Malter flagging these three that I thought should be worth a premium. He returned them saying they were in no way special and would add little or nothing to the offer. I photographed a group of coins in 1964 and all three were in the photo. First is 'My Favorite Coin' which I have written up several times so I'll just give the link here if anyone cares to read it. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/f01.html This coin has darkened over the years but has not been cleaned for at least the 50+ years I have owned it. The second is a real junker but also a COSI die that I thought was special then. I do not know exactly when in the 1958-63 span I got it but I suspect it was one of the denarii I pulled from a $2 silver junk box in a shop of an elderly dealer in Indianapolis. Many of my high school period coins came from there. I still have not upgraded this coin with another with the cross supports under the chair on the reverse. This coin was ugly and dark 50 years ago and is not getting better. Last is a Domna denarius which was my first ever 'technical' coin. I see a face peering out of her head looking to the upper right suggesting the coin was overstruck on an earlier denarius. While I can not ID the undertype, the face strikes me as more likely Commodus than anyone els. I really wish it were Pescennius Niger but the nose is all wrong. The Domna portrait is early and looks a bit more like Manlia Scantilla than normal. I have not seen a die match to this coin either but would love to find one. I do not recall the circumstances of its purchase but know I had it when I took the photo for that term paper in 1964.
No, all I have is a fuzzy print attached to the term paper (which I have not seen for a while so it is some box in the attic. I did not start photographing coins as individuals until later.
Doug, your excellent photos make even the more worn examples highly desirable---and I truly LOVE that sestertius of Caracalla!! Recently, due to my love of Sestertius' and a modest attempt to fill affordable Emperor portraits, I purchased a Pupienus and an early Drusus ( the father of Claudius)...so I seem more than willing to go after worn/circulated examples, but at what I perceive to be a reasonable price for the type...
