Balt. Misc.

Various coins I found at the Baltimore show yesterday, in no particular order. Here is Vespasian, IOVIS CVSTOS reverse. I loved the expressive, detailed bust on this denarius...

 

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Great portrait on it.

 

Vespasianus' portrait always looked like he was on a mission...
"I need a beer... Now."

Btw, very nice coin @John Anthony !

 

I agree 100% JA !!! That's an incredible portrait!!! Great coin!!

 

My experience with shows and ancient coins is that most dealers just bring along the most common stuff, so I was surprised to find a couple of very unusual bronzes. This one was issued by Perseus of Macedon, during the Macedonian struggles against the the Roman Republic. They would eventually succumb, and these local types would get appropriated by the Romans on both bronze and tetradrachm issues.

Zeus, MAKE / ΔONΩN, Club in oak wreath, 185-168 BC. Those of you who collect RR and related probably know just how scarce this coin is in such an excellent grade. My eyes got very wide when I saw it. I made the dealer a low-ball offer, he accepted, I quickly paid and sneaked out the back door before he could realize what happened and call the police.

 

I'm not knowledgeable enough to understand it's rarity but I can appreciate it!

 

Both are very nice, and where I may like the Vespasian, I love the Macedonian!

 

Man, both coins are great JA, sounds like a good show!

 

Here's a characteristic bronze of Tarsos - I know some of you have this coin because of the unique Pyre of Sandan. If you don't know about Sandan, the FORVM blurb is nice and succinct, so I'll quote it...

Sandan was a Hittite-Babylonian sun, storm, or warrior god, also perhaps associated with agriculture. The Greeks equated Sandan with Herakles (Hercules). At Tarsus an annual festival honored Sandan-Herakles, which climaxed when, as depicted on this coin, an image of the god was burned on a funeral pyre.

Anyway, this coin is scratched, or maybe it's flan adjustment - I always have a hard time telling. But the detail on the reverse is superb, some of the best I've seen, and it's the first example of this type that I've seen countermarked, in this case Helios, and what a great countermark!

 

How many ancient dealers attend that show?

 

Maybe a dozen that specialize in ancients, then some of the world coin dealers typically have a box or book or two of ancients in flips.

 

That sounds like a good show for ancients. Thanks!

 

You're in a higher spending bracket than I am, but I think between Harlan Berk and a few others, you'd find some good stuff for your collection. The nice thing about Baltimore is that there are plenty of coins to buy no matter what your budget.

 

Nice coin John. My birthday is coming up next month so be on the lookout for something nice for me. Kind of like this one.

 

13th-century Venetian grosso. The only reason I haven't collected one of these before is that so many of them are holed, or harshly cleaned. This one has a nice, medieval skin and a wonderful portrait of Christ.

 

Love that, very nice.

 

That's the one I want for my birthday John. Thanks for finding it!! lol

 

Really nice follis of Magnentius. Coins of this usurper aren't exactly rare, but quite tough in this grade...

 

Sounds like a fruitful day at the show . Congrats on the pickups .

 

A great mid-period portrait, struck at a time when the engravers at Rome knew their subject well!