I posted my first ancient in the "Your First Ancient" thread. So here is my second and only other ancient (so far). I also found this one at a local show and the obverse really fascinated me. The figures look a little like retiarii, though I can't see any trident tips. Unfortunately, the flip said nothing more than "Constantius II." My records show that I paid $20 for it, which may have been a little too much in retrospect. Unfortunately, I lack the knowledge to properly attribute this, or any ancients, at this time. Maybe someday. That makes 1 Probus and 1 Constantius II. 2 down, 84 to go (assuming I counted the Western Emperors correctly).
You can certainly attribute it without having to know a lot. Take a look at the page of Constantius II coins on Wildwinds: http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/constantius_II/i.html Almost all of the text is legible including the letters in the exergue(the bottom, under the two soldiers) on the reverse. See if you can find one with the same obverse and reverse text and the same text in the exergue(which is the mint mark). Since the reverse is missing a letter, I'll give you a hint: its text is "GLORIA EXERCITVS"
I got myself a Littleton Album of the Roman Emperors. It has 6 slots a page, and you use open flips to fill them. I have 108 Emperors, and have 9 slots to go. So there appears to be 117 slots to fill. However they list another 31 Emperors that they do not have slots as they would be too rare or expensive to acquire. I was lucky to find one through @ValiantKnight . So, theoretically, according to Littleton, there may be 148 to acquire. Lastly, I did find an Usurper from @Valentinian that is not in the Album. additionally for each Emperor there are NUMEROUS denominations, mints, and variations. It seems there us no end to the number of Emperors that you can collect "to fill the slots". I do not even focus my collection in Imperials! enjoy!
Thanks for the info. I haven't found an exact match on the wildwinds site yet, but I do now know the mintmark is SMKΓ dot. The capital Gamma threw me. And the figures are soldiers, not retiarii. Makes sense. The closest I see is : Cyzicus RIC VII 69 Constantius II AE3. 330-334 AD. FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, laureate, draped & cuirassed bust right / GLORIA EXERCITVS, two soldiers, helmeted, standing with spears & shields, facing two standards between them, dot on banners. Mintmark SMKΓ dot. With this picture: But it has plenty of differences from mine - or is this as close as I get? I'm new to this, but definitely fascinated. @Alegandron 117 Emperors? Or maybe plus pretenders? Ok, so perhaps 115 more to go. Whoa.
@ewomack Imperials is a nice focus, but there are just too many insignificant short lived Emperors whose coins cost tons of money, so I tend to focus more on Emperors I personally like, or on dynasties with a handful of historically significant Emperors. Don't neglect ancient Greek and Roman Republic coinage. Greek coinage in particular is more varied, artistic, and fascinating (at least I think it's more fascinating.) Once you get enough Greek and Roman to satisfy you for a while, we can talk Parthian, Celtic, Islamic, Indian, Bactria,etc. The list just never ends! Which is more than you can say for US coinage, which is frankly quite a limited field to collect.
I could not agree more. Ancients come in so many variations for emperors, family members, cities, regions and times that it seems a shame to start off by limiting yourself to filling holes. If you watch here for a while you may just see some coins that strike you as really interesting but just don't fit in a hole in your planned collection. Some of us have a specialty that accounts for a large percentage of our new purchases. Some, myself included, have several main foci but still try to keep an open mind to adding a coin that we previously just did not know existed but that cried out "Buy me!" I have a general collection, a half dozen specialties and, after 50 years collecting, still don't have some of the 117 rulers let alone the additional 31 or the people that failed to make either list. Don't let the coins you don't have drive your purchases. Concentrate instead on coins that you want for a reason better than you don't have one. There are at least a million ancient coin variations I don't have. That is OK. It seems the huge variety means there is always something of interest vying for my money. Recently we were asked to post an image of our twelve favorite coins: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/top-twelve-favorites-one-photo.279157/ If you did not see the thread, you might enjoy seeing what is there. Some of the coins cost over $10,000 while some others were under $10. Chances are good that you will not see half of the coins posted there in the next few years but the other half might just include the coin type you buy next. While each of those who posted showed their favorite 12 coins, notice how few coins appear in more than one group. That is the hobby I like - not one making every collection alike. It is your decision where to go next. All we ask is that you give it some thought.
Forgot to answer your question: Each die was an individually hand cut work. Your coin and the other one you showed in the photo have the same legends and type but a bit different style. They would be considered the same unless you got to a place of specialization where you wanted to study the smallest variations. You could get closer by finding two coins struck from the same dies but they would differ in centering, flan size and faults. I have a few coins that are nearly identical in my prime specialties but that is partly to show the point. The image below shows nine pair of coins of Septimius Severus and his wife Julia Domna. Each coin is struck from the same die as its partner. Most people might say they only want one of a ruler, or one from each mint (there are four different in the photo) but when you get really into a specialty you can look forward to starting on your second hundred, fifth hundred, several thousand?????
Thanks again for the input, everyone. The Ancients forum has proved extremely friendly and helpful, especially towards a neophyte like me. My comment about "2 down, 115 Emperors to go" was somewhat tongue in cheek, but also somewhat serious. I can definitely understand that coins of short reigning Emperors such as Galba, Otho, Pertinax, Pupienus, Balbinus, Aemilian, etc. could potentially cost as much as the GDP of some small nations. Given a tendency for frugality, I would likely never buy them at market prices, assuming I ever even see them. After further rumination, I will very likely not go down the path of a "one of every Emperor" set. But I really do understand the appeal of pursuing such a collection. My attraction to Roman coins stems from a fascination of Ancient Rome itself. I have visited Rome's ancient sites, read Roman history, studied some basic Latin (^%!#@ declensions!!) and am continuously fascinated by the similarities and differences between Ancient Rome and the United States (though admittedly most of that talk remains pretty tenuous). Plus, Romans seem generally more affordable than the, in my opinion, usually far more artistic Ancient Greek coinage. But I know very little Greek and don't have very deep knowledge of Ancient Greek history, so I haven't made a personal historical connection with that coinage, or other Ancient coinage, yet. I tend to purchase coins that have a historical context for me. I could read Marcus Aureilus, for example, and have a coin from his time and with his image on it nearby to really enhance the historicity of reading. I don't have a Marcus Aurelius coin yet, but my interest in Ancient Stoicism will probably lead me down that path. Then there's Julian the Apostate, a supporter of Ancient Cynicism. And so on, and so on... It's hard to focus!
I collect focusing on my historical loves, and not from a Numismatics approach. I enjoy the Roman Republic, even further back with Pre-Denarii issues because of the massive conflicts Rome endured to eventually become a World Power. However, I have several other focus areas that I flesh out also. Time will help you find an area. And money. And the fun research you do to chase your coin passions. Enjoy.
LOL, WHAAAaaat???? Coming from a 24yo? LOL Regardless, I think it is cool beanz for ANYONE to get into Ancients. I wish I started at your ages vs. me in my late 30's, and even then, that was a casual capture without knowing anything... Oh. wait. I. still. don't. know. anything...
I dunno about this anymore. Now there just may be too many getting into Ancients!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It took me a long time to figure out that collecting ancients is a profoundly personal experience, rarely shared to same degree with other people. I spend good money on these...
