From the current Harlan J Berk buy/bid sale: Trajan Decius, AE sestertius, Rome, 249-251 AD. PANNONIA reverse. RIC-124a; C-87 15.56 grams Obverse: IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG Bust laureate, cuirassed r. Reverse: P - A - NNONIA - E around, S - C across lower field, The two Pannonias standing side by side, both exceptionally looking left, both veiled and raising their right forearms; the one on the right holds a standard in her left arm, while a second standard is seen behind the raised right arm of the figure on the left. A possibly unpublished variety with both Pannonias looking left on a sestertius, though this variety is recorded on a few rare antoniniani. EF.
The coin is so heavily tooled (on both sides btw) it's impossible to tell if the right hand Pannoniae was facing left or right to begin with. Barry Murphy
@robinjojo I have an antoninianus variety of it from a lot of 12 coins. It is quite heavily worn and has a thick green patina, and like yours, it is not possible to ascertain whether the right Pannoni is looking left, right or strait ahead.
So this coin is from the same dies, clearly showing a right facing Pannonia on the right and the extensive tooling.... Barry Murphy
I do see indications of smoothing in the fields. Would you be more specific, with photos, of the tooling? I've gone over the coin with 20 power magnification, and I don't see any overt signs. The coin has been cleaned, most recently by me, with distilled water, to mitigate an area of deposit between the two figures. This coin must have been quite encrusted originally, and cleaned. The surfaces still retain much of the uneven brown and green deposits. The mechanical cleaning was very extensive. But as for tooling to create a left facing profile for the right figure, I simply do not seen signs of engraving, which would necessitate the removal of metal from the right facing profile and the creation of the left facing profile. Further, I would expect to see tooling marks that create a depression in the area where the right facing head was modified. A fair amount of metal would have be removed, and the left facing design added. There simply would not be enough of the head remaining to do a convincing, proportional rendering consistent with that of the left figure's head. Metal would have to be added, and that would mean heating the coin's surface to make the added metal bond properly. That process would also alter the entire surface of the coin, something that I do not see. I am not sure what you are referring to regarding the right hand. The surfaces are somewhat rough and the die engraving is not top notch, typical for this period, and as noted there has been cleaning/smoothing on both sides. Again, I don't see the removal or addition of features on the reverse figures, but maybe I'm missing something. Now I am the first one to admit that I might be mistaken, but this is my view of the matter.
They look like different dies due to the tooling. Match up key points.... shapes of arms, shapes of wreath tie, locations of letters etc. They are 100% the same dies. The Berk coin has really been destroyed with smoothing and tooling. FYI I showed the image to David Vagi without saying anything and his comment was "what a tooled POC." Barry
But how would the head for the right figure be modified from right to left? Tooling, as I understand it, is a technique of metal removal to enhance detail such as hair, but how would that be done, at a level of fine detail to change the orientation of a head? This same style head appears on this example, left figure: As I mentioned earlier in this tread the coin has been smoothed. There are visible smoothing tool marks in the fields under magnification. It is clear that surfaces in the fields are uneven but homogenous in appearance. Also, what about the portrait on the obverse? Has that been tooled as well? Barry, you're the expert, so please show me where. Thanks
On the Pannonia, the head has been completely tooled. The veil and the face are complete fabrications. On both figures, the drapery has been completely tooled from neck to ankles. On the obverse, the hairline on the forehead and temple has been strengthened, the eye tooled, the shoulder tooled, a beard has been added with irregular dashes that don't make sense, the mouth is tooled and the nose profile has been reshaped. Barry
