Here is one of the OP coin's die-matched brethren, in which case I think the flat strike on the obverse is more distracting to the bust than the banker's mark, even though the CNG coin is in an overall higher grade.
I know I posted this JC portrait in another thread just last night, but I wanted to reinforce that bankers marks on portraits are not always distracting.
The OP coin really is outstanding. Like Orfew's example, a properly placed bankers mark can add interest and reduce expense. What can be better?
That is a beautiful coin, and I (like everyone else here, I imagine) would be proud to have it in my collection. Congratulations @Sallent on your new acquisition.
And even if it was distracting...It's still a rare and extremely historic piece...so it would still be extremely collectible for the right price. Some coins I would give a pass easier than others. On a readily available and affordable coin I'd be a lot picker about those things. But for a rare or extremely uncommon (and very historically significant coin), that's a different story. If I had a chance to obtain a Gordian I or Gordian II denarius for under $1000, I could care less if there was a banker's mark in the middle of his face. For that price you'd be certifiably insane to pass it up...unless you were the kind of person who could fork over $3,000 or $4,000 for a pristine coin and not even sweat it.
Here is the large HD image of the OP coin. Man, I feel like Christmas came early for me this year. I'm still jumping around the house like a little boy from the joy. PS: I'll say it now, this will be my #1 coin of 2017 for when we start doing those threads in December. I am 100% confident about that.
I especially like the happenstance of your bankers mark being crescent-shaped, complementing the large crescent between the P and M on the obverse.
A great find John and congratulations Sallent, it went to a very good home. The pinnacle of Roman portraits from a historical point of view. John
Again, that is one awesome coin. Perhaps it's just an artefact of the photo, but oddly the obverse die appears smaller than the reverse die.
The obverse die was a little cramped/small, but most of what you see may just be an illusion resulting from the off centering.See here this better centered (and better preserved) coin that is an identical die match. https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=223036
I measured the borders and there is indeed a one millimeter difference between the two. The image seems to make the difference look larger.
If you guys want a laugh (or wish to rant LOL), check this out..... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Julius-Caes...trksid=p2055119.c100022.m2048&_trkparms=aid=2