Here are three new favorites of mine. All X-mas gifts from my lovely wife! To start here is neat little barb. I really like the character of this coin! The Rome (radiate bust) meets Athens (barbarous owl Rx) is super cool IMO! Date: 3rd to 4th Century AD Obverse: Radiate Bust Right Reverse: Crude copy of Roman theme Size: 11.64 mm Weight: 0.9 grams Next up is a favorite emperor of mine. Good old Gallienus. As much as Gallienus is maligned it is no surprise that his Secular Games are often forgotten in the histories while the lazy tyrant Philip I hogs all the glory for his 1000 years in business party. Anyhow, I have wanted a Gallienus / Secular Games issue for some time. Now I have one I am really digging this coin!!! Neck beard, stag, palm branch, a ton of silvering, well centered, legible legends, and some X-mas red highlights for character! Whats not to like? Attribution: RIC Vi 656 Antioch Date: 264-265 AD Obverse: GALLIENVS AVG; Radiate cuirassed bust right Reverse: SAECVLARHS AVG; Stag standing right, palm branch in exergue Size: 22.27mm Weight: 3.77 grams And there is more! This RR denarius is the icing on the cake! The helmeted Roma is quite attractive in itself but the she wolf Rx is a notch above terrific!! Love the Greco-Roman style of this coin!! Attribution: Craw 388/1b; Satriena 1; Sydenham 781a Date: 77 BC Obverse: (Inverted T)XXXII behind helmeted head of Roma (or Mars) right Reverse: ROMA above she-wolf standing left with right forepaw raised, P•SATRIE / NVS in exergue Size: 17.69mm Weight: 3.59 grams
What a thoughtful wife!! All I got was slippers and other articles of clothes I particularly like the reverse on that cool denarius too!!
Nice Xmas gift from your Honey @TJC ! I like your RR Denarius... contrast, reverse, and yeah, I have one also! RR Satrienus 77 BCE AR Denarius Mars She Wolf Sear 319 Craw 388-1 I have one a Stag reverse from Gallienus' Wife: RI Salonina wife of Gallienus 254-268 CE AE Ant 3.61g 20mm Rome mint 267-268 CE crescent Deer Walking delta RIC V 16
I hate getting clothes My wife finally clued into that fact this Christmas, and gave me a decent present (Double Eagle/Banknote).....actually, I ended up with new slippers too....mine were falling apart, and PJs.
I agree, cloths are not gifts! There are few exceptions but coins are better gifts! I email my wife coins I like that are available on vcoins. I say: "Hey honey did you get that email I sent with that cool Barbarous Radiate Bust coin with the cool owl owl on the back? I can resend it" She replies: "You like that thing???" Makes shopping easy for her and me a happy collector!
Seeing the owl requires more imagination than I have but I really like the others. I particularly like the Republican with bold die number on the obverse unlike mine with small flan destroying part of it. I also add bonus points for the (Inverted T) which is just the way thee Romans made L=50 at that period. Your post makes me want an upgrade with an L. Perhaps a RR specialist can clarity this point. You coin show a die number only on the obverse. Are all coins with LXXXXVI (96 - the way I read your coin) obverse numbers paired with the same reverse or did they just not number reverses? Reverse dies tend to fail more frequently that obverses so many will have different numbers on the two sides and, when the numbers get large, the difference can be quite a bit. My coin below has obverse LXXVII (77) using yet another variation of L=50 and reverse of XCIV (94). It also points out the inconsistent use of subtractive numerals.
Nice coins @TJC ! Of course, I like the RR wolf best. @dougsmit - Crawford estimates 101 obverse and 113 reverse dies. He notes that numerals I to CV are known and that none of the control numbers have more than one die. He does not mention die pairs for this issue. In some issues, obverse and reverse symbols are paired. In some issues, the obv & rev dies are paired randomly. The coins of M.VOLTEIVS have paired obverse and reverse dies. I think this was the first coin I bought with a thunderbolt. You can see them here: http://rrdenarius.blogspot.com/2015/01/greek-numbers-on-coins-of.html
