Two tetradrachms that are rather alike. The left one I bought in 1974, the right one last February at a coin fair not far from here. In the meantime I had stopped collecting coins - for thirty years. And I bought both coins from the same seller! He must be eighty now, but still has the sprightly young man of the early days inside. At the backside of the cardboard holder I saw that my recent buy probably was from the same collection as the first one, both coins were brought from Egypt in March 1973! Left AE tetradrachm Claudius II Gothicus. Alexandria year 3 = 270. Obv. Laureate head right. AVT K KLAVDIOC CEB. Rev. wide-legged eagle standing right, head and tail left, wreath in beak. L left, gamma right of eagle. 19 mm, 9.42 gr. Right AE tetradrachm Claudius II Gothicus. Alexandria year 2 = 269. Obv. Laureate head right. AVT K KLAVDIOC CEB. Rev. eagle standing half-right, head and tail left, wreath in beak. L left, B right of eagle. Bit of red rust. 20.5 mm, 10.78 gr.
What a great backstory! I like the portraits on both of your coins. Art and style in Alexandrian mint seemed to improve a bit during Claudius II's years when compared to the previous half century or so. Claudius II tetradrachm year 1, /eagle; Emmett 3878 Claudius II tetradrachm, year 3, /Tyche standing left; Emmett 3896
Alexandria had a very distinct, high quality style in their portraits for a long time, maybe starting with Hadrian and ending with Philip or possibly a bit later. It's different from all other mints. This is a good example: Billon Tetradrachm Philippus Arabs (244-249), Alexandria. Dated RY B (2, = 245). Obv. Laureate and cuirassed bust right (with a stern look). Rev. Homonoia standing facing with head left, raising hand and holding double cornucopia. 22 mm, 12.42 gr. Often, these portraits look as if taken from a lower level. There must have been a distinct school of sculpting masters in Alexandria dominating the mint. I've been wondering about this.
Neato @Pellinore - two very good scores decades apart. We get older, but the coins for the most part, do not!
I've always liked Claudius II tetradrachms. There seems to be several imaginary dividing lines in the series for collectors (cost-wise)... one is right between Gallienus and Claudius II. Claudius II coins (other than the rarer issuers) through the Tetrarchy, can usually still be found cheaply. CII coins still look pretty nice before the artistry slides off the table late in the series. Anyway, I just feel it's one place where you can get a lot for your money. Here's two year 3 eagles.
My photos above are terrible... I took a minute to get a few shots in sunlight with my $5 iPhone macro lens. Anyway, I wanted to show the nice depth/relief of the eagle.
My first ever Alexandrian coin was a Tet of Claudius Gothicus. I do not own it anymore, but I always thought it was cool.
Much of the time there were several cutters at Alexandria with differing styles. For Philip, I prefer the year 2 shown by Pellinore. Another may be more realistic. Did Philip change as he aged or did the cutters? Year 1 Year 3 Year 4 (boring?) Year 6 (I have no year 5.)
As always, good input, Dougsmit, that makes one think again. I suppose there were always several cutters working with different styles. Just like other mints. It doesn't say anything about realism, unless you compare with well-executed heads and busts. These designs might be exponents of art schools of their day. Your Philippus I year 4 is a lot like my Gordian Caesar of 12 years earlier. Possibly there were several styles of portraits used in one year, or not?
I believe there are but don't have the research to prove it. Below are two Gordian III tets from year 6. Were they cut by the same hand? IDK but suspect not. This is just one year later and seems too different to be related.
