Hey there folks. I usually post overr at the World Forum but by son became the proud owner of the coin below this afternoon thanks to the generosity of a fellow forum member. I have been able to identify the obverse as a Roman Licinius but would appreciate attribution of the reverse. Also, thoughts on grade would be appreciated. Looks XF to me but there is a bite out of the rim. Not sure though, as grading ancients is far from my forte.
Nice coin in relatively fine condition. I think the reference should be: Alexandria RIC VII 14,B Licinius I AE Follis. AD 315-316. IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate head right / IOVI CONSERVATORI AVGG, Jupiter standing left, holding Victory on globe and sceptre, to left a K and eagle at foot with wreath in its beak; (wreath)/B/X to right. Mintmark ALE. http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/licinius_I/_alexandria_RIC_vII_014,B.jpg
note that the reverse ends in AVG versus AVGG Licinius I A.D. 316- 317 IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS P F AVG; laureate head right. IOVI CONSERVATORI AVG; Jupiter standing l., chlamys across l. shoulder, leaning on sceptre and holding Victory on globe in r. hand; eagle with wreath to l. on ground; left field K, right field wreath over X over B. in ex. ALE RIC VII Alexandria 16
A bite out of the rim that occurred in striking after the coin left the mint but before the coin was hoarded would have less effect on desirability than a bit caused by being hit with a shovel when being dug up. Ancient coins were not always made on perfectly round and smooth blanks. If the bite shows different color metal than the rest of the edge most would call it modern damage while if it appears that the coin was that way forever, most would be more forgiving. That said, many collectors would still prefer coins with a smooth edge so demand for the coin would be a little greater if it did not have the bite. That scratch down from the ear of the portrait would also lessen the coin in most opinions but not to the degree that a similar gouge would ruin a modern coin. These little things and a dozen more make it impossible to give a 'Red Book' type value listing for ancients. Most ancients have some little thing that would 'body bag' a modern coin but have to be considered in evaluation. Many collectors have abandoned grades like VF altogether just because it covers such a great range of coin appearances. That is why NGC slabs ancients with additional ratings for strike and surface. They are trying to do what I say is impossible but perhaps the attempt is better than nothing. As compared to most 'first ancients' we see here, this one is quite nice and very collectible. Licinius is among the most common emperors and relatively few people specialize in his coins so I doubt the coin will put your son through college but it is a good start to collecting Roman coins.
The bite out of the rim probably occurred during flan preparation. Jere M. Wickens, in his essay, "The Production of Ancient Coins," written for Bearers of Meaning: The Otillia Buerger Collection of Ancient and Byzantine Coins at Lawrence University, notes that flans "were cast en chapelet, that is, using open or closed moulds in which a number of mould hollows were connected by channels." This resulted in a "runner" or sprue between the cast flans, which would be removed before striking. Sometimes, the process of breaking off the sprue removed a chunk from the flan’s edge, leaving what is known as a "flan chip." Such flan chips can be dramatic: or more subtle: ~~~ Here are some similar Licinius coins from the mints in Antioch, Cyzicus, and Nicomedia:
This Licinius was bought at the Bay State show specifically for the cool toning to me it made up for some of the legends being off flan.
I was not going to comment on rarity, but this coin is pretty rare because of the reverse legend ending in AVG versus the normal AVGG. However this type of rarity is really only appreciated by a specialist. This is a very common reverse type only made rare by the abscence of a single letter and would most likely only appeal to someone collecting the series.
That's a really nice Licinius in the OP, and like Victor says, not at all common. I think the reverse legend being AVG rather than AVGG is interesting in the context of it being issued during the first civil war between Licinius and Constantine, where three cities (Heraclea, Thessalonica and Alexandria) dropped a G in support of Licinius. In the Nummus Bible online database, there are hundreds upon hundreds of examples of these utterly common Jupiter folles with AVGG and just three with AVG (all from Heraclea). I don't think I see any on sale at Vcoins amongst the couple of hundred other examples of this type. Mine, from Thessalonica, is not as nice as the OP. LICINIUS I AE Follis. 3.57g, 22.3mm. Thessalonica mint, AD 313-316. RIC VII Thessalonica 3 (R4). O: IMP LIC LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate bust right. R: IOVI CONSE-RVATORI AVG, Jupiter standing left, holding Victory on globe and sceptre; eagle with wreath in beak standing left on ground; •TS•Γ• in exergue.
Zumbly's post point out how much more interesting a G more or less can be if we stop to ask 'why' rather than just writing it off as another minor variation. Sure you can collect and catalog a coin without thinking but such opportunities are part of what draws some of us to ancients in the first place.
I'm going to tag along with Zumbly and add a couple to the pot, both from Thessalonika. One has the AVGG reverse ending and the other the AVG. LICINIUS I AE Follis. 3.27g, 22x24mm. Thessalonica mint, AD 313-316. RIC VII Thessalonica 2. O: IMP LIC LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate bust right. R: IOVI CONSE-RVATORI AVGG, Jupiter standing left, holding Victory with wreath on globe (r) and sceptre (l); eagle with wreath standing left below; •TS•Γ• in exergue. AVGG AE Follis. 3.80g, 22x24mm. Thessalonica mint, AD 313-316. RIC VII Thessalonica 3. O: IMP LIC LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate bust right. R: IOVI CONSE-RVATORI AVG, Jupiter standing left, holding Victory with wreath on globe (r) and sceptre (l); eagle with wreath standing left below; •TS•Γ• in exergue. AVG Came up dry when I looked for the AVG ending from Alexandria and Heraclea.
I was wondering if someone would show any interest in why there was only one G. There is more that the use of a single G tells us about this coin, that narrows down when it was struck.
