Some assistance with 3 recent acquisitions, please.

I recently acquired a few coins I have questions about. The first is a Roman Republic Denarius, Sear 176, Syd 570A, weighing 3.96 grams. If I am correct, what I see is THREE horses pulling a triga (?). Is there really such a thing or is this a fourth horse having been accidentally sent off to the glue factory at the mint? If it is a three horse chariot how uncommon would that be? I have never seen one before.
The second is a Denarius of Vespasian, probably Sear 2293, RIC 110, BMC 216, Sear Roman Silver coins 215. It weighs 3.3 grams. One discrepancy. My coin has the head facing to the left. Almost all his Denarii face to the right. Any reason for this and is my coin a simple variant of this issue or something else?
The third coin is one of the early Antoniani of Caracalla, the first emperor to issue this denomination. It weighs 5.1 grams and is Sear 6772. I believe I detect some corrosion on the obverse at 9 o'clock and perhaps also at 3 o'clock . If this is corrosion can it be treated without damaging the coin? It should be about a 50% alloy of silver and copper, possibly a tricky endeavor. Any help much appreciated.

 

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Nice coins! I like them all. That Vespasian appears to be RIC 981, bust left, modius, etc. I found this on OCRE:

http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.2_1(2).ves.981

Other Flavian experts will know more, I'm certain.

As for the missing horse, I've had the same problem with RR denarii - mine are usually quite worn, so I am reduced to counting visible legs through a magnifying glass.

 

..there are coins of 'trigas' from the Roman republic coinage...lQQks like a great bunch...they all have some interesting...'quirks'....did you get them all of the same seller?...idk.. let other ring in more educated on such matters...

 

Thanks, especially for that link. As it turned out I found about the variation in Van Meter's Imperial coins right after I posted this. I would be curious, though, to find out what was responsible for the difference. A decision by the mint's workers? Orders from Rome? The whimsy of a left handed celator? Thanks, again.

 

Yes, I did get them from the same seller. Any suggestions on the apparent corrosion on a 50% alloy of silver/copper coin? I don't necessarily want to "clean" the coin but I would like to stop any serious damage to the surface. Thanks for the response.

 

TRIGA(s) - love these!

I understand the purpose of the TRIGA was for training a new Biga Team with an older third horse to guide the young Biga Team.


RR Naevius Balbus 79 BCE AR Den Venus SC TRIGA Sulla Sear 309 Craw 382-1



RR Pulcher Mallius Mancinus Urbinius 111-110 BCE AR Den TRIGA Sear 176 Craw 299-1a

Even an ERROR Triga...

RR Clodius Pulcher T Mallius AR Den 111-110 BCE ERROR Flipover Double-Strike Roma Triga Craw 299-1b Sear 176

 

You know it's strange, funny, but although I have collected ancients for decades I never knew there were "trigas" or that there were some denarii that had them. I think I'll go through my Republic Denarii and count noses. I know that they sometimes used six horse chariots in the Circus races. Any six horse chariots on any coinage? Thanks for those images.

 

I believe there are only 2 Triga denarii, but I think the Naeviuz Balbus comes in Serrated (mine) and a non-Serrated... of which, I have a feeling that @Volodya and/or @Carthago have.

I have not seen a Sextiga on RR denarii... perhaps @Andrew McCabe has further knowledge of this?

 

I love that Caracalla. I have the younger version.

 

I'd leave Caracalla alone if I were you. He has got a history of not taking kindly to people messing around with him. Just ask Geta if you'd like to know more...

(Seriously, I wouldn't try to remove the small and non-distracting deposits on this beautiful antoninianus. Any attempt at household remedy chemical cleaning would probably just cause grave damage to its otherwise very attractive sufaces.)

As stated above, there are two Republican coin types showing a triga, yours (RRC 299/1) and the C. Naevius Balbus denarius serratus (RRC 382/1). Here is a fourrée of the latter, showing that contrary to some modern theories, serration wasn't an effective anti-forgery measure:


Roman Republic, moneyer C. Naevius Balbus, denarius serratus (fourée), 79 BC, prototype from Rome mint. Obv: Diademed head of Venus right, SC behind. Rev: Victory in triga right, C NAE BALB in exergue. Ref: Crawford 382/1. 16mm, 3.11g.

 

I just discovered I have that OP's RR triga:



Roman Republic Denarius
Appius Claudius Pulcher, T. Manlius Mancinus, Q. Urbinus
(111-110 B.C.)
Rome Mint
Helmeted head of Roma right, / Victory in triga right, AP CL T MANL Q VR in exergue.
Crawford 299/1a; Sydenham 570; Claudia 2.
(3.85 grams / 18 mm)

 

LOL, that is GREAT! I really enjoy the IRONY of that Fouree! Super find, @Orielensis .

 

i would use verdicare(BadThads stuff) on it..i do on all my coins that show signs of BD.. and that's what is sounds like yours is doing...

 

Looks pretty harmless there, doesn't he?

 

Thanks. I'll look into that. I assume you apply it lightly, like with a few dabs from a cotton Q-tip or toothpick.

 

In my limited experience with Roman Republic denarii (I own 30 of them), bigas and quadrigas seem to be more common than trigas. Don't ask me why.

 

Let me save you the time, it's sold out and impossible to get at the moment. @BadThad, time to release another batch if you have it. We are all desperate to get our hands on verdicare.

 

..right...i use a q-tip

 

..o wow....time to hit the lab @BadThad ...your customers old and new are awaiting...

 

Just send me a PM if you need some. Other life priorities are keeping me from the VC world for now but I'm willing to help a few collectors now and then.