Saturday Night Free For All

@TIF home for Christmas? Good luck, moving can be very bitter sweet. I know you are lookiing forward to being with your mum. Hope you have a fablulous Christmas and New Year.

 

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Great coins. Here is a big one of Arcadius.

 

Back on for late Saturday / early Sunday free-for-all for you night owls out there!

What's on your coining table tonight?

Here's one I'm "booking" tonight.

Sicily, Syracuse, Hiketas II (287-278 BC)
Struck c. 283-279 BC.
OB: ΔIOΣ EΛΛANIOΣ, laureate youthful head of Zeus Hellanios facing right, a palladion behind.
Rev. ΣYPAK-OΣΩIN, eagle standing left on a thunderbolt, a star on left
(CNS 168; SNG ANS 803 var).

 

Here's one of my favorite Roman Republic bronzes...


Anonymous Ӕ Sextans
Rome, after 211 BC.
Ob: Head of Mercury right, two pellets above
R: Prow right, ROMA above, two pellets below.
Crawford 56/6

Just a little guy...

 

Here's one that I got really cheaply that I like in spite of condition and centering... I like the squeezed out blob of silver on one side.


L Lucretius Trio Denarius.
74 BC.
Ob: Laureate head of Neptune right, trident over shoulder, control numeral above
R: L LVCRETI TRIO in two lines, infant Genius riding dolphin right.
Cr390/2, Syd 784.

 

While I'm posting coins with massive flaws... Here's a cool Mn. Acilius Glabrio denarius with a square nail hole through it. Thanks to this fantastic hole, it cost me about $25.


Mn. Acilius Glabrio
49 BC. Rome.
OB: SALVTIS, laureate head of Salus right.
R: MN ACILIVS III VIR VALETV, Valetudo standing left, holding serpent and resting arm on column.
Crawford 442/1a; Sydenham 922; Acilia 8.
Salus and Valetudo are both goddesses of good health, and here they possibly signify the relief and gratitude of the moneyer and the people of Rome for the recovery of Pompey the Great, who had fallen gravely ill the year before.

 

Well since it's been about 5 months since I last posted. I'll share one ot my favourite Greek bronzes. I should have a write up done by about April.


Sicily, Syracuse. Agathokles. 317-289 B.C. Æ litra (22 mm, 9.72 g, 9 h). Ca. 306/4-289 B.C. ΣΩΤΕΙΡΑ, head of Artemis right, quiver at shoulder / ΑΓΑΘΟΚΛΕΟΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΟΣ, winged thunderbolt. BAR issue 33; CNS 142; SNG ANS 708

 

That's a beautiful coin! Artemis is just a really pretty goddesses here. It would be amazing to see the real life person who maybe modeled for the portrait... From the Roman side, I always thought that Crispina was a very pretty portrait on many coins. Great centering on both sides too. Thanks for sharing and welcome back!

 

Most times putting a Roman 3rd century "crisis years" portrait up against that coin would be a bad idea but.. In an era where portraits were not too artistic. this one is nice.

Most coins of Salonina are not flattering but in this one she looks lifelike and like a pretty lady!


Salonina AR Antoninianus.
Rome mint
257-258 AD.
Ob: SALONINA AVG, draped bust right on crescent
R: IVNO REGINA, Juno standing left holding patera and sceptre.
RIC V, Part I, 29
RSC 60; Sear 10640.

 

Back on for your Saturday night / Sunday morning night owl coinin'.

What's everyone working on tonight?

I have this new (today) long-necked Constantius II. I thought this was wierd some double-strike or something (it still kinda is... both on the ob an r) but I learned today that many of these Trier RIC 227s have cartoonishly long necks.

Constantius II
D N CONSTANTIVS PF AVG, pearl diademed, draped and cuirassed
bust right with long thin neck
(FEL dot TEMP dot R)EPARATIO, radiate phoenix standing right on
rocky mound.
Mintmark TRS dot.
RIC VIII Trier 227.
These long thin necks on Phoenix coins can only be seen
from the Trier mint.

Another example of the long neck on these coins without the double strike... (not my coin)

 

This is actually a bit later than 211 BC. This is from an anonymous series not fully identified by Crawford but similar in style to the issues of circa 206-190 B.C. and published by Andrew McCabe as Group J1 in his paper in Essays Russo. It's a great little coin, and relatively rare, so congrats on finding it.

Here's an example of the quadrans from the same time period & anonymous group.

 

Because why not?... Happy Saturday night everyone.

 

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. I love RR coins and would like to migrate to that area as a focus but am pretty thin in coins and knowledge there.

Do I have it correctly attributed (beyond the date?) Crawford 56/6? (edit: re-read your comment.. it seems Crawford didn't have this one quite right and McCabe has more clearly outlined the date and attribution.)

I have a few other RR coins that have been sitting in my "to do" tray for years, I may run by you if you're up for it. They're ugly so be warned. Thanks!

 

That's great coin! 9.78 grams... that's a beefy little coin! What's that on the reverse center? It looks like a set of doors... behind which are mystical things.

 

56/6 is kinda sorta right, or at least acceptable in the sense that that's the closest thing in Crawford and is the common number cited for any fully anonymous sextans of roughly sextantal weight. Here's how I catalogued my quadrans above and would catalog a coin similar to your sextans if I got one. Rather than cite a specific Crawford number I've cited the closest signed issues:

Roman Republic Æ Quadrans(24mm, 9.72 g, 9h), anonymous, circa 206-195 B.C.. Rome mint. Head of Hercules right; to left, ••• / Prow right; above, ROMA; below, •••. McCabe Group J1; cf. Crawford 112-124 for signed issues in similar style

As for the other bronzes feel free to send them my way or post on the forum and tag me. I can't guarantee anything but I'll do my best.

 

heres another

Illyria Dyrrhachion
229-100 BC
AR drachm/victoriatus, issued under Xenon and Pyrba-, magistrates
3.18g
17mm
Obv: ΞΕΝΩΝ, cow standing right, looking back at suckling calf standing left below, above, eagle standing right with wings open
Rev: ΔΥΡ, ΠΥΡ-ΒΑ, and club around double-lined quadrilateral containing stellate pattern

 

There has been a lot of controversy about this reverse. It has been suggested that it represents a garden mentioned in Homer and I think I read something about it being the doors to Odysseus’s palace. It seems that it is actually a star pattern. CNG did a good write up on it here.

https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=223773

 

@red_spork Actually... and strangely... the coin that I've had unidentified looks a lot like your coin (except for the weight and size). Mine is in much worse shape and feels that it's had some corrosion weight loss.

21mm, 3.7 grams

 

Lovely coin! That eagle looks like it has the head of... something else... maybe a camel or horse or something! Anyway, I need to get one of these. The only one I have is an ugly plated coin that I snagged from ebay for about $2.00.

 

Here's a fun new imitative coin... whoever created it was directly copying from a Licinius II Cyzicus RIC 11. It seems to be clipped down from an earlier and larger coin. The only thing missing is the mappa, globe and sceptre.

Here's an official one: