Saturday Night Free For All

Well it's Saturday morning... so may as well get the Free For All going...

I only own three coins of the Republic.. here is my slow progression over the
last three years:




Somewhat more scarce anonymous variation of the dolphin series, RRC 80/1b. For this issue, the 4+ hair locks (instead of 3 for most 53/2 varieties) and the cape style suggest this is Cr. 80. (thanks CoinTalk!)




M CARBO ROMAN REPUBLIC
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: Helmeted head of Roma right, laurel branch behind, X below chin
REVERSE: Jupiter driving quadriga right holding thunderbolt & eagle tipped scepter, M CARBO below horses, ROMA in ex.
Struck at Rome 122 BC
3.21g, 18mm

Newest addition:



C. Annius T.f. T.n. Luscus and L. Fabius L.f. Hispaniensis AR denarius, 82-81 BC, 3.98gm, struck in northern Italy, 19.4mm. Obv: C • ANNI • T • F • T • N • V • PRO • COS • EX • S • C•; draped and diademed bust of Anna Perenna right, caduceus behind, scales before, control symbol (thunderbolt) below. Rev: Victory driving quadriga right, holding reins and palm-branch; above, Q; in exergue, L • FABI • L • F • H[ISP].

 

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Earlier this year, by way of VCoins, I picked up this billon tetradrachm of Caracalla, Tyre mint. What makes this example somewhat unusual is its weight, at 17.48 grams. It is somewhat encrusted, but even so it is a heavy weight for a series that ranges from 10 to 14 grams or so.

I'm still tying to determine which Prieur catalog number this coin falls under.

 

That's a very nicely centered example, well struck as well.

 

You have an eye for really beautiful coin. The portraits are excellent.

 

The bottom coin looks like a billon tetradrachm from Antioch.

 

Got a new fun fallen horseman today ... welcome to the stables:

Constantius II
DN CONSTAN-TIVS PF AVG
FEL TEMP RE-PARATIO
horseman clutching horse, hair in braids, bearded
Left field: Gamma
AN gamma
Antioch
Antioch 135

 

Waiting for this one to arrive in the mail.


Faustina I, AD 138-140.
Roman copper alloy dupondius or as, 12.02 g, 28 mm, 5 h.
Rome, AD 139.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG PII P P, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: VENERI AVGVSTAE, Venus, standing right, drawing drapery from right shoulder with right hand and holding apple in left hand.
Refs: RIC 1097; BMCRE 1132; Cohen 283; Strack 1224; RCV 4685; UCR 155; Dinsdale 008570.
Notes: obverse die-match to the British Museum Specimen.

 

Wow that's a great lifetime issue @Roman Collector , very nice!

 

I've been catching up on some coin photos this week and found a few coins that arrived and got forgotten about - here's a very cheap (£18 + 18%) L. Piso Frugi denarius from a Savoca auction last June:





In the same auction, I got a £26 (+18%) owl...




ATB,
Aidan.

 

I like your Piso Fruggi @akeady

 

That Athenian tetradrachm is very interesting.

It appears to have been broken into two halves while in circulation which were subsequently rejoined after burial. I can see mineral deposits between the two pieces that must have occurred over the centuries to cement them together, a really interesting coin.

 

It is interesting and well worth £26. It's light - 15.78g - which could be down to its being broken and probably losing material. My theory is that it's a fourrée which corroded and split while it was in the ground and was later glued together when found. As you say, the deposits and staining show it was at least pressed together in the ground and maybe the joint is natural - I'm not sure. I'll look at it again and see if I can see anything in an edge crack or get a closer photo' of the joint.

The original listing - I think Savoca spend about 5s attributing each coin in their Blue auctions, but the photos are clear:

https://www.biddr.com/auctions/savocalondon/browse?a=597&l=614417

ATB,
Aidan.

 

Yes, the tetradrachm could be a fourrée, but it could also be silver imitation from the 4th - 3rd centuries BCE. Elements of the style of the devices suggests an imitation, along with the odd oblong, somewhat rounded flan. The Athenian design was used by innumerable authorities and private parties to produce coins of varying weights and design variation during much of the 5th-3rd centuries BCE.

The coin was broken in half in ancient times to investigate its core.

As for the rejoining of the halves, the photo shows mineral deposits on the surface that are consistent with the mineral deposit between the halves. That would indicate deposition between the two pieces over a very long period of time.

I did consider the possibility that the two halves were rejoined recently, probably using a resin mixed with powder. I don't think this is the case with your coin, but one way to test this possibility is to use a hand-held black light (uv). In a dark room shine the light on the coin. If the seam is filled with mineral deposits, there will be no fluorescence. If resin (such as epoxy) was used to bind the pieces together, there will be a very distinct fluorescence of green or blue - it will be unmistakable.

If you don't have a black light, try looking at the area of the join on both sides, using a good high-power glass (x20). If you see glossy surfaces at the join, then you might have resin, with suspended dark particles. A non-resin join would be earthy, granular and not glossy.

I find this approach for detecting resin-injected gem stones, such as turquoise, where it is used to stabilize lower grades, and jadeite, where it is used to enhance colors.

 

Photographing some silver coins of Philip and Otacilia tonight. This is one I'm particularly happy with:


Otacilia Severa, AD 244-249.
Roman AR antoninianus, 4.00 g, 24.1 mm, 12 h.
Rome, AD 247.
Obv: OTACIL SEVERA AVG, Diademed and draped bust of Otacilia, right, with crescent behind.
Rev: PIETAS AVGVSTAE, Pietas standing left, raising hand and holding incense box.
Refs: RIC 130; Cohen 43; RCV 9158; Hunter 8; CRE 534.

 

Not doing much But as I was going over my collection I thought I would post this one Vespasian Ae Dupondius RIC 581 Rv Felicitas standing left 73 A.D. 11.93 grms 28 mm Photo by W. Hansen It was one of my purchases as the result of the NYINC Man that seems so long ago.

 

It's a beautiful coin in many ways Terence.

 

That's a beautiful new denarius, @Clavdivs !

It's Saturday night here in California, and all more exciting weekend plans are on indefinite hiatus due to the Corona crisis. Thus, I am writing tags and doing digital catalogue entries for the coins below.

All of them were recent "opportunity purchases" – Allen Berman, a knowledgeable dealer in medieval coins, recently sent around a list of a very substantial collection of some 700 medieval "Eastern" and Islamic coins he is currently selling on commission. Since all of the coins on this list were definitely priced to sell, I picked a few and didn't regret it. I wonder whether anyone else here bought something from that collection?


Abbasid Caliphate, under Harun al-Rashid, AR dirham, 787/8 AD (171 AH), Al-Abbasiyah mint:


Umayyads in Spain (Emirate of Córdoba), under Abd-al Rahman II, 844/5 AD (230 AH), Al-Andalus mint:


Great Mongols, under Genghis Khan or slightly later, BI jital, 1220s/1230s, Nimruz (Sistan) mint, Album 1973:

 

Wow, that's a great coin with a very powerful bust!

 

Wow - amazing pick ups my friend... how do I get on the list? lol
Have an enjoyable Saturday night!