Saturday Night Free For All

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Orange Julius, Dec 1, 2019.

  1. Limes

    Limes Well-Known Member

    Great coins again everyone. @Terence Cheesman, interesting story, and lovely coins as always. I had the Actium IMP X type consigned to the recent AMCC auction, and in time I plan to add at least two IMP X coins to my collection; another, but of better quality, Actium and a Sicily type. Especially the sicily type appears to be scarce.
    Below are two latest additions. I lacked a Macrinus denarius in my collection. The coin has great eye appeal, as do many Macrinus's coins. I prefer this portrait over the portrait with a shorter beard. I'm now missing 2 rulers (albeit short) from my collection up to and including the Severan dynasty: Didius Julianus and Diadumenian.
    32.1.png

    Another one added to my Hadrian travel denarii. A good one, not of the best quality, but the price was more then fair. I'm only missing Italia.
    19.TS.8.png
     
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  3. Terence Cheesman

    Terence Cheesman Well-Known Member

    Well it is very early Saturday morning for me and I am up monitoring the Leu auction and trying to stay awake with a big glass of Coke.(full of sugary goodness) Today at this ungodly hour of 4.30 AM I am hoping to buy something Macedonian. Thus I was thinking of this coin
    Alexander III Ar Tetradrachm Pella 336-329 BC In the name and types of Philip II of Macedon Obv. Head of Zeus right laureate. Rv Youth on horseback right holding palm frond. Below kantharos Le Rider 357 14.33 grms 25 mm Photo by W. Hansen philipII-2.jpeg The reason that I ascribe this coin to the reign of Alexander III as both Le Rider and Troxell ascribed the initial issues of coins bearing the names and types of Alexander to the mint of Tarsos in 332 BC. Thus Alexander had to be minting the coins introduced by his father while he was in Macedon preparing for his expedition against the Persian Empire. This policy was maintained by Antipater for some years after Alexander left for Asia. This changed in 332 BC when faced with a renewed threat by Sparta he was compelled to raise a large army which included numerous mercenaries. To pay for this army Alexander was compelled to send money back to Macedon. It is interesting that this coin shares the same symbols as the gold coins of both Philip II and Alexander III which are normally attributed to the mint at Amphipolis.
     
  4. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    Good luck with the auction! May you acquire something beautiful for your collection.
     
  5. Orielensis

    Orielensis Well-Known Member

    Good luck! I lost on all my bids in the Greek section of this Leu auction...

    But on another note, here is a little Saloninus that I picked up recently and haven't shown yet. Though my example certainly has its flaws, it's a rather scarce type and historically interesting since it was struck at the "western mint" (Cologne?) shortly before Saloninus got killed and Postumus took over:

    Rom – Saloninus, Antoninian, Spes Publica.png
    Saloninus, Roman Empire, AR/BI antoninian, 258/9 AD, Cologne mint. Obv: SALON VALERIANVS CAES; bust of Saloninus, radiate, draped, r. Rev: SPES PVBLICA; Spes, draped, walking r., holding flower in r. hand and raising robe with l. hand. 22mm, 4,56g. Ref: RIC V Saloninus 13; MIR 36, 915e.
     
  6. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]

    This one was an impulse purchase. It's too boring for a T-Bone Tuesday post, but it's new -- from today's Savoca auction.

    Volusian Viminacium Savoca.jpg
    Volusian, AD 251-253.
    Roman provincial Æ 28 mm, 13.36 g.
    Moesia Superior, Viminacium, year 13, AD 151/2.
    Obv: IMP CAE C VI[B VOLVSIAN]O AVG, laureate bust, right, slight drapery on far shoulder.
    Rev: P M S C|OL VIM, Moesia standing facing, head left, with hands outstretched; to left, bull standing right; to right, lion standing left; AN XIII in exergue.
    Refs: AMNG I,1, 175; Mionnet suppl. 2.52,62; Wiczay 2105; Varbanov 221 var. (obv. legend and bust type).
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2021
    Andres2, Limes, Orange Julius and 6 others like this.
  7. Romancollector

    Romancollector Well-Known Member

    Here's my latest acquisition. Not particularly rare or exciting, but something I've been looking for and I thought it was pleasant enough to purchase it. Unfortunately, it was delivered to the wrong address. Luckily, after my intervention, Fedex moved quickly on having the coin retrieved and redelivered.

    Philip I (AD 244-249)
    AR Antoninianus
    Philip I antoninianus.jpg
    Date: AD 248. Saecular Games issue.
    Obv: IMP PHILIPPVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
    Rev: SAECVLARES AVGG, she-wolf standing left, head turned back, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus; mintmark II in exergue.
    Diameter: 23.5mm
    Weight: 4.16 g.
    Mint: Rome mint, 2nd officina
    RIC IV 15
    Ex CGB Numismatics Paris
     
  8. Valentinian

    Valentinian Well-Known Member

    Today my local library had a book sale. I picked up most the books related to antiquity and the middle ages:

    BookSaleBooksjpg.jpg

    They ought to keep me occupied for a while!
     
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  9. Terence Cheesman

    Terence Cheesman Well-Known Member

    For some weeks I have been getting up the nerve to discuss the drachms minted in the name of Alexander III from the mints of western Asia Minor. This is a large and significant coinage as most of the drachms offered up over the last 20+ years have been from this region. The question is of course just how many of these coins are minted during the lifetime of Alexander the Great and when did this coinage commence.
    The first point is that it was very unlikely that this coinage started before 325 BC. The fundamental reason is that Alexander wished to present himself as a liberator of these cities and not a conqueror. Thus he would have very little incentive to force these cities into minting his coins. This changed when he returned from India. He was faced with some very serious expenditures, the first being the paying off the army which he was now disbanding and paying for the new armies he would need to continue with his world tour. By demonetizing the old Persian coinage, the cities involved would gain a profit minting the new coins. This would also have the effect of very quickly removing the old siglos coinage.
    One of the problems associated with creating a chronology of the drachm coinage from this region is that there are essentially three basic poses for the image of Zeus Aetophoros seen on the reverse. They are in the most likely sequence of their appearance as follows. All the coins in the name and types of Alexander III from the mint of Miletos AlexPrice 2088 ADMSeries 1.jpg Group 1. Price 2088 Courtesy CNG In this image Zeus is depicted with his legs parallel. They are rather stiff. This image is in keeping with the depiction found on the earliest tetradrachms minted at Tarsus and Amphipolis.
    alexanderdr1.jpeg
    Group 2 Price 2090 4.28 grms 18 mm Photo by W. Hansen In this image the foreleg of Zeus his left is pulled back. This group is rather hard to quantify as in some cases the foreleg is only slightly reverted and in others very much so. I have not seen many tetradrachms minted in this style and the few that I have seen come from this region. So this may be a local adaptation. If that is the case it commenced very quickly and spread very rapidly as many of the drachms are of this style. A case in point can be seen from two drachms minted at Lampsakos which were in CNG E Auction 498 4-38OJPM.jpg This coin is listed by Thompson as the first drachm minted at Lampsakos Control symbol Caduceus CNG comments that this is the first obverse die. As can be seen reverse image has parallel legs Courtesy CNG
    4-38OJPO.jpg Second issue Same obverse die Control symbol club The foreleg is already being pulled back. Courtesy CNG
    Finally we come to
    3220133Alex Price 2090.jpg
    Group 3 Price 2090 (again. Unusually Price does not differentiate between the two styles) In this image the rear foot of Zeus, his right is pulled back sharply. This image became the standard image found on the tetradrachm. This image can be first seen on tetradrachms minted at Sidon in 325 BC and the image spread rather slowly from there. Except from the mint of Sidon no coins with the back leg reverted can be safely attributed to the lifetime of Alexander. In fact the coins usually attributed to Amphipolis continued to mint tetradrachms where the image of Zeus has parallel legs well after 322 BC.
    So in closing the presence of the Group 2 coinage complicates the problem of attempting to date this coinage. My guess is that the type is a local adaptation and may have started a short time after the first issues were struck.
    Thank you @PeteB got a little mixed up.
     
    Last edited: Aug 28, 2021
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  10. Orange Julius

    Orange Julius Well-Known Member

    Great post @Terence Cheesman ! This thread is a great place for showing off new coins and having some fun but sometimes there are great posts like yours that I think really miss having their own spotlight. I've always loved the tetradrachms and drachms of this type. The dating is often confusing and conflicting. Conversation on these types is fun to read and lots of examples are fun to see. Anyway, thanks for showing your coins and taking the time to include interesting information.
     
  11. Limes

    Limes Well-Known Member

    Thanks for your very informative post! I dont have any Alexander types, but would really like to one day.
     
    Terence Cheesman likes this.
  12. seth77

    seth77 Well-Known Member

    A minuscule Hilderic in North Africa, Carthage ca. 526-30 AE4 9mm 0.6g bought for exactly 1.04GBP:

    hilderic.JPG

    Some of the [HILDE]RIX legend still visible.
     
  13. Terence Cheesman

    Terence Cheesman Well-Known Member

    A few days ago I got some photos that I have been waiting for. One of them was this coin Galerius Ar Argenteus Heraklea 295 AD Obv Head right laureate Rv. The four tetrarchs sacrificing over altar in front of fortified enclosure. RIC 8 2.97 grms 18 mm Photo by W. Hansen galerius11.jpg The argenteus was an ambitious but short lived attempt to reestablish a pure silver coin to the Roman monetary system. I suspect the main reason for its failure was the demand for silver created by the minting of the follis coinage. When I was first introduced to this coinage, they were considered very scarce and thus commanded high prices. However sometime after 2000 two very large hoards entered the market significantly dropping their cost.
     
    Last edited: Aug 28, 2021
  14. PeteB

    PeteB Well-Known Member

    Seems to my old eyes that his right leg is not pulled back, but his left leg is. Perhaps I misunderstand this part of your post.
     
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  15. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    This one arrived in the mail today. It's a middle bronze struck exclusively for use in Britain. Hoard data from Bath indicates it was struck AD 153-155.

    Faustina Jr VENVS S C Column MB 2.jpg
    Faustina Jr, AD 147-175.
    Roman Æ as or dupondius, 10.82 g, 26.3 mm, 11 h.
    Rome, AD 153-55.
    Obv: FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
    Rev: VENVS S C, Venus standing left, holding apple and leaning elbow against a column.
    Refs: RIC --; BMCRE p. 856 *; Cohen 271; Strack 1323; RCV --.

    Here's the listing from Moorhead's article on "Coins of British Association":

    Faustina Jr Venus and column Dupondius Moorehead listing.JPG
     
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  16. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    ..i got this bronze coin of Hostilian thinking it was Aemilian...but hey...its Hostilian....and now i have a matching coin set of him and his bro...(plus its my 2nd coin of him) IMG_0616.JPG IMG_0617.JPG Herennius Etrucus & Hostilian bronzes from Viminacium, Mosia Superior
     
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  17. PeteB

    PeteB Well-Known Member

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  18. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    Saturday night and I am wondering if there are any Gallienus experts out there?

    Just came in the mail today, an Antoninianus issued for Gallienus with LAETITIA AVG on the reverse. Many of these have field marks, or a letter in the exergue, but this one is plain. A radiate head right (no drape, cuirass, etc.)

    There are two possibilities - with identical descriptions (as far as I can tell):

    RIC 226k, Rome Mint
    RIC 489k, Mediolanum Mint.

    Numista lists both types, with this note on RIC 489: "It is similar to RIV (sic) V.1 226 but differs in style" and a Wildwinds link. No real hints about what this "style" might consist of...:bucktooth:

    My inexpert guess based on looking at a few of these is that this is Mediolanum, RIC 489k. Good guess? :nailbiting:

    Gallienus - Anton. LAETITIA Aug 2021 (0).jpg
     
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  19. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]

    Time for some Liberalitas!

    Philip I LIBERALITAS AVGG II antoninianus.jpg
    Philip I, AD 244-249.
    Roman AR antoninianus, 3.22 g, 22.6 mm, 5 h.
    Rome, 5th officina, 4th emission, AD 245.
    Obv: IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
    Rev: LIBERALITAS AVGG II, Liberalitas standing left, holding counting board and cornucopiae.
    Refs: RIC 38c; RSC 87; RCV 8937; Hunter 21.
    Notes. This donative was given to celebrate the arrival of the imperial family in Rome in AD 245.
     
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  20. Terence Cheesman

    Terence Cheesman Well-Known Member

    Ah yes Philip I of Rome. Recently I received a picture of this coin. Philip II Ar Antoninianus Antioch 247-249 AD obv. Bust right radiate draped and cuirassed seen from back. Rv. Facade of the Temple of Venus and Rome. RIC 244 3.90 grms 22 mm Photo by W. Hansen
    philjnr6.jpg Because this coin shares the same reverse as the last issue minted at the Mint of Antioch with the IMP. PHILIPPVS AVG it is likely that this coin was minted towards the end of the join reign of Philip II and his father. At one time I had one of those somewhat more scarce coins. antphiljnr4.jpg
    THIS is NO LONGER MY COIN The reverse on this coin does show the image of Roma seated holding in her right hand what is most likely to be Victory.
     
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  21. Valentinian

    Valentinian Well-Known Member

    It is Saturday night, so here goes. A brick and mortar coin shops contacts me when any ancient coins come in -- which isn't often-- maybe two or three times a year. Here is what I got yesterday:

    JuliaDoman3sestIVNO.jpg

    32-31 mm. 23.47 gram. Sestertius.
    Julia Domna, wife of Septimius, Roman emperor 193-211, struck under their son, Caracalla (d. 217).
    IVLIA PIA FLIX AVG
    IVNO, Juno standing left, tiny peacock at feet, S C in fields.
    RIC (Caracalla) 584 "Scarce". Sear II 7113.

    I see corrosion, red spots (not as red in real life), and many tiny scratches, but I like the original orichalcum color--most are toned very dark.

    It seems a bit odd for just one coin to show up at the shop. Who has only one coin to sell and it is a Julia Domna sestertius?

    This arrival gives me, and you, something to think about on a Saturday night.
     
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