I've always wanted a Heraclius Seleucia. There was a more detailed one recently on vcoins, but by the time I enquired whether the stuff in the fields was verdigris or bronze disease, that one sold. This was the only one left of the type I wanted. It's a placeholder until I can find a nicer one, but the unusually large 35 mm. flan does add charm. And wow, was that Marc Breitsprecher order fast! I ordered it Tuesday or Wednesday, and it's here Friday. I thought it surely must be my coin order from London. Attribution: Sear Byzantine 844 Seleucia Isauriae mint Date: Dated year 7 - AD 616/7 Obverse: Facing crowned busts of Heraclius, on left, and Heraclius Constantine, smaller, on right Reverse: Large M, Christogram above, ANNO to left, ςΙ (date) to right, A (officina) below, SEL ISA in exergue Size: 35.30mm Weight: 14.52 grams Description: nearing VF. From the Peter Lee Collection. (Dealer's description and pic - my coin photography stinks). And an impulse buy: I'm interested in all eras of Sestertii, but I also sometimes collect by patina. Trebonianus Gallus Sestertius Attribution: RIC IV 127a Rome Date: AD 251 Obverse: [IMP CAES C VIBIVS] TREBONIANVS GAL[LVS AVG], laureate draped cuirassed bust of Trebonianus Gallus right Reverse: VOTIS / DECENNA / LIBVS / S C in laurel wreath Size: 27.24 mm Weight: 14.9 grams Description: VF with pleasing jade green patina. Ex Pegasi Coins (old blue tag). Ex Jeff Clark VOTA collection.
Heraclius (with Heraclius Constantine), Byzantine Empire AR hexagram Obv: dd NN hERACLIUS Et hERA CONSt, Heraclius on left and Heraclius Constantine on right, seated facing on double-throne, each holding cross on globe in right hand, small cross above Rev: dEUS AdIUtA ROmANIS, Cross-potent on globe above three steps; monogram to left, I in left field Date: 615-638 AD Mint: Constantinople Ref: SB 801 22 mm wide, 6 gr.
That is an attractive sestertius . It's amazing how much the sestertius shrunk in size by the mid 3rd century .
Thanks; the Treb. Gallus is small, even for that period. It's a fairly nice-looking coin; less grainy in person than it looks on the picture. The slag heap (my mom's term for Byzantine coins)factor is fairly high for the Heraclius. One usually sees Seleucia in VF (for type). This one is unusually worn.
I just snacked on a Constantine IV, Rome. While it is in fairly nice shape, it was kind of a crummy coin even when minted, rather unfulfilling. I only bought it because it was Rome mint and so late. While moping a little bit, I did a search on patina and came across a coin I really wanted in nice shape, with what looks to be a lovely patina (and old tag, if one's into that); a Heraclius SCL, overstruck on a large pre-reform coin. The reason it hadn't shown up in past searches for the issue was because it was missing some search terms. And it wasn't slabbed - that dealer seems to have a lot of slabs. I ordered both! I threw in a Catania as a consolation for the ugly coin. This is my first Catania. Do you ever do that kind of order? "Well, I don't really get any pleasure out of the coin, yet I do collect that mint, and this is the only affordable one that will show up for years."
