My latest ancient pickup & maybe my last for a few weeks. Lucius Verus (161 - 169) AR Denarius O: L VERVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX Laureate head right. R:TR P VII IMP IIII COS III Aequitas standing facing, head left, holding scales and cornucopia. Rome RIC 576 (Aurelius), RSC 297 18.5mm 3.3g
That's a nice coin. I don't own a Sestertius of Lucius Verus, only two of his Denarius. I like the Sestertius for it's size and weight. You know, I keep telling myself its time to let up and not buy any coins for a while, but it doesn't seem to work. I just bought a Claudius Quadran yesterday. Oh well. No will power I guess. Congrats on a nice acquisition.
The only coin I have of him I got by accident Was supposed to be Marcus Aurelius but I', glad it was Lucius Verus Lucius Verus, Ancient Counterfeit with Faustina II Reverse Silver denarius, for reverse cf. RIC III Faustina II A506a, Fair, illegal mint, weight 1.553g, maximum diameter 17.3mm, die axis 0o,obverse L VERVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX, laureate head right; reverse LAETITIAE PVBLICAE, Laetitia standing left, diadem in right, scepter in right "Interesting hybrid of a Marcus Aurelius obverse with a Faustina II reverse (RIC A506a.)"
Yeah, its hard to be a collector and not collect. I have tons of unattributed coins and nearly every day more come to the old mail box. I just got a group of 8 tertarons Saturday. I think if I LIMITED what civilization to buy at a time it could help, but even then its tough. Even if you lose one deal, there is always another deal around the corner. Chris
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Lucius_Verus*.html Read part 4-7 for why you should have a sestertius of Verus if you have only one coin of his.
"It was his wont also to hurl large coins into the cook-shops and therewith smash the cups." ? I think the passage about the banquet of 6 million sestertii is just a unit of account. Chris
I need to get one of his denarii; glaring hole in my collection. And they're not exactly as easy to find as their catalog values would imply.
Some collectors who own a Tribute Penny like to believe that their coin was the exact one shown to Christ. I will choose to believe that my sestertius of Verus once was hurled like an Angry Bird by the guy whose picture is on the coin. I only own one Verus denarius and it was bought for a reason few will appreciate. Compare this common Verus to the extremely rare denarius of Septimius Severus below. The dating numbers on the coin are appropriate for Verus but impossible for Severus who passed through IMP II two years before he became TRP IIII. The Alexandria mint was new at the business and just copied a few coin reverses that happened to be at hand. I specialize in Severus and am happy to have the rare coin even though it is in poor shape. The Verus is a footnote.
Fair enough sir. You actually bring up an interesting point, (well you always do but this one may be somewhat unintentional). I know a lot of collectors associate our coins with the person pictured, but when you stop to think about it, there is probably a 99% chance no famous person every touched your coin unless it was gold. Kind of bums you out to think of it that way, we always like dreaming of "what if". That is fair too, since there is no proof Marc Antony DIDN'T touch my legionary denarii. Chris
Even with a coin of mine being from the John Q. Adams (and family) collection, the coin may have been added by a another family member after his death. I had a decent L. Verus sestertius in my hand ready to go home with me, but decided to go with a nice one of Antoninus Pius instead.
That is a nice Verus denarius, Mat. Interesting how his portrait subtly changes on his coins (specially the size and shape of his nose) Oh, that's a bummer! I thought they were part of HIS personal collection - that is why a bought one...... Seriously now, at least for me a big part of the thrill in collecting romans is knowing that someone, not necessarily an important person, used that coin 2000 years ago in a world so different from ours. An even bigger thrill is finding an ancient coin because the connection with the last person who touched it - maybe a legionary or a merchant - is then even greater. I have found some coins which can only be recognized as coins due to their shape and size (so badly are they corroded), but because I found them to me they are priceless.
I would imagine sir being able to find them yourself would create a greater connection to the coin. It would be great if we could, but all we can find typically is old wheat cents and an occasional nickel. I did have success growing up in Iowa going out in the fields after they were plowed and a heavy rain came finding arrowheads and an occasional spear tip. Those were pretty exciting, and probably about as close as North or South Americans will ever be able to get to ancient history finds. I am envious. Chris
I think thats why I liked holed coins. they become more than coins to me, more like personal artifacts. Odds are that our JQA coins were actually his, at least I think so
It is obvious to all that our sestertius is not 'the' sestertius but whenever a specific coin is associated with a person, it adds interest. There are many reverses that have special appeal in this way. The old wives tale is that Nero played while Rome burned so the type showing a lyre is 'special' even if Nero was actually manning the bucket brigade at the time. Julia Domna was very into the occult and horoscopes making the type with moon and stars look 'appropriate'. Philip I abruptly abandoned a campaign in Persia upon the death of Gordian III making his Pax Fundata Cum Persis type ironic and desirable. Caligula was accused of an unnatural attraction to one of his sisters. True or not, it makes his three sisters type a hot seller. Coins are more fun if you associate them to history or even to fantasy.
