So, I picked up some silver denarii from a fellow member (thanks Andrey!) and I've managed to attribute every coin to it's time, I think. Anyone with time to spend and who likes to point out other's errors, please let me know what they are...
Nice coins. The Philip I is a double-denarius, although it only contains 1 1/2 times the silver of a single denarius. It's also known as an antoninianus, after Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus). The association between one of Caracalla's names and the coin is false - we don't know what they were called by the Romans - but the term has stuck over time. Sometimes they get called "ants" for short.
Yeah, I knew from the spiked crown (and the larger size) that it was an antoninus. I wonder if the silver content on it might actually be less overall considering how they kept culling the silver content down, by Philip is was under 50% I believe... That Septimius was the hardest to attribute since it is missing so much of it's obverse writing, luckily the few letters it ended with were only associated with him, and the bust confirmed it, he's got a pretty unique look going... And the Faustina was tough to tell between the two of them, think I got it right but not positive. Thanks for looking and responding all!
Have another look at coin 6 as you have emperor wrong. The era is right but that portrait is a dead giveaway.
How about showing the reverses. Many times, the reverse can narrow where they were minted as well as the year of mint. And, btw, depending on the reverse, that Crispina looks very nice.
#6 is a splendid mis-attribution. I would be glad to have it wrong given the general degree of rarity over a common Aurelius. If this is your first batch of ancients, I think you did a terrific job; especially when considering some of the crude legends. The females can be difficult at times to distinguish when one is not familiar with their "busts"
I hope you have figured out #6. The Faustina II #12 shows a clue that not all her coins do. It was issued while her father Antoninus Pius was alive and she was listed as PII AVG FIL or daughter of Pius Augustus. Her mother Faustina I never used it (she was not daughter of an emperor). After Pius died, Faustina was primarily wife of the emperor (Marcus) so the 'F' legend was dropped. I believe your #1 also has a variation on this legend but the photos are less clear. Your Septimius is from a period that many coins are missing the L SEP SEV part of the legend but his portrait and the rest of the legend is still distinctive. Your coin does show PERT honoring Pertinax but this rare emperor is easily distinguished by portrait and the rest of the legend. Notice your #5 is Marcus Aurelius but before he became emperor. Like his wife Faustina II, he is shown as AVG PII F or son of Augustus Pius. Bing is right about it being best to show reverses. All of your coins are identifiable by portrait alone but I suspect many of use could get most of them solely from the reverses. In any event, all the information you can give when asking for help is worth giving. Enjoy the group. They are a nicely diverse selection.
More great comments, thanks guys. Ah, Lucius Verus then on #6? I figured Verus would be unlikely as you mention rarity wise, and some Aurelius do have him with a scraggly beard, but heck, another Caesar, why not! Thanks for helping all! Now I have to patch that text again and update it... easier to add the text than fix it!
Verus really is not a rare emperor. It seems to me that his bronzes may even be easier to find than those of Aurelius.
