Today the mail brought three coins and rarely do I get three coins about which I know less. One is a modern Spanish (Philip II????) so it got its own post over on the World pages. One is Byzantine from Cherson but I find conflicting information (guesses seems more accurate) on who issued it. Sear Byzantine (#1775) says Romanus II. I do not have Dumbarton Oaks but the teaser page available online happens to mention the type here as one he leaves with Romanus II while others have moved it to Romanus I. I don't know and, worse, don't know where to look next. This coin has a monogram with PWMA in a cross formation but the loop on the P goes left rather than right. The reverse is a cross on two steps. The seller attributed it to Romanus I but lost my confidence when he went on to quote a Sear number and monogram ID for the reverse that was not a match for this coin. The reverse here is not as clear as the obverse but neither side matches the seller ID information. This is just another coin where what we know for sure and what we think may be the case require some study and seems to be waiting better scholarship than I am prepared to offer. The third coin is an AE18 Provincial of Antoninus Pius from Zeugma. I liked the portrait which is higher relief than many I see of the period. The reverse is a temple with fenced in grove in the front. I liked the type which I previously had for Philip I. Next, I like the fact that the reverse shows damage from a die clash with ANTW incuse and backwards at the upper left (and in the inset). Finally, it came with a ticket reading: "ex Haigh/Milne collection Lockdales 08 & Glendining 1934". I wonder if either of those sales included the information about the clash. I wonder if anyone then or now cares about clashes like I do. The coin does not look like a great specimen until you look at some on acsearch which make it look a lot better by comparison.
That AP is a very nice example Doug. I even like the way the dark patina is formed with the bronze in highlights.
The Cherson cast coin is type E28 retrograde (the top of the rho, P, for Romanus is pointing backwards) on http://esty.ancients.info/Cherson/ Anokhin, Sokolova, and recent Russian numismatists give it to Romanus I, not II. You can see more images on this linked page: http://esty.ancients.info/Cherson/ConstantineVII.html
Cool additions. I like the AP a lot! I've never looked for die clashes, but that could be a nice bonus on a coin I was already thinking about and help me decide to get it.
I like the ap best too. I also love die clashes as well, just limited monthly budgets don't allow all I see.
Very interesting portrait on the A-Pi... I was an underbidder on the Spanish coin that you won. I did manage to get a few of the others from the same auction but know nothing about them, so am following your thread in World to see what answers you get.
