I picked this up recently from Sol Numismatik, auction-X. Pretty darn happy to have it! My favorite coin-project is an AE type-set for Arcadius I'm putting together. This coin wraps up Eudoxia (I'm missing 3 types now, though I have one of them for Theodosius). RIC has it as R5 (& confirmation required); this was the 2nd I've seen offered for sale. Possibly/probably same dies as RIC plate-coin; hard to tell, it's not in great shape. RIC X-74 1.6 g 16mm X 14mm 45° (+/-) Antioch, 2nd? "B" officina OB: (AEL EVDO)-XIA AVG / P.-diad., Dr. bust R. wearing necklace & earrings, hair elaborately pinned, crowned by Hand-of-God above. Re: VIRTVS - EX(ERCITI) / Emp. Stg. R., Hd. R., holds scepter in R. & places L. on Gr. Sh. Crowned by Vict. Stg. L., holding palm. In Ex: ANT(B?) I can make out "ANT" clear enough in-hand, but I'm not 100% sure about the officina
Congrats. I just have the one below. Eudoxia (400 - 404 A.D.) Æ3 O: AEL EVDOXIA AVG, pearl-diademed and draped bust right, crowned with wreath by the Hand of God above. R: GLORIA ROMANORVM, empress seated facing on throne, hands folded, being crowned by manus Dei, cross right. SMKA in exergue. Cyzicus (Kapu Dagh, Turkey) Mint 2.1g 18mm RIC 80, LRBC 2450 Published on Wildwinds!
Looks like a nice example to me! She's on my list, but I haven't been able to land one yet. I'm curious.... I see coins like this one from time to time and the thought that occurs to me is, "Why didn't they finish the cleaning process?". Could further work be done to remove more of the "dirt" from the coin? Or is there a reason that they stopped where they did? ........ Or, is it even dirt?
– Bronze Coin (AE 3) minted at Antioch during the reign of ARCADIUS, for his wife, EUDOXIA between 400 – 404 A.D. Obv. AEL.EVDOXIA.AVG. Diad. & dr. bust r.; above, hand holding wreath. Rev. GLORIA.ROMANORVM. EODOXIA enthroned facing; above, hand holding wreath. RCS #4240. RICIX #83 pg.248. DVM #5 pg.326. A little off-center, medium brown, rev. slightly rough with little legend, obv. Has partial legend, BUT an unusually strong portrait for this with plenty of detail.
I have this one: AEL EVDOXIA AVG : diademed and draped bust to right, being crowned by the hand of God above GLORIA RO - MANORVM : empress enthroned facing, hands on breast, being crowned by the hand of God; cross in right field; ANTA in exergue,AD 395-401, RIC X 83, AE3
Yes, coins like this are left partially uncleaned on purpose. There's a few reasons. It just looks cool for one, and only happens when the coin was in the right soil & under certain conditions (hence the term "desert patina" to describe it). Even with other patinas, some dirt left in the fields helps the rest pop. Also, what's underneath may not be great; corrosion, excessive wear, lack of a patina, etc. Cleaning the coin completely (as I have, unfortunately, learned from experience) often leads to a coin with few details, pitting & roughness & no patina in places that just looks terrible. It grows on you, I thought it was rediculous when I first started collecting ancients.
