What I bought myself for my birthday....

I bought myself a coin for my birthday this year. My first Pescennius Niger denarius.

I have wanted one for years but never pulled the trigger.

Obv:– IMP CAE PESCEN NIGER IVST A, laureate head right
Rev:– ROMAE AETERNAE, Roma in military attire seated left on cuirass, no shield at side or feet, Victory offering wreath in right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand
Minted in Antioch. Apr 193 - May 194 A.D
Reference:– Unpublished in primary references, cf. RIC IV 70d, RSC III 62b, BMCRE V p. 80 note, Hunter III -,

Scratches and scrapes, small edge test cut, hard edge bump on reverse resulting in crack on obverse, slightly off center cutting off parts of legends

2.690g, maximum diameter 17.1mm, die axis 15o

Numerous varieties of Pescennius Niger denarii with Roma Aeternae reverses are published in the standard references, but none describe Roma as seated on a cuirass. A few have been seen with a variety of dealers though.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

...and you did well !
Q

 

Well, if you're going to splurge on your birthday for a denarius of Niger, of course you'd want an unpublished one. Well-done!

 

Happy Birthday!

 

Fantastic acquisition. Congrats!

 

Outstanding addition to your collection, happy birthday

 

Very nice find. Like you, I just haven't been able to pull the trigger just yet. Congratulations.

 

Happy B-Day Martin. A heck of an acquisition. Unlisted no less. Sheesh. I might have to look into one these Niger's.

 

Happy Birthday and original pick-up. You deserve the best. Cheers..

 

Happy birthday, Martin!

 

Happy Birthday!

And nice addition. He is one on pretty much all our lists and even with its faults, i'd take it!

 

Best of Birthdays, Martin, and may they ever get better!

 

As a long time collector of the Eastern denarii of Septimius Severus, I always wanted a Pescennius Niger as well. My first came in 1997 and was a real dog but struck me as extremely interesting because it was unlisted then and not seen again since so it could be even more rare than the average coin of this guy. All of his coins are rare. There may be more examples of dies known from one specimen than there are coins with a matching buddy. One theory is that Pescennius struck a vast number of coins from many, many dies but owning them after his defeat was made illegal by Septimius so they dropped from circulation instantly. His coins were not high quality metal and not the sort of thing people would hoard preferentially so we should have more of them in later hoards than we do of the ones deposited in that day. We don't. Most of what we have look like field finds rather than well preserved pot hoard coins. Who can give a reference to a hoard report containing Pescennius coins?

My first has the reverse showing Boni Eventus but the legend reads BONI EVINTV.


I wanted an upgrade and saw the coin below in a sale in 2014. I had to have it because it is the same reverse type as 'My Favorite Coin' of Septimius and it has the AVS for AVG spelling also known for Septimius on one of my other favorites even though this one is not clear on the S. There is a much nicer one from this die set that was sold by CNG a few years ago so the reading is certain.
https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=37934
I was very happy with that coin but now have doubts about it since I bought it from a dealer I no longer trust due to their selling fake coins and ignoring my correspondence regarding those lots. I need to send this off for an opinion.

 

A double congratulations

 

Congrats and happy birthday!

 

Happy Birthday, Martin! What an excellent present!

 

happy b-day martin! cool self gift...congrats to you!

i was kind of surprised that you don't have one of this cat yet, since you dig eastern SS coins...and this guy is kind of up that alley.

he's on my list!

 

Happy B-day

 

Happy Birthday!

Hopefully it comes back without any problems.

 

Uh-oh .... sorry that I missed your birthday, Martin (I was on vacation, otherwise I would have made you a card and bought you an awesome gift) ... next year?



Oh, and great OP-coin ... I don't have an example of this rare dude (*more coins needed*)