Style, Ladies and Germs ====> STYLE

I love finding Roman coins that evince a master's hand - an engraver who could take common themes and imbue them with uncommon detail and passion. Here's an ant of Valerian I with a bust so finely and realistically chiseled, it looks like the long-gone emperor could begin speaking at any moment.

And the reverse is no yeoman's rendition of a waif - she's appropriately capacious, with rich, flowing robes and a burgeoning cornucopia. Sure, some of the letters are off-flan, but you don't dump a girl just because she's missing a few teeth.

(Actually, she takes up so much of the flan, she had to push the inscription out of the way.)

 

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Sure about that, could cause some painful snag issues...


Great bust image though.

 

Poor Valerian I. Depending on who you read, upon capture by Shapur I, Valerian was:

A. Killed by Shapur; stuffed with straw and kept as a trophy.
B. Forced to perform degrading services, such as being his Shapur's footstool
C. Forced into slavery until he died
D. Killed by Shapur by being forced to drink molten gold (Game of Thrones, anyone?)

 

There's also E. - that he was Shapur's well-treated guest to the end of his days, for those of you who prefer a happy ending.

 

RIP Emperor Valerian!

Nice coin JA! I love that obverse portrait.

 

There are two kinds of collectors - those who agree with you and those who don't know what you are talking about. Most people understand grading to the point that they like EF coins better than VG ones but not everyone recognizes that there are some dies that are more artistic than others of the same date and type. Your Valerian is better looking than most Valerians. Many people will tell you that Greek coins are more 'artistic' than Roman and early Roman is better than late Roman and everything beats Byzantine. That is not what we are seeing here. In any period and at any place some dies just came out better than others. Some of us show a preference for these better style coins and some would rather just have a higher grade from poorly engraved dies for the same money. This is not a matter of condition but of style.

Below are a few coins I consider better than their peer group in terms of style. There is room for some differences in opinion on this. Post below coins you believe are more stylistic than the average for their type.
Caracalla (my favorite Severan die):


Diocletian


Crispus:


Michael VII is OK here but I really like the Christ portrait with wavy hair:


Greek is usually good so they have to be really good to make the list. This is a 10mm Syracuse hemilitron. It would have to be better were it a tetradrachm.

 

Not in West Virginia anyway. And more than likely she's related to ya.

Nice coin. You are correct about that portrait. Very well done.

 

I believe these are more stylistic than the average for their type:
Alexander III


AMISOS, PONTOS


JULIUS CAESAR


AGRIPPA

 

Lol, I thought Steve took JA's account. j/k
Tis' a nice piece JA, even with the missing teeth:

 

It was a rather Steve-ish title, so I had to include the arrow.

 

All we know for sure is Shapur did something quite creative to Valerian.

Love posting this...sssSSSHHAPUR..I


....and Valerian I....this reverse is such a lie...

 

That makes me right no matter what. I like the way you think!

Super coins everyone, showing some great style. I collected this follis of Constantine specifically for the imperious and regal bust, but the engraver also spent some work giving the captives unusual detail and expression, and made the banner large enough to not crowd the commemoration VOT XX.

 

I have a few coins of indisputably fine style (Syracuse tetradrachm, for instance) but there are some which are far less assuming yet very artistic, at least to me.


AE tetras of Syracuse, Sicily, ~390 BCE. Sure, it's just a tiny bronze coin with a funky patina, but the facing portrait is very nicely rendered.


Sestertius of Nero. The reverse details are amazing. The figures are well-proportioned and there is even a sense of added dimensionality due to the lower relief of the ship's prow. Nero issued a plethora of interesting and artistic coins. This particular type is usually very nicely rendered, although not all dies are as artistic.

Even usually lowly Roman Egyptian tetradrachms occasionally have artistic engraving. Claudius II's engravers seemed more talented than others of that time and place:

with Tyche reverse:


with eagle reverse:


...

I'm going to steal a picture from @AncientJoe to illustrate the profound artistic difference which sometimes occurs for a given type. His Agathokles tetradrachm, one of my favorites of his extraordinary collection, is most often found with a rather hideous portrait of Kore. In the case of this particular tetradrachm, artistic dies are the exception rather than the rule.

AJ's:


The "typical" version :

(image from CNG's archives)

 

I love how all these fine coins are monogramed AN.

 

Probably one of more stylish portraits of Titus as Caesar, from the Rome mint no less. Rome really could be hit and miss at the time.


A unique coin not listed in RIC. Assigned catalogue number 529A in the Addenda by Ian Carradice.

 

I am also going to show my Agrippa. I really like the style of the portrait.

 

Maximian, co-ruler with Diocletian and member of the first tetrarchy, is common and the GENIO POPVLI ROMANI reverse is very common, but I think this portrait is superb, not in grade but in style (and, in addition, it is from London):

 

LOL, AWESOME thread everyone! I have laughing my Roman As off!!!

 

Gorgeous ant, John...Valerian just looks REAL...in a spooky way! I guess you have the Ghost of V there...

 

great stylish coins everyone!

just to be different i'll post this. lines and text, but but i does have style i think.