I've got a coin that is extremely rare (R9 in Sydenham) and has likely circulated for 150 years. Phil Davis has got one that's virtually perfect, but this is so rare it may be the only one I ever get a chance to buy. I was told when I bought it that it was found in a hoard in Portugal in 1953 that terminated with Nerva. It's actually quite thin at the edges from so much wear. Minted by Brutus perhaps in modern day Turkey, it bought, bartered and sold it's way across the Empire only to finally get buried in modern day Portugal. What stories it could tell... Anyone have interesting coins with a lot of honest wear they'd like to share? Brutus. AR Denarius (3.75g, 1h, 19mm) Military mint travelling with Brutus in Lycia, early Summer 42 BC. Obv: Head of Apollo right, his hair in ringlets and bound taenia and laurel wreath. Rev: trophy composed of helmet, cuirass and two shields; one of which has incurved sides (figure of eight), two captives, male and female, seated back to back at base, both in attitude of despair. Crawford 503/1, Syd 1293, Sear CRI 204, BMCRR East 52, Babelon Junia 35, Cohen 8.
Definitley havent seen that type before, very nice. I prefer coins with wear myself. Some worn republics: Mn. Cordius Rufus. (46 B.C.) AR Denarius O: RVFVS S.C., Diademed head of Venus right, two locks of hair falling down neck. R: MN. CORDIVS, Cupid riding dolphin right. Rome Mint 3.7g 18mm Crawford 463/3; Sydenham 977 P. Licinia Nerva (113-112 B.C.) AR Denarius O: Helmeted bust of Roma left, holding shield and spear over shoulder; crescent above, mark of value to left. R: Three citizens voting on comitium: one voter receives ballot from attendant below, another voter places ballot in cista; [P] on tablet above bar. Rome Mint 17mm 3.3g Crawford 292/1, Sydenham 548; Licinia 7
I have many... but none as cool or rare as your fabulous Brutus denarius! My collection is Roman Egypt-heavy and I tend to pick up coins in a wide range of conditions. From what I understand, drachms circulated a long time. The following two certainly look like they did. My "pocket piece", a coin found at a local jewelry store (it was not set in jewelry; the store sometimes has a few loose ancient coins). EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius year 17, CE 153/4 AE drachm Obv: [AVTKTAIΛAΔPANTωNINOCCEBEVC]; laureate bust right Rev: eagle standing facing, head left (wreath in beak?); [L] IZ? Ref: Emmett 1496(17), R1; Dattari 3094 The year is best-guess by the general shape of the remaining letters and by process of elimination. This coin could be either Emmett 1496 (wreath in beak) or 1497 (no wreath in beak). I think there is a wreath but it is very worn. 1496 year 17 is rated R1 whereas 1497 is R4, making the presence of a wreath statistically more likely. The only other possible dates for 1496 are 18, 20, and 21. It must be year 17. Another A-Pi drachm which seems to have enjoyed a long and productive life: EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius year 5, CE 141/2 AE drachm, 20 gm Obv: Laureate draped bust of Antoninus Pius right Rev: Radiate and draped bust of Serapis-Pantheos right, wearing calathus and horn of Ammon; L-Є in right field Ref: Emmett 1676.5, R1
This one desperately needs a reshoot, but it is a provincial bronze minted in Aelia Capitolina(The city previously known as Jerusalem) after the failure of the Bar Kochba revolt lead to the expulsion of Christians and Jews from the city. JUDAEA, Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem). Hadrian, with Antoninus Pius as Caesar. 138 A.D.. Æ (20mm, 9.9g). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Hadrian right / Head of Antoninus right. Meshorer, Aelia 9; Rosenberger 9.
I find wear on the coins of Olympia to be particularly appealing (which is convenient, as they rarely ever come unworn). This stater was minted during the 112th Olympiad in 332 BC. Coins from around the Greek world were brought in and exchanged at Elis, the host city for the ancient Olympics, as only the purpose-minted coins of that particular Olympiad were accepted, meaning that this coin was certainly used in commerce at the ancient Games:
I've always liked the wear commonly acquired by sestertii, the old workhorse of the economy... LUCIUS VERUS AE Sestertius 24.35g, 31.8mm Rome mint, AD 164 RIC 1379 O: L AVREL VERVS AVG ARMENIACVS, Laureate and cuirassed bust right. R: TR P IIII IMP II COS II, Mars advancing right, holding trophy and transverse spear; S C across field.
I know what you mean about a coin being rare enough that almost any condition of wear is acceptable. This Titus Caesar denarius is not nearly the prize a Brutus denarius is, but it is fairly rare and hardly ever shows up in trade. Titus as Caesar AR Denarius Rome mint, 79 AD RIC V1074 (R), BMC - , RSC - Obv: T CAESAR IMP VESPASIANVS; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, l. Rev: TR POT VIII COS VII; Quadriga l., with flower This one isn't much better looking than the RIC plate coin (Paris), which again indicates to me these are hard to come by.
Alexandria is a good place to look if you like worn coins since they seemed to circulate forever. Hadrian and elephants would be a nice coin a few hundred transactions ago. This Claudius sestertius (or Gallic copy thereof) was worn enough that it was revalued down to a dupondius. In all honesty, I think the DV countermark downgrade was only applied to unofficial coins making them official but at a lower value. This may be 'sudden' wear but is hardly 'honest'. I have a theory that this coin acquired the weak/worn obverse by being the coin that stuck in the reverse die and created the next coin struck as a brockage. In the process the high points were considerably mashed and the extra strike added edge splits. Can I prove this? Certainly not but it is not the most outlandish theory in numismatics and I have never seen anyone label a coin as the brockage maker. What would such a coin look like? Like this. Meanwhile it is a rare Emesa Septimius with IIC obverse and INVICTO IMP TROPAEA reverse. Obviously I would looove to find an obverse brockage of this die and would looooove it more if the letters SEPSE on the obverse were less well incused since those letters were squashed less here. The chances of finding a pair like this would be lower than getting an EID MAR in an uncleaned lot but I'd go into perma-smile mode for sure.
I really like threads like these. I love how each member adds their "flavour" to the thread. Ex. TIF and her Drachms, Vespasian and his Flavians, and Mat and his Republicans. My turn! Most Siliqua I have come across do not show heavy signs of wear and circulation. This one is the exception. Valentinian I AR Siliqua Antioch mint 365-367 CE
SATRAPS OF CARIA, MAUSSOLLOS AR Drachm OBVERSE: Head of Apollo facing slightly to the right REVERSE: Zeus standing right, holding labrys and spear Struck at Caria 377-353 BC 3.50g, 14mm Sear 4956
PERGAMON, MYSIA AE20 OBVERSE: Bust of Athena right wearing triple crested helmet REVERSE: AQHNAS NIKHFOPOY, trophy of armor, PERG monogram to lower right Struck at Pergamon 133-27 BC 4.11g, 20mm SNG France 1880-2
MINUCIUS THERMUS MF ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS MINUCIA AR Denarius OBVERSE: Helmeted head of Mars left REVERSE: Q*TERM*MF below two warriors in combat, one on left protecting a fallen man Struck at Rome, 103BC 3.5g, 19mm Syd 592, Cr319/1
I have a bunch of worn Roman Republics, but I will put one out that I really love, is super worn, and is a little harder to find: Carthage AR 2/3 Shekel 18.4mm, 4.4g Obv: Tanit l, wreath, earring Rev: Horse standing r, head l Ref: Sear Greek Vol 2 6491; SNG COP 143 var R RARE
I think my latest purchase is a good candidate for this thread. Seller's photos because I don't have it in-hand yet, and even once I can take better pictures this is not going to win any beauty contests in relation to many of my RR denarii, but it is a scarcer coin(Cr. 422/1a) that was misidentified as its more common sibling(Cr. 422/1b). One of these days I will pick up a nicer example of the more common coin, but until then this one will do Roman Republic AR denarius(18.5mm, 3.89g). M. Aemilius Scaurus and P. Hypsaeus, 58 BC, Rome mint. Camel right; before, kneeling figure, holding reins in left hand and olive-branch tied with fillet in right hand; above, M SCAVR; on either side, EX SC; below, AED CVR. Border of dots / Jupiter in quadriga left, holding reins in left hand and hurling thunderbolt with right hand; above, P HVPSAEVS; AED CVR in two lines. Below, C HVPSAE COS; PREIVER in two lines. On right, CAPTVM upwards. Border of dots. Crawford 422/1a. Aemilia 9.
Roman Republic. L. Papius Celsus, AR Denarius, Rome, 45 BC. Obv - Head right of Juno Sospita, wearing goat-skin headdress. Rev - She-wolf right adding kindling to fire; to right, eagle left fanning flames. Wt = 3.05 grams; dia = 20 mm. I found 46 examples on line. The average weight was 3.81 grams with a st dv = 0.29. The max / min weights were 4.15 / 2.92. This issue had a lot of variation in weight. Several coins are over 4 grams and 4 have weights of less than 3.3 grams. This coin is so worn that the bankers marks barely show. I call this my omega coin grade. I have one of Anthony's legionary denarii about this worn. I guess this was a low weight coin so it circulated a long time. Cr. 472/1 BMCRR - 4018 - 4022 Bab, RSC - Papia 2 Syd. 964 Sear / CRI - 461 / 82
This is my Clodius Albinus. I've been wanting to upgrade for ages. If anybody's selling a better one let me know: Clodius Albinus 193AD - AE sestertius - Fortuna seated
