My show Saturday provided me with two new Septimius denarii and one Domna. Ladies first: Julia Domna Emesa Venus from rear. I pick these up whenever I see one of dies I don't have at a fair price. As Emesa Venus coins go, this is not a bad one. The reverse die is a bit odd in that there is a small gap between the the right side cloth tail and the end of the palm which it should go over. What kind of fool would care about that??? Correct! Earlier in the year I sold a Laodicea mint Septimius through JA's sales (to another member). Saturday I replaced it with a similar coin is higher grade and costing 5x as much. That does not sound like me ordinarily. The obverse die is starting to deteriorate but the reverse is decent even retaining a bit of the layout circle under the BO. This is a common type and is even listed in RIC as #444. The obverse legend has the PE-RTE variation. I'll not get as much enjoyment out of this coin as I will the other two but I need a few higher grade coins. The cheapest coin I bought at this particular show may be unique (post'em if you got'em). It is a barbarous Septimius with obverse legend L SEVLRS AVGVSTV wich is not directly copied from a know regular mint coin. The reverse shows two captives seated at the base of a trophy of arms with legend reading PART MAX PM TRP VIIII. Need I mention that the legend is entirely retrograde? In addition the V of VIIII is upside down. The coin is as good silver as the regular coins of the period and not all that badly done. I have barbarous Severus fourrees but also have quite a few struck in reasonable metal suggesting they were for circulation where regular product was not available. We will probably never know details about them.
Great additions, still need that reverse type of Domna. But nearly all are too worn or too expensive for my tastes/budget. An Emesa would be a plus over Rome though.
That's a wonderful SS Doug and here is the one you sold me thru JA"s auction just for comparison. That Julia Domna is intriguing as well. Love her portrait.
The only Septimius Severus that I have... Roman Imperial Septimius Severus 193-211 AR Denarius Genius Sacrificing
Nice ... those are three sweet new OP-Severans (congrats, Mentor) Man, not unlike Mat => I've really gotta score one of those butt-shot reverse types (they're awesome)
I need a 'butt shot' too and that third example is way cool-----'delightfully whacky' as TIF notes.....
Doug, Three nice coins. I have a die match to the Domna but not as nice as yours. I really like the IMP II Spes. It is a suitably distinctive obverse die in good shape. It is not an obverse die I have seen before and I would have bought it in a heartbeat especially as I focus on the IMP II series. I have a couple of IMP II Spes but nothing special. The barb. is fascinating and not one I have seen before though I have a similar reverse type on a barb.
This is 'barb' only in style being a bit off. There is always a huge variation between 'unofficial' and 'really unofficial'.
