Came across this Septimius Severus in a pile of denarii. I have it Id'ed as: O:L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP VIIII, Laureate head rt. Rx: PROFECTIO AVG, Severus with spear on horse rt. 3.53 grams 17mm I think I am seeing a fairly strong clash on the reverse. Something is for sure going on but want to confirm what that is. I see: Severus beard under horse. Ribbons in front of horse. I am terible at seeing backwards but think I am seeing some backward letters. What do you think? Doug, feel free to school me on this one
100% correct! This is a clashed die. It is not the strongest one by any means but it most certainly is there with the beard under the horse being the most clear sign. If anyone reading this is unclear on the term, I'll give the link to my page obviously more than most will want to know on the subject. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/brock.html Since clashes are caused by an error, each will be different mostly due to just how hard the dies were driven into each other. I suspect some were lessened as the hammerman realized there was no flan and tried to stop the swing (probably accompanied by an expletive not taught in high school Latin). Others got a full swing by a hammerman who looked like a modern bodybuilder. Some are very uneven suggesting a glancing blow which would also be consistent with someone trying to stop swinging but unable to do so (those hammers were heavy). Note how strong the clash is on the reverse right while the left seems undamaged. There seem to be more Severan clashes than some other periods but Claudius II is also a place to seek them. I can not explain why. I do wonder if some mint masters destroyed dies that were damaged while others saw nothing wrong with using them. Most clashes show as damage to the reverse die rather than the obverse. This could be just because the top die was more vulnerable to damage since it was the one being hit or it could suggest that the anvil die metal was hardened more. There are obverse clashes including many from periods that probably used pincher dies that could be hit on either side. Another possibility is that an obverse clashed die could be the survivor of such a severe clash that the reverse die was destroyed and replaced. This is my best guess for the Julia Mamaea obverse below.
Thanks Doug! I now have a new favorite Septimius Severus When I saw this coin I was thinking of you because I just re-read a few of your pages on Sept Sev coins. The store owner has a whole bag of hundred plus coins from Trajan - Severan era. Fun to dig through and found this in the mix.
Awesome, I have a side collection of Die Clashes of all coins, ancients, modern, u.s., you name it. Nice and a bit heavy coin too.
My favorite way of buying coins is when they are presented completely unidentified in a pick out pot. I once had a favorite dealer who came to shows in Baltimore with bag after bag of Roman silver priced at $20 or $50 a coin sorted only by price. Some were high grade, some were rare but most were just nice collectible coins. Another dealer at that same time had bags of $5 to $20 bronzes with enough dirt that he provided customers with wet wipes when they were finished 'shopping'. Ah, the good old days!
