How Low Will You Stoop?

Yes, and before them Etruscans and Greeks would do this too. The practice has very early origins and it is believed it evolved out of throwing armor and weapons and other precious things into the river. Lots of man-faced bull coins have been found in wells.

 

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JA, awesome collection. Now I want to do one.

~Doug H.

 

Your coin has character beauty. There's a stunning contrast between it and your other coins. It's a battle scarred veteran standing next to parade ground soldiers.

 

I like the way you think! Welcome to the forum.

 

Welcome @Deacon Ray

 

Welcome @Deacon Ray !!

Yep, that's the way to present a coin ...battle scarred, not low grade..

Hmm, I'll have to keep that in mind when I purchase, post and describe a few more 'budget types'.

 

Thanks, Mikey Zee and Bing! It's great to be among others who have been stricken with the ancients bug!

 

Thanks, John! Actually, most of the coins in my collection fall under the battle scarred veteran category.

 

I've got two more mints suddenly acquired, thanks to my buddy YOC in UK - Lugdunum and Trier. I need only Heraclea now. But yeah, battle-scarred is always ok with me - coins that did their job.

 

I just purchased a few coins and two of them certainly fit this thread in one sense or another, so I'll post each here. Both are a bit worn with rough surfaces and I was only interested if I could score either cheaply----one at initial bid and the other just an increment or two above, but both way under estimate and at my specific maximum.

Both have multiple portraits and devices within that I was missing; the first coupled Gordian III with Tranquillina and had that cool Nemesis I was missing and the latter of Augustus and the Royal couple was an issue I still lacked----and both are LARGE LOL



Gordian III: 28 mm, 14.62 grams; Moesia Inferior/Tomas, circa: 238-234 AD

Rhoemetacles and Pythodoris: 24 mm, 9.49 grams; Thrace, circa 11 BC-12 AD

 

Oh, you think you've stooped low? Check out this beauty:

That's a sestertius of Trajan, RIC 667. I got it because the reverse is directly related to Parthia. The inscription (completely gone from this specimen) is "Rex Parthis Datus" (A king given to Parthia). The scene shows Trajan seated on a raised platform, with another Roman behind him; Trajan holds out a crown to a standing allegorical figure of Parthia, while Parthamaspates kneels at the left.

Trajan led a Roman invasion of Parthian Mesopotamia, which captured many cities including the capital. The Parthian king, Vologases III, was forced to flee to the Iranian plateau, which remained firmly under Parthian control, while the Romans started administering the conquered portion of Parthian territory. Rather than annex the region as a province, Trajan decided to appoint a client king, and Parthamaspates was duly crowned in 113. Shortly afterwards, the Romans withdrew, Vologases reclaimed his throne and his Mesopotamian lands, and Parthamaspates fled for his life, eventually receiving the tiny kingdom of Osrhoene from the Romans as a sort of consolation prize.

I did eventually acquire a better specimen of the type. It's still not a high-grade coin, but at least the major design elements are clear and there is a nice patina:

 

This is also an example of the unusual denomination of 4 1/2 assaria, The half is indicated on the right by the < symbol. I believe the denomination was made useful in moneychanging where you might get a 4 1/2 if selling your foreign currency but have to pay a full five if buying. Some coins of this denomination used a ligate mark joining the two rather than the split separate letters. Some people like these. I do but I don't pay more so I don't get many.

 

You win! But a great type that I wasn't aware of - and the upgrade is indeed a lovely coin.

 

I'm generally not one of the low stoopers, because coins are works of art and they should show as much detail as possible. But I like a coin that has an unusual detail showing clearly, like this one. I have several of these barbarian antoniniani of Tetricus I, but this one has casting sprues sticking out.