Zeno, 2nd Reign, AD 476-491, Constantinople Mint, 1st Officina. AV Solidus: 21 mm, 4.49 gm, 6 h. Obverse: Pearl diademed emperor with feather plumed helmet, cuirassed bust facing slightly right, holding spear over shoulder & shield decorated with horseman spearing a fallen enemy. D N ZENO PERP AVG. Reverse: Victory standing left holding a long-jeweled cross, star in right field. VICTORI A A**GGGA, in exergue CONOB. RIC X 910 & 929. Ex CNG 489, lot 584. CNG states in their description "Overstruck on an uncertain under type.", however, the under type is clearly identifiable if you rotate the reverse image 90 degrees CCW, as seen in the photo below. The closeup reverse image from 11:00- 1:00 o'clock reveals traces of the helmet feathers & letters PER. Another closeup view from 7:00- 5:00 o'clock reveals the bottom of the cuirass & shield. The coin is a flip-over double strike, not unlike errors seen on modern manufactured coins, but very rare on late Roman gold coins . Double strikes & over strikes on late Roman & Byzantine copper coins are fairly common. Pictured below for comparison is another well struck solidus of Zeno, once thought to be an Ostrogothic copy but now considered a product of the Constantinople Mint.
Fascinating. Here’s another Zeno solidus where the CONOR in the exergue appears reworked to CONOB. The poor fallen warrior on the obverse shield appears to be getting the spear right in the face. I think the alteration in the exergue’s inscription supports the attribution of these solidi to Constantinople . Plus, Ouch!
Hrefn, That's a great looking solidus of Zeno ! You're right, that poor fallen enemy is taking the spear in the head , just like the zombies on the "Walking Dead" show . I've seen many solidi of Zeno with the R converted into a B, & I've never seen an expert explanation for this ....
After a successful swap with @Al Kowsky, I am pleased to report that I am the new owner of the coin in the original post. I intend to submit it to NGC, with passage through their NCS service, for conservation to remove those deposits. I will also get Photovision images when it is slabbed.
Zeno - solidus Constantinople mint turkey, c476-491AD Obv-DN ZENO - PERP AVG Reverse-victory standing with long jewelled cross VICTORIA AVGGG Z / CONOB
Below are the before-and-after shots of the coin in the OP. After acquiring it from @Al Kowsky in a swap (for this), I sent it off to NGC, and selected the options for Photovision images and NCS conservation (to remove the deposits). Al said he thought the conservation would be a waste of money, but personally, I thought it was worth it. I got the Photovision images via email and was initially concerned because the deposits were still present in those photos. I reminded them that I’d need photos taken after the conservation. And I just received those. I think it looks good. Still no final grade results yet, but there should be, fairly soon. It will be interesting to see what sort of notation NGC makes on the label regarding the double strike. I included the URL of this discussion thread with my submission. Before conservation: After conservation:
