A Serratus No more

I just received this less than perfect "serrated" coin of C Poblicius and at first I thought there must be something wrong. There is no serration on the edge. However, upon closer examination, you can see where it once was serrated and has been worn to the point where it appears to be a smooth edge. If one looks closely at the lower left hand quadrant of the reverse, you can see what remains of the serrated edge. I assume it was a well used coin in it's time to have lost all the serrated edge.

This was a dickens of a coin to photograph, especially the reverse. It took me quite some time and several shots to get this decent image.

What drew me to the coin in the first place was the ugly Roma on the obverse, but hey, I'm not judging. Not everyone can be a Marcus Antonius in looks.


C POBLICIUS QF ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS POBLICIA
AR Serratus Denarius
OBVERSE: ROMA, draped bust of Roma right, helmeted & decorated with corn ears, control mark letter above
REVERSE: C•POBLICI•Q•F, Hercules strangling the Nemean lion, club at his feet
Struck at Rome 80 BC
3.88g, 16mm
Cr380/1, Syd 768, Poblicia 9

Just for fun, this is what this coin should look like (not mine) from Wildwinds:


Post any ugly coins, or serrated/non serrated coins, or, what the heck, any coin you feel like posting.

 

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The OP type:

 

Maybe it was clipped back in the day? Seems extreme for the whole edge to disappear and the images and legend to still be there (even if worn). Still a beautiful coin.

Well, if you want an ugly coin, this is my ugly RR denarius. The celator did quite the nose job on the obverse bust of this ServiliusM.F. Rullus denarius.

 

Maybe it's a dryer coin (haha)

Dryer coin:

1) In modern coin collecting, a specific form of post mint damage wherein said coin becomes trapped between the inner and outer drum, effectively hammering the edges and making the coin smaller in diameter. Kinda like a contorniate.

2) A damaged coin frequently the cause of coin forum posts asking "OMG what kind of incredibly valuable error coin did I find"

(for you curious types, here's a CoinTalk post explaining dryer coins, complete with diagram)

 

I've heard of these before. LOL

 

CoinTalk alone gives 197 hits for the phrase and that doesn't even include the frequent misspelling, "drier".
https://www.cointalk.com/search/2689915/?q="dryer coin"&o=date

But back to ancient coins . I don't have a de-fanged serrate but I do have one that someone filed. It's a fourree and I guess a prior owner wanted to see the cross-section. The filed area neatly shows the coppery core. I'm surprised it is still rosy in color. Usually copper turns dark fairly quickly.


Roman Republic, Lucius Aurelius Cotta
105 BCE
Fourree AR serrate denarius, 20 mm, 3.8 gm
Obv: draped bust of Vulcan right, wearing laureate pileus; tongs and star behind; all within wreath and dotted border
Rev: eagle standing on thunderbolt, head left; L·COT below, V to right; all within laurel wreath and dotted border
Ref: c.f. Crawford 314/1c; Sydenham 577a; Aurelia 21b
formerly slabbed, NGC ChVF, 5/5 strike, 3/5 surface

 

Probably the 'ugliest' coin in my collection.


Vespasian
AR Denarius, 2.98g
Tarraco (?) mint, 70 AD
RIC 1312 (R3), BMC - , RSC -
Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: COS ITER TR POT; Pax stg. l., with branch and caduceus
Ex Harry N. Sneh Collection.

This one is a judgement call. It looks 'Spanish' to me, Ian Carradice agrees. However, this same type was more commonly struck at Rome where the style varied wildly at this early stage.

 

What's the mass on the reverse?

 

Might it be a lump of solder? Perhaps this coin is ex jewelry.

That's a really interesting portrait of Vespasian. He looks youthful and handsome.

 

A metal of some type. It's hard and I haven't tried removing it. Probably would be a disaster if I did.

 

It looks kinda like my JC which was holed and then plugged.

 

Yes, very similar. TIF may be right that it could be some sort of solder. Such a shame, being a 'R3' coin and all.

 

Big-Bro => congrats on scoring the worst serrated coin "ever"

=> you rock!!

 

I would never have guessed that was a fourrée. Neat coin.

 

There's a lot to look at on the coin so at a glance it is easy to miss, but look again. The silver has worn away on the eagle's chest, parts of the wing and leg, and a small area by Vulcan's ear. You can see the dark bronze peeking out.

That's what is puzzling about the newly filed notch. It's not like someone was checking to see if it was a fourree-- that was evident on both sides of the coin. I guess someone was just curious.

 

I can see such a nice coin being the subject of an argument between two people (a seller and a buyer?) with one settling the matter with that edge notch.

 

hu, that's interesting...a non-serrated serrate coin!

here's the opposite maybe....this geta denarius has a single weird projection.

 

The serrated edges on this one are quite smooth and well-worn, though not to the extent of your cool, curious coin.

 

I don't think its ugly, I kinda like. Then again, ugly coins are my specialty.