Show report one: Otho

The Richmond VA show yesterday was staffed by the usual suspects who brought more coins than usual or at least coins I could tolerate. Today is our yard sale so I won't be able to work much on cataloging the ten new purchases but this Antioch tetradrachm of Otho is the pick of the litter. I saw it last year at the same show and the dealer was now ready to sell for less. The high end crowd was uninterested because of the field scratches which show in the photo at least as strongly as in hand. Many of you only want perfect coins but some of us have to pick our faults. What I liked about the coin was the large flan and the avoidance of abbreviations.
AΥTOKΡATωΡ MAΡKOΣ OΘωN KAIΣAΡ ΣEBAΣTOΣ
How often do you see Marcus spelled out? 29mm 14.9g

The reverse eagle sits atop the standard ETOVC A for year one which is all we can find for this short term Caesar.
Pile on your Othos and coins you saw in a dealer stock for a long time before you bought them.

 

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I like the portrait-- he's atypically "cute" (by modern and personal standards) and the engravers were apparently unaware of his ridiculous wig .

 

Great addition Doug!
This was only listed for a day or since

 

What a gem. A very un-Otho Otho. From the portrait I would have called Nero.

 

One could make a great specialized collection of coins with portraits that look like the predecessor. Otho was a Rome boy. I doubt Antioch knew the face before it was too late so they just idealized a Nero face.

 

Wow, Mentor => that is a fantastic addition ... sadly, I haven't found my Otho "yet"

Your OP-winner is all that ... TIF is correct, the dude is a good lookin' man (on your coin)

... and it goes without sayin' that I love the sweet eagle reverse!!

Yup => so far, you are scoring a solid 100% on your coin adventure!!

I hope the next 9 are stunners as well!! (you rock)

 

Lovely coin! The silver tetradrachms of the Roman East don't usually appeal to me, but I like this one alot. Obviously, I have a myopic bias that I ought to do away with.

My scuffed, ex-jewelry Otho is far from perfect, so in other words, perfect for me .

 

Whatever 'flaws' this coin has pale in comparison with the superb portrait. A great acquisition in my book!

 

Great coin @dougsmit. It would seem a theme of early portraits could be interesting, and I'll bet there are plenty where the portrait looks like the predecessor.

 

A great acquisition with a very interesting portrait style. Nice catch!

 

Awesome addition, would love to own a antioch Tet of him.


Otho (69 A.D.)
AR Denarius
O: IMP M OTHO CAESAR AVG TRP - Bare head right.
R: SECVRITAS PR - Securitas standing left, holding wreath and scepter
Rome Mint, Feb- Mar. 69 A.D.
18mm
3.2g
RIC 8, BMC 18, S 2162, C 17

 

Here's my only Otho - an ugly example of RIC 2.

It's the rarest of the denarii of Otho and this particular specimen has a small hole drilled into the edge to remove a metal sample for research published as "The Denarii of Otho: A stylistic and compositional study" in 2009. Some of the other coins used for the study had half or quarter of the coin removed, so this one got off lightly The butchered coins were sold in 2010.

 

I agree with David - the bust negates any flaws the coin might have. Those obverse scratches are barely an issue in my book.

 

Quite a nice coin, excellent pick-up. I own no tetradrachms of the Roman east except for Alexandrian billon examples.

 

2/5 in NGC's book.
https://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/3989003-002/Non-Numeric/

The seller said he removed it from the slab. That may have been a mistake since I doubt the scratches showed through the plastic.

 

I would gladly have this rarity in my collection.

 

Thanks for your informative post @dougsmit ... I am constantly learning from your messages!

I have one of those different Othos portrayed without the "wigged-out look":


Otho, AD 69.
Billon AR Tetradrachm, 23mm, 11.9gms; Year 1; Egypt-Alexandria.
Obv.:AVTOK MAΓ OΘΩNOΣ KAIΣ ΣEB; Laureate head right, L A in right field
Rev: RΩ-MA; Helmeted, cuirassed bust of Roma right
Ref: Emmet 186
Comment: This one appears SCARCE (of course all Othos are )
Ex: @John Anthony

 

Very nice Syrian OP Otho portrait, sadly not far away in Alexandria they didn't seem as skilled producing their portraiture .

 

I'm lucky enough to not being able to see the field scratches because of my poor sight, and the style on the portrait is that of a skilled engravor : a wonderful addition to say the less. I love it

Q