Co-dependent Collecting

What TIF said? I did a quick check at CNG for obols struck at Alexandria under Rome and see a number of examples of this reversal. Not common, but not exactly rare. I imagine you'd find examples in other denominations as well, probably the smaller ones.
https://cngcoins.com/Search.aspx?PAGE_NUM=&PAGE=1&TABS_TYPE=2&CONTAINER_TYPE_ID=1&IS_ADVANCED=1&ITEM_DESC=alexandria obol&ITEM_IS_SOLD=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_1=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_3=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_2=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_4=1

 

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@dougsmit: Huh. Guess I'm not all that observant. I have a couple of obols with "flipped" flans.


EGYPT, Alexandria. Domitian
AE obol, 20 mm, 5 gm
regnal year 10, CE 90/91
Obv: laureate head right
Rev: AVTKAIΣAPOMITIANOΣΣEBΓEPM; Isis-Thermouthis standing right; LI in right field
Ref: Emmett 321.10, R5; RPC 2593; Geissen 376


EGYPT, Alexandria. Trajan
year 11, CE 107/48
AE obol, 20 mm, 4.76 gm
Obv: Laureate head right
Rev: Horus falcon (or hawk) standing r., wearing skhent; in field LI/A.
Ref: Geissen - cf 473. Dattari 1233

 

Ummm, I have no idea what you're talkin' 'bout ... but I still love your sweet coins

 

Sooo.. Its an obol thing. Now I have to wonder if my coin is the one listed or another specimen. It was listed as MTS299 so it would not have been photographed.

 

None in the TIF and Zumbly group, but CNG's sale records have a bunch of drachms that were struck this way as well, most commonly for Trajan, but during other reigns as well, like on this Hadrian. There are at least two examples on Vcoins right now.

 

I think 34 and 58 shed a few black dusty tears when you said this. There's just that much more sandy metal residue in their flips now .

 

Don't forget to bring a towel to wipe your brow during those last few minutes of bidding!

Erin

 

I'm afraid I don't understand this

Can you interpret it for me?

I don't get too worked up during auctions (used to though). Tech problems sometimes get my heart rate going though.

 

LOL towel... South Park cartoon...

 

I still don't get it and I want to understand the joke/reference

What does a South Park LOL towel (whatever that is) have to do with "discussing upcoming auctions"? What am I missing?

Edited: I googled South Park towel and will go from there

 

Towlie, you are the worst character ever!

I know...

 

Oh no—I'm sorry, TIF! The Towlie joke is about me—not about your post. Towlie is a character on South Park who is occasionally so high or stoned that he doesn’t know what’s going on. In fact that’s his favorite expression, "I have no idea what’s going on.” Anyway, that describes me at an auction. Not the high and stoned part of course—I gave that up years ago.

 

OH! Okay, I get it now, thanks! Sorry for being slow on the uptake on this one. I haven't had a TV in about 7 years though so I'm a little out of touch with certain elements of pop culture .

 

LOL, @Deacon Ray , sounds like @TIF is acting like a TOWELIE!!!

 

Dude... I am sooo busted!

(not )

I'm familiar with South Park, of course, but haven't seen that many episodes and none in years. The Towlie cartoon posted by DR didn't have the SouthParkian look I remembered, so that made it hard to parse.

 

This is a great thread

 

Don't take it too hard. I had no idea either and I have three televisions in my home (although I almost never watch any TV)

 

Here are the Dattari-Savio plate coins from my half of the lot.


EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius
AE drachm, regnal year 18 (CE 154/5)
Obv: laureate bust right
Rev: Serapis enthroned left; Cerberus at feet
Ref: Dattari-Savio supplement, plate 18 #123 (this coin); Emmett 1663.18, R1
Ex Robert L. Grover Collection of Roman-Egyptian Coinage, previously held by the Art Institute of Chicago; Ex Dattari Collection (Giovanni Dattari, 1853-1923)




EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius
AE drachm, regnal year 5 (CE 141/2)
Obv: laureate bust right
Rev: Tyche standing left in distyle temple, holding cornucopia and rudder; L-E
Ref: Dattari-Savio pl. 161 #8509 (this coin); Emmett 1688.5, R5
Ex Robert L. Grover Collection of Roman-Egyptian Coinage, previously held by the Art Institute of Chicago; Ex Dattari Collection (Giovanni Dattari, 1853-1923)



EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius
AE drachm, uncertain regnal year
Obv: laureate bust right
Rev: Bust of Zeus Ammon right; L I (see discussion below)
Ref: Dattari-Savio pl. 153 #8807 (this coin); Emmett 1700.10, R5 (but I'm skeptical of this date)
Ex Robert L. Grover Collection of Roman-Egyptian Coinage, previously held by the Art Institute of Chicago; Ex Dattari Collection (Giovanni Dattari, 1853-1923)

Notes on regnal year for this coin: The flip insert says L-IZ in pen; in pencil, "I doubt it" . Per Emmett, the coin was issued in years 2, 5, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 19 (maybe), 20, and 21. I think this coin is year 10 or higher because it looks like there is an I above the L... or is that just a bleb? If bleb, there is also an I-ish looking bleb in the right field. Both positions are known. I checked Dattari-Savio for clues. That book merely pages after pages of plates-- written entries. In addition to showing coins listed in the 1901 Dattari catalog, there are many more new coins with new higher numbers. The coin types are arranged by regnal year. There are 18 Antoninus Pius/Zeus Ammon drachms in D-S, with duplicates of some years. This coin's position is immediately after a year 9 coin and immediately before what looks like a year 10, so apparently Dattari thought it was a year 9 or 10. Are there two letters in the right field (I and something else)? Is there an I above the L and a third letter in right field?

The only way to know for sure would be to find a reverse die match in better condition.



The next two are not from Alexandria but from the Heliopolite nome. Z and I found only one example in sales archives (a much nicer example than any of the Dattari Heliopolites; the cataloger said "Extremely rare and the first to appear at auction in recent memory.". D-S shows five of them and now Z and I have three of those. The CNG example is miles better than ours. The corrosion isn't powdery but if it is covered in lacquer or wax, that might be misleading. I'll probably strip these and treat.


EGYPT, Heliopolite nome. Antoninus Pius
AE drachm, regnal year 8 (CE 144/5)
Obv: laureate bust right
Rev: HΛIOΠOΛEIT; Helios in radiate crown standing left, wearing chiton and himation, holding Mnevis bull in right hand and sceptre in left
Ref: Dattari-Savio pl. 299 #10935 (this coin); Emmett 1820.8, R4
Ex Robert L. Grover Collection of Roman-Egyptian Coinage, previously held by the Art Institute of Chicago; Ex Dattari Collection (Giovanni Dattari, 1853-1923)



EGYPT, Heliopolite nome. Antoninus Pius
AE drachm, regnal year 8 (CE 144/5)
Obv: laureate bust right
Rev: HΛIOΠOΛEIT; Helios in radiate crown standing left, wearing chiton and himation, holding Mnevis bull in right hand and sceptre in left
Ref: Dattari-Savio pl. 299 #10938 (this coin); Emmett 1820.8, R4
Ex Robert L. Grover Collection of Roman-Egyptian Coinage, previously held by the Art Institute of Chicago; Ex Dattari Collection (Giovanni Dattari, 1853-1923)


Nome coinage of Roman Egypt is fascinating and would make a great specialty area... if you have a lot of patience and don't mind generally poor condition coins. Here's Emmett's introductory paragraph about nome coinage:

In addition to the regular bronze coins struck at Alexandria, there was a series of nome coins issued which differ from the regular issues by having the names of the nomes written in Greek on their reverses. These coins depict the local cult-worship of each nome. When the Greeks conquered Egypt, they renamed many of the old nome capitals by substituting the name of the nearest equivalent Greek god for the Egyptian god that was worshipped in each capital. As a result, before the Roman occupation, the Egyptian gods had been assimilated into a Greek form. Horus and Isis are the god and goddess most often represented in their various forms on the reverses of the nome coins. The figure of Horus in his form of a hawk, as well as his less well known forms of a lion and a crocodile, is frequently held in hand by various gods and goddesses.

Map of the nomes (districts). The Heliopolite nome (13 on the map) is in lower Egypt. Today it is the Ain Shams suburb of Cairo.

(image from Wikipedia)

 

Jealous!