The Imperial coinage of Claudius Gothicus is miserable (happy to be proven wrong!) so my upgrade for this emperor is this rare large provincial piece: Pisidia, Sagalassus Claudius II Gothicus 268-270AD 10 Assaria AE33 AV K M AVP – KΛAVΔION Laureate draped and cuirassed bust right / CAΓAΛCCEΩN lion leaping left SNG France 1854 (these dies) Rare. I've always wanted a large medallic Claudius II, and they are hard to come by. Seller says finest of five known. I'm not sure if there are quite so few, but it seems to be the best one I can find among previous auctions. If you have a nice Claudius II please bring it on. I gave up on finding a good Imperial of his.
What a great coin, Greg. I don't recall seeing very many nice large Gothicus provincials. Excellent score! My best imperial
very nice. i'm with zumbly on not seeing any big ones of ole CG and have 2 of the smaller imperials myself...and i thought for the longest, until corrected by @TIF, the 2nd was Gallenius(i need to retake this i know)
My Claudius II... I think the portrait style is pretty good for the period, but wow... that massive provincial is amazing!!
Very smart from you @Greg Heinrich to go the provincial route on that one, that lion is gorgeous. Claudius II's portraits of good style are tough to find (@zumbly's makes exception), some from Alexandria can be acceptable Claudius II Gothicus, Tetradrachm Alexandria mint, year 1 (AD 268/269) AVKKLAVDIOCCEB, Laureate and draped bust right Eagle standing right, head left, with wreath in beak. LA in right field 10.14 gr 21/22 mm Ref : Emmett # 3878, RCV # 11407 Q
I agree @zumbly wins the prize for best Imperial. Your tet portrait is of nice style also. My next challenge is to find a good style Quintillus upgrade.
I could only find 3/4 of it.... Quintillus, Antoninianus Mediolanum mint, AD 270 IMP QUINTILL[VS AVG], radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right [M]ARTI PACI, Mars standing left, holding olive branch and spear 2.8 gr Ref : RCV # 11447, Q
We have a houseful this weekend, and several Grandkids here. One 18 month old is sleeping between us. She just stretched, shoved her foot in my side, grunted, and went back to sleep.
What a fantastic coin, Greg! Did I see it at auction recently? It looks so familiar and I thought I put it on the watch list. It's not often that you see a rampant lion on an ancient coin. I guess I forgot to bid? The Egyptian tetradrachms of Claudius II are sometimes rather artistic and have better workmanship than do other tets of that general era. Here are a couple: Claudius II tetradrachm year 1, /eagle; Emmett 3878 Claudius II tetradrachm, year 3, /Tyche standing left; Emmett 3896
That's decent for a Quintillus. My Quintillus is too embarrassing to post. I may get a tet to represent him in my collection, though those are rare
LOL, Greg, no coin is "too embarrassing" to post! You have just spoiled yourself with too many GREAT Roman Ruler portrait coins! Nice job, and give your Quintillus a break.
Yes, you did see it in auction recently And despite my efforts to limit my shopping list to a few types, I had to have this one. It spoke to me, and I needed something awesome to represent Claudius II other than the miserable ant that currently filled his slot in my collection. Those tets of yours are very cool. The Tyche standing reverse is especially artistic. I guess all the best die engravers of the era were in the provinces.
I'm getting better at choosing nice pieces I think. But this will be my last coin for a few months - I have to pay for my trip to my next destination: Antarctica!