And A Sanguine Saturnalia To All!

Wow, that is a cool set of gifts, Hoth!

Well selected!

John

 

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My SS definitely went 3 for 3!

 

I received my Secret Saturn gift yesterday, and it is a super-cool RR denarius!!!


L. Censorinus, P. Crepusius and C. Limetanus (82 BC). AR denarius, Rome. Diademed, draped, and veiled bust of Venus right / Venus in biga right. Crawford 360/1b.

How awesome is that!!?! It's a beauty. I especially like the fact that it is Venus driving the biga on the reverse. Almost looks like she is doing it "side-saddle." That is not depicted on many issues, and makes this special, even somewhat feminist (for Ancient Rome at least)! The horses are magnificent, and I also love the bust of Venus on the obverse. In addition, its year of issue was of great historical importance: Sulla finally defeated the Marians (most notably at the Battle of the Colline Gate) and took control of Rome and Italy. What a great coin!!

Thank you so much, @ValiantKnight! At least, I'm pretty sure you were my Secret Saturn, since there were a number of modern Colombian coins and bills included in the package, "related to [your] background." They are cool too and I will definitely keep them, all except for the 200 peso parrot which I'll give to my daughter as she loves birds.

 

I'm remain amazed at the quality of the gifts.

 

I just received my gift today as well and it made me feel super happy for real. I got one coin and two books which I will post here in this thread. I am super happy but I did have a guilt moment because I'm like, hey, I haven't posted here in a long time. I had to cure that feeling by posting immediately. Haha

A big thanks to the guy that sent me these!! For real.



Roman Imperial, Philip II as Caesar (247-249 AD), AR Antoninianus

Obverse: M IVL PHILPPVS CAES, Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.

Reverse: PRINCIPI IVVENT, The prince standing left, holding globe and spear.

Reference: RIC 218d, RSC 48.

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=0

And now about the two books. I am happy because these books about artifacts will expand my knowledge and I will read them. I just got them so I can't really say too much right now. I have been skimming through both books.

Bronze Age Metalwork in Southern Britain by Susan M. Pearce

Official Guide to Ancient Artifacts of Ancient Civilizations (2,000 objects under $300) by Alex G. Malloy.

I wish everyone a Happy Holidays, Happy Secret Saturnalia, Happy Merry Christmas, and all other holidays I can't think of right now. To the sender of this very nice gift and everyone here!!

 

I'm so happy you like it @Aethelred ! I was first looking for a penny of your name bearer but was way outside of my price range, so did some in depth digging in your post history and then seeked out a crisp PLN. And it is certainly so much better in hand!

 

Everybody did fantastic! Wow!

Thanks for the coin eye candy everyone!

Good job

Erin

 

There must be a god for numismatists !
I was becoming a bit anxious about recieving something from Santa before the Xmas break with my family. I finally got a package this morning in the mail, just on time to post picture before leaving.
I jumped on my camera and shot quick pictures just to feed this thread. I have yet to do full ID and better pictures when I get a chance to.

Those are two very crisp and attractive LRB for Constantine II, and from the Siscia mint. From the indications I have I assume my secret Saturnalia being..... @Whizb4ng who I thank from the deepest of my heart

To make it short here they are





Q

 

The holidays have been wonderful to me. I apologize for the delay in posting these awesome coins, I just got caught up in the usual hectic holidays celebrations.

@Severus Alexander was my Secret Saturnalia, and I was overwhelmed by his generosity! He discovered my fondness for ancient women coinage and after great thought, send me 2 coins. And though I specialize in this area, to my delight, he found 2 coins missing from my collection. I was happy that he sent these unattributed, since it has been great fun to catalog them.

First, a base silver antoninianus of Salonina. As everyone knows, these base silver coins are usually found in rather poor condition, but this one is well centered, and the details are sharp (if it doesn’t appear that way, it is because of my poor photography skills). I could not have chosen a better example for my collection!


Salonina
253-268
AR antoninianus 3.53gm - 21mm
Obv: SALONINA AVG Diad. and dr. bust r., resting on crescent.
Rev: IVNO REGINA Juno standing left
Reference: C. 60, RIC 13(s), Sear 3040 (1988 edition)

@Severus Alexander noted that I have very little provincial silver coinage in my collection, so he also selected a Mt. Argaeus type from Cappadocia. This coin is particular cool, since it has the mint date on obverse the coin – knowing the exact year a coin was minted makes it a bit more special, at least in my view. I had a lot of fun cataloging this one, since the legend on the reverse is a variant of the usual legend. I think it is a really special coin.


Julia Domna
struck ca 211 AD (year 19)
provincial coinage minted in Caesarea, Cappadocia
AR drachm 3.2gm - 17mm
Obv: IOYΛIA ΔOMNA AVΓ draped bust right.
Rev: MHTPO KAICAPIA NЄΩK, ET IΘ (year 19) in exergue, Mount Argaeus surmounted by 5-pointed star
Reference: Syd Caesarea 451v.

One could not wish for a better Secret Saturnalia. @Severus Alexander, you are the best! Thanks so much!! I wish you a coin-filled holiday season.

 

Congrats all! Here's hoping that my mailbox will have one sitting in it for me this afternoon when I check... I've been antsy! Lol

 

I'm so glad you liked them!! I share your excitement that the drachms can be dated to a specific year. In this case, 211 is a pretty significant one, given that it was such a sad year for Julia, with both Septimius and Geta dying, the latter in her arms after being stabbed by his brother. I didn't know about the variant legend! Though I think yours doesn't have the "K" at the end, more like this one (still rare): https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4394858

I think the Salonina is RIC 92, "Asia" mint (others list as Antioch?). Star in the left field + peacock:


Thanks for the best wishes. I will get to go to my favourite coin shop, so yes, it will be a coin-filled holiday!

 

My Ancient SS gift arrived today and I'm thrilled! Geta. This was a great gift because I already have a Caracalla. We know how that went down, back in Ancient Rome.

 

I've just received my secret Saturnalia gift. It is an excellent catolougue of Alexandrian coins. It is certainly something I will spend time inspecting. Thank you so very much.

 

I hope I didn't scare you with the whole P.A. thing on the envelope. I hear getting a letter from a lawyer is usually a pretty intimidating process, but occasionally you may get an ancient coin from one rather than a demand letter.

Here is the seller picture from the dealer I got it from. Feel free to use it if you want. I doubt Ken Dorney would object to any of us using one of his images for a coin purchased from him.

 

This would have been something fun to participate in. However I know I would have messed up purchasing a gift. In time I might be able to. In time...

 

Man don't be so hard on your self. It doesn't matter what you send, it's the thought that means something. So, you'll have to play along next year

 

@hoth2 My coin had the same reverse;

Great gifts all!