I could not resist buying this artifact on Ebay yesterday which was labeled as a „museum copy“ despite there being no corresponding original as far as I know. I collect neither Antoniniani nor Tetradrachms and even if I did, I would want something from good silver with a fine style portrait, which seems to be impossible to find for this usurper. This item however not only has a realistic portrait that would be in the „finest style of the period“, unlike anything of Vabalathus that I have seen, but it also fits my Sestertius collection size-wise (24,08 gr) plus it comes in the yellow brass colour that I love so much. Whoever modern artist is responsible for this, I think he did a great job in creating a sensitive portrait of classical beauty. So I thought I could do no wrong with spending 8,50 Euros to fill a space in my Sestertius collection that I did not even know existed. I hope this will be nice in hand and wonder if it has as much eye appeal as these seller´s pictures: There are of course several criteria that would identify this as a modern fantasy creation: - No large bronze coins of Vabalathus are known. - The production of Sestertii had ended years before Vabalathus´ rule. The only large bronze coins still ocasionally struck in the 270´s were Medallions. While it is not totally unheard of that usurpers struck roman-style bronze coins (Clodius Albinus and Macrinus did) or even Medallions (there is one known of Julianus of Pannonia), these would not have featured the „SC“. - The coin is made from the wrong material: The production of brass coins had ended decades earlier – the last Sestertii were struck from reddish copper and not from Orichalcum which would show the yellow tone we see here. - The legends are wrong. The title should read „IMP“ and not „IM“. There should be no points inbetween some of the letters. The SC would not only be placed between the lines of the reverse legend, but it has not been in use after the time of Gallienus. - While the reverse legend INTROITVS VRBIS („the entry of the city “) inside a laurel wreath is known in it´s abreviated form INT VRB from the last bronzes of Gallienus (Genius Populi Romani obverse), it seems unlikely that Vabalathus would have promoted his entry into Rome. Please show your coins and stories of Vabalathus as well as fantasy coins that you have grown to like!
Fascinating item! I only have an antoninianus: Vabalathus, AD 270-272 and Aurelian, AD 270-275. Roman billon antoninianus, 3.58 gm, 20.4 mm, 5 h. Antioch, late AD 270-spring 272. Obv: VABALATHVS V C R IMP D R, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Vabalathus, right. Rev: IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust of Aurelian right; officina mark Є below. Refs: RIC 381; CBN 1248; Cohen 1; MIR 353; RCV 11718.
I first joined Coin Talk a couple years ago because of a fantasy. After buying what I thought was an interesting Roman Provincial (and I knew nothing about Roman Provincials) from a local coin dealer, I was (gently) disabused of that idea by the kindly folks at Coin Talk. Here it is, a two-headed AE of Julia Domna (Pia Felix!) and Geta. At 8.3 grams, about 19 mm in diameter and 3 mm thick it corresponds to no known Imperial standard and probably nothing Provincial either. The portraits make no sense - JD was not called Pia Felix until after Geta was long dead (I believe). And yet...I still kind of like it. For a fantasy, it is pretty well-executed - no obvious edge seam, the portraits do a pretty good job of imitating Rome mint product (some of you Severan experts might find this questionable). The surfaces and material "feel" of it also mimics an ancient coin pretty well. Is it a Paduan? I don't know. Got if from my local dealer whom I've known for 30 years - he would've refunded me, but I decided to keep it. As Julius G notes, some fantasies are kind of appealing.
Of course I recognize my old friend Jvlivs !!! And I’m happy to know that 3 members on CT will understand this joke : me, @Pellinore and @Cucumbor ... And by the way @TIF, your coin will increase its value while the biggest Nutella factory is having a strike for 6 days now...
My favorite coin for this thread is my Zenobia tetradrachm of Alexandria tooled from an as of either Vespasian or Titus (my guess). Both the original and intended reverse was Spes/Elpis so the reverse tooling was limited to turning the SC into LE for year five. Zenobia may not have been a raving beauty but being able to turn a Flavian man into her is hardly a compliment. The coin is way too thin and copper rather than the chunky billon of the rare genuine item. It is my second favorite toolie of all time. Many years ago I saw an as of Severus Alexander??? turned into a Pescennius Niger. I really want that one.
I thought that serious collectors stay away from tooled coins, especially when they are completely turned into another coin. Thought like forgery. But now of course I might utterly change my mind if Master Doug is collecting them. There must be a convincing reason. Hope that could be clarified.
Here is a fantasy Byzantine coin. The reverse didn't exist as far as I know (two figures standing with a cross on a pillar, one is nimbate Mary a baby Jesus and the other "the emperor" whoever it is supposed to be. The legends are all wacky. The weight is also wrong, it is very light. I'm not sure what is is made of exactly. This was seeded in an uncleaned coin lot I picked up, and was the first coin I posted at cointalk in December of 2012.
I have 2 fantasy coins, made by Slavey Petrov for his friend Ivan Varbanov. The 1st one has as model Pautalia, Ruzicka 908: the 2nd one has as model Marcianopolis, Varbanov 1970: I got these coins from a friend of Varbanov from Bulgaria. One should also know that Slavey Petrov does not see himself as a counterfeiter, but as an Artist! Jochen
It came in the mail today and looks quite fabulous in hand! While it is certainly cast, it looks like a quite sharply "struck" coin and even exhibits what looks like flow lines on the obverse! With it´s golden tone and partly lustrous surfaces, it does not have the feel or look of a bronze coin, which would have been made from a brownish copper alloy by the early 270s. Also at 24 grams and 32,8 mm it by far exceeds the weight and diameter of the last Sestertii from the 260s. As by the time of Vabalathus the only coins of this size (resembling a 2nd Century Sestertius) that were still being struck were the very rare bronze and gold Medallions, I have the impression that this artefact does represent an artist´s impression not of a Sestertius, but of a (slightly barbarized) gold Medallion of 8 Aurei (which in terms of size and weight would correspond with such products by Gallienus and Claudius II). As there are no genuine (gold) Medallions (or regular large bronze coins like Sestertii) known of Vabalathus, there are no extant large module portraits of him that would make this portrait look fake in comparison (like most modern "Sestertii" found on Ebay). In fact I think the bust does not look unlike the person seen on Vabalathus genuine Antoniniani, but with unmatched style, richness of detail, and degree of preservation. That´s more than one could expect for 8,50 Euros I would say, so this will remain a keeper (next to my cast Aemilian Sestertius which I one day hope to replace with a real thing that sadly will not look 10% as neat as this fantasy piece).
You take your hobby more seriously than I do. I'm in it for the fun and education. This 'coin' is hilarious. I would love to know who made it, when and for what reason. I would more like to know if it ever sold for real money to someone who should have known better. I may be nearing the end of my time in the hobby. You need to find a better role model. I mentioned the #1 toolie on my want list. I can't find the photo of the reverse. I can't remember who sent me the photo.
