Found these 2 quite close together...Wonder if someone could check the RIC number of the Nero...Is it 596 or 597?...Thanks.. Nero, 54 - 68 AD AE Dupondius, Lugdunum Mint, 29mm, 10.81 grams Obverse: IMP NERO CAESAR AVG P MAX TRP PP, Laureate head of Nero right, small globe below. Reverse: SECVRITAS AVGVSTI S C, Securitas seated right resting head on hand and holding scepter, lighted altar and torch before. RIC#596 or #597? And this worn Plautilla as..PLAVTILLA AVGVSTA....PIETAS AVGG...
It's 596, with a laureate head right, such as this example in the British Museum, BMCRE 344: RIC 597 has a left-facing bust, such as BMCRE 347: Nice catch, BTW! And Plautilla bronzes are uncommon in any grade.
Do you have a weight on the Plautilla? Asses of this period come in two versions. The normal ones can weigh twice the ones called 'Cast in Gaul'. 5 to 6g. would suggest a cast. These are noticeably thinner and less detailed than the regular issues. It is hard to tell from the photo whether the Plautilla was just worn or a cast. One theory was that the 'Cast in Gaul' pieces were a money of necessity in regions where there was a shortage of the standard bronzes but I am not aware of any conclusive proof of their status. Do you have an explanation to the circumstances that caused the two coins of such different date to be found close together? The Nero shows no wear suggesting it circulated until 200 AD so it might seem this is evidence of a site occupied for a long time. Of course that could be as simple as there being a road there and the two were dropped together by pure chance 150 years apart. It is hard to imagine a circumstance that would cause both of those coins to be in a purse and lost together at the same time.
Thanks for the replies.... @Roman Collector .....I had this at RIC#596 but the SC is in the fields not the exergue?.....Is this just a variant?..Excuse my ignorance on this... @dougsmit ......Thanks for the info on the 'Cast in Gaul'....Looks like it could be a contender as the weight is 5.92 grams and I must admit I know nothing about this type.....https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=6179019.... As to why these coins were found close to each other? I really can't answer that with any provenance.........These coins along with a recent post of a lead phoenician weight, a Geta Denarius, a multitude of lrb's, some Iberic and Spanish medieval coins are what I've come across over the last year or so in a small 1 1/2 km radius of an old Roman foot bridge which is quite close to the coast but completely hidden in pine forests. As to whether this was an ancient trade route, again I've no idea, but for sure there was a great deal of movement around this area. And looking at my gps points of find this Roman road was not straight!...The depth of the finds were...Nero 28cm and the Plautilla 18cm....
Glad your out metal detecting @Spaniard . Looks like you have a very good site to work for a long time. I used to have site in Spain that was a midway point between two Roman towns and was almost in the middle of them it also had an artesian fountain that still had water flowing right out of the ground and was very cool and drinkable. The fresh water source would have made it an important stop between the two towns. I saw lots of items dug up from there from coins of Gades (Phoenician) Roman republic denarius's Lots and lots of Roman Imperial all the way to Arcadius. Best one dug up was an Aureus of Nero . Heck I remember there were sections of Marble fluted columns and the owner who lived there had a dog with a chain tied to one.
one o me favs... for some reason, that Nero doesn't look quite right to me..but all Iberian coins seem funky.
Let me just say how jealous all this makes me! If I were to take a metal detector to any part in my town, all I'd find are some bottle caps, old soda cans, and some nails!
@bcuda ... .......Yep I know where your coming from!!...Great scenario!....I once saw a small finca (a tiny country house) owned by an old olive farmer whose bathroom sinks splashback was made up of approx 250 Roman bronzes, mostly sestertius, just stuck on with tile adhesive!!...Beautiful verdigris colouring ! He was really proud of it ....I remember there being some nice coins between the grouting!...And he had never owned a metal detector!.......People whose shower trays were made from various 'BIG' shell and animal fossils that they had inadvertently found whilst out walking in the 'Campo'!...I have a friend who deep snorkels with harpoon for fish and in his living room there is 30% of a Roman amphora, varnished and stuck on a piece of olive wood as an ornament! So I think after reading @dougsmit and @ominus1 's comments I understand how difficult it is to convey just how rich this country is when it comes to not only ancient coins but artifacts aswell. I know you've had first hand experience of this, maybe you'll be back some day @Finn235 ....Here you still find a lot of nails, ring pulls and probably the worst is Aluminium foil! Everyone who works in the countryside wraps their 'Bocadillo' in it and it 'PINGS' high!.....Plus its quite hard to differentiate, at least on my machine! Guys you have to try and picture the place you find these pieces, which are usually on olive or almond fincas (orchards)...away from the urban sprawl...These fincas can be 80 to 600 years old or more! Some are still cultivated but a lot have been abandoned. Terraced dry stone walls everywhere and a great deal of these unused fincas have been taken over by large pine forests so the general lay of the land has certainly been transformed......Thought I'd just try to present a picture of how it is here...Nothing more..
Spaniard you are killing me I have so many stories I could tell from my time metal detecting there. It was such a good time , I could pin point every spot I found roman coins at on google maps with no problem even to this day. I have 3 years to retire and I am sure I will be back with in 4 to 5 years for a vacation visit for sure.
What a wonderful adventure to be able to dig in that part of the world. "Old" coins found here mean 1600s or 1700s at the earliest. I did find a Roman coin here in Georgia once (the American Georgia, not the Eurasian one!) but it was on an 18th/19th century site.
@bcuda ......Like to hear some of them stories...Maybe when you come out we could do a couple of runs together...You show me yours and I'll show you mine...MD sites I mean @TIF ...Sorry about the sad face....I was just trying to show how abundant ancient coins WERE here 15 years ago and the general ignorance towards what they had actually found.... @lordmarcovan ....Thanks, it is good fun over here as you just never know what might pop out! But even 17th and 18th century coins must be pretty amazing to find too!?
Oh, sure, it's ALL fun, regardless of the century! But I envy you for the number of centuries' worth of metal artifacts beneath your feet.
