Hi all, just a quick question; A recent purchase from a reputable dealer (carpe-diem) of a Gallieanus coin arrived today and on ispection shows the reverse two soldiers as “Upside down” in relation to the obverse side. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/143408525776 I have heard of this before in some modern coins but is it acceptable in a Roman one? Should i return and ask for refund? Advice appreciated. Jules
Just turn it 180° and it'll be fine. That's a joke. This is actually known as "die axis" and you can read more about it here. The coin's perfectly fine, there's no reason to return it.
While it is covered in a way in the Forvm link, some coins were made with very regular die axes while others were struck more or less at random. It helps to know which situation applies to the coin in question but die axis is rarely the feature that gives away or disproves a fake. We note it when we look at coins but we rarely worry about it.