Antoninus Pius 'Big and Small'.

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Spaniard, Feb 14, 2020.

  1. Spaniard

    Spaniard Well-Known Member

    Well here's my first ever Drachm...:cool:
    Just picked this one up from Ken Dorney a great guy to deal with!....
    Must say I do like the reverse depictions found on these Alexandrian coins...Not going to bore you with cut and paste history of this well known Emperor but I am interested in the different denominations minted...
    Just as a side note....Interesting the roots of the word Drachm...It derives from a Greek verb basically meaning 'grasp' or a 'handful'...So a Drachma was fundamentally a handful of 6 oboloi. Oboloi were metal sticks and this system of currency was used as early as 1100 BC...
    2PbGn5kX3Ei63p9F6ZYyDqy8SA7tRa.jpg
    Antoninus Pius, 138 - 161 AD, AE Drachm, Egypt, Alexandria Mint, 34mm, 29.55 grams
    Obverse: Laureate head of Antoninus right.
    Reverse: L DEKATOV, Zeus holding patera and scetpre reclining left on open wings of eagle.
    Emmett1699 // Dattari2933 // Koln1560 // Milne1905

    Just one question...

    Does anyone know the breakdown of bronze and silver denominations accredited to Antoninus Pius?
    Or can someone give me an easy link or some sort of reference list related to the different types? I'm reading Hemidrachm, Obol, etc but I'm unsure as to the specifications? Any help appreciated...Paul

    Here's my collection so far so any guidance as to which denominations to search for next will be most helpful..
    Feel free to post your AP coins..
    ap 6 coin set.jpg
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2020
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  3. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    Spaniard, That's a wonderful composition on the big drachm :D.
     
    Spaniard likes this.
  4. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    If you like Alexandrian coinage Antoninus Pius has a wealth to choose from, both in denomination and in reverse type. Nice drachm! I love that iconography :).

    Here's a list of denominations struck in Alexandria during his reign. I've included approximate weights and sizes but there is considerable variation.

    • Tetradrachm (BI; 13 gm, 27 mm. BI is an abbreviation for "billon", a debased silver alloy. The debasement worsened in later times and the metal of those later tets is called "potin".)
    • Drachm (AE; 23 gm, 34 mm)
    • Hemidrachm (AE; 13 gm, 29 mm)
    • Diobol (AE; 8 gm, 24 mm)
    • Obol (AE; 5 gm, 19 mm)
    • Dichalkon (AE; 1.7 gm, 14 mm)
     
  5. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    In the Imperial series, Hadrian struck every standard silver and bronze denomination:

    AR cistophorus
    AR denarius
    AR quinarius (rare)

    AE sestertius
    AE dupondius
    AE as
    AE semis (rare)
    AE quadrans (rare)
     
  6. Spaniard

    Spaniard Well-Known Member

    @TIF .....Thank you that really helps and clears up some doubts I had...
    @Roman Collector ...Excellent thanks looks like I'll leave the 3 rare types til last and concentrate on a nice cistophorus...

    There are some quite nice Provincials that I've seen as well....
     
  7. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    This looks like a good opportunity to bore you again with my holed diobol (9.7g) and pretty green obol (4.8g).
    pa0262fd3472.jpg pa0280bb2299.jpg

    I don't have a dichalkon of Pius. Inflation made the smallest denominations less useful by his day. My 2.06g dichalkon is from Trajan. Note the clipped flan adjustment.
    pa0212bb3184.jpg

    This 2.19g dichalkon is by Domitian.
    pa0190fd0397.jpg

    Considering the size and workmanship, I am amazed at how well the weights follow the theory.
     
  8. Spaniard

    Spaniard Well-Known Member

    @dougsmit .....Nice diobols! Very difficult to find in such nice condition!
     
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