Alexandrian Tetradrachms

Not quite sure if this is section is for IDing coins but would be grateful if someone can give me some info on the following. The first one i think i can read MAX the second no idea

 

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First coin:

Maximian, regnal year 6. Nike "flying" left. Emmett 4148.


Second coin:

Diocletian, regnal year 1. Dikaiosyne seated left on throne. Emmett 4034.

 

@TIF has it correct.

 

Always amazed how you guys can read such lettering in the Max I saw the letter S in the rev field but no L maybe my eyes. Still working on my photo's as for Diocletian maybe I should down load the Greek alphabet who knows. 2 down 7 to go
Many thanks

 

Was really hoping to upload two more but my photography today really shocking so one will have to do. Did download the Greek alphabet but what i see does not make scense what i read was AKG. V--- then three inverted A`s but i`m sure someone will work it out. the second one has a similar reverse but the rudder is at a different angle same woman i think maybe Diocletian both are year 3

 

Yep, it's Diocletian.

Funny enough, only 1 of those is actually an A, the 1st one. The 2nd is a lambda. And the 3rd a delta (and the 1st letter in Diocletian's name).

A K Γ OYAΛ ΔIOKΛHTIANOC CЄB

And it's Tyche on reverse:

Tyche standing l., holding rudder and cornucopiae​

 

Justin many thanks for that info must confess I would never have got it. I think I got the first three correct not having a Greek keyboard I made the third letter gamma which i thought G then there is a dot which you make an O so really a long way to go if I ever get there. When I referred to Diocletian above that was for the 4th coin still to be posted so really I got it all wrong. Just had look at your site very nice the 4th judgeing by your site will be a Maximian so I think I'm learning a little don't know how I will fair when I find some with the markings unreadable I think the answer is not to buy them. Will really need t sort my photography.

 

You're doing just fine... it takes exposure and practice, and your getting coins is helping you with both. Also, using sites like ACSearch with the search terms that you pick out can help you as well (that's where I started getting familiar with them).

For example, based on your thread title you know they are tetradrachms from Alexandria, you mentioned you thought it might be Diocletian, and you call out a rudder as a device on the reverse. Put those in the search box there (so "alexandria tetradrachm diocletian rudder") and you get a little over 2 dozen results of possible matching coins, some similar to yours included. You can also do the exact same thing on VCoins and it also returns nearly 2 dozen results with your coin type also included. Also you can use this approach to get hits on certain coins on CNG as well (CNG entries do appear on ACSearch as well, but I find it's nice to get their targeted results as well, plus I don't have an ACSearch membership so I can see their sale price on CNG). I tend to do all 3 as a way to see examples, better understand the coins, their identifications, familiarize myself with my coin type and others that come up in the results, their history, market value, etc. And after that, you can then share what you found out on here, and we can help fill in some gaps, or if you get stumped, we can help you out then as well.

Just be patient and cut yourself some slack...

 

Also regarding the Greek and abbreviations on Alexandrian coinage, here is a nice previous post from our humble "I'm not an expert" @TIF on what they mean on a coin like yours (as she mentions in the post, pulling from Emmett, who I'd say IS an expert). https://www.cointalk.com/threads/roman-alexandrian-coin-please-tell-me-who.349512/#post-3829359

 

A couple tips: Valerianus was a common name in the later period but only one emperor is known by that name. In Greek, names did not start with a hard V (Vuh) but were begun with a softer Ouweh sound so we get an omicron before the V. Diocletian coins can be suspected when you see a dot at the top of the legend between the I and the K. Many of his coins showed omicron ("little o") quite literally "little'. It is a handwriting thing. Some of us are as familiar with the handwriting on these as we are with what we place on paper ourselves. Practice helps. Never accept ID listings without trying to figure out how they were made. Below is a yera nine Diocletian. By that time everyone knew him so the mint shortened his name omitting the first part. That make that little O dot the third letter but still between I and K. Clear?

 

Great added detail, Doug! Thank you!

The same appears with Maximian...

Early (A K M OVA MAΞIMIANOC CЄB):


Later (MAΞIMIANOC CЄB):

 

Really great that you guys participate looked up the sites Justin suggested AC Search has hundreds but nowhere can i see this coin in this case the rudder is vertical all others it is leaning to he left i will also post photo of some of the ones i bought ebay photo some of you may be able to pick something out. The fact that Doug can read letters like hand writing really takes some skill this time i don`t see the 3 A`s (as Justin explained ) so it`s not Diocletian. Again sorry for the poor photo`s

 

I think #4 is Maximian

 

All three look like Diocletian to me.

 

Hate to bum you out but it is Diocletian . Reading these coins is less about actually discerning each letter and more about knowing which letters to expect in what position, plus looking for certain letters whose shapes are easier to identify.

It's much easier when you have a reference book that lists all or most possible legends .

Here's how I know the first coin in your last post is Diocletian:



When you see that tiny omicron (o), look for the ΔΙ before it. The delta can look like a lambda if the dies are degraded, but in general Diocletian is relatively easy to confirm because of that omicron.

 

The finding of the start of his name (ΔIoKΛHTIANOC), the ΔΙo (DIO), is a better, more consistent approach to identifying it as Diocletian than finding the 3 A-looking letters (AΛΔ).

Diocletion had legends that had the 3 A looking letters (A K Γ OYAΛ ΔIOKΛHTIANOC CЄB):


Had legends with 2 A looking letters (A K Γ OYA ΔIOKΛHTIANOC CЄB):


And, as Doug pointed out, legends with no letters before his name (ΔIOKΛHTIANOC CЄB):


The consistent thing between all 3 legends is the emperor's name, ΔIOKΛHTIANOC.

 

Tif many thanks something else I have learned. I do have sears reference book on roman coins but you need to be a rocket scienctist to understand it

 

And IDing a Maximian would be to find the start of his name as well. For him, you'd want to look for the MAX which might be easier to spot due to it the MA being similar to the Latin/English letters. The Greek X is written as Ξ (the letter Xi), and appears on these coins looking like a capital I with the serifs at the top and bottom (or a sideways H).

So if you look, you should see the MAΞ/MAI look that starts Maximian's name (ΜΑΞΙΜΙΑΝΟC CЄΒ).


Also as mentioned in a post above, he has legends with no letters before (image above) and earlier legends with his other accolades and names before his name he's known by (A K M OYA MAΞIMIANOC CЄB):


**If you find the MAX in the legend, there is the possibility that it could not be Maximian, but rather Maximinus (circa 235-238 AD) which then you would want to compare the head and bust shape as there is a distinct different between them (even from ~50 years apart) as well as larger size and weight.

 

So far excellent info i'm sure others will benefit from this post. My problem is I am just at the wrong end of life's spectrum none the less keep up the good work

 

Good point. Perhaps we should mention that the emperor Maximinus II came after the end of the Alexandria tetradrachms so he is not in the picture here.
Maximinus I Alexandria tetradrachm 12.28g: