Well I went and bought another coin that I already have. This one was calling my name and I just had to have it. The artistic detail on the obverse for this particular type of coin is not very common in my opinion. Castulo Ancient Spain Before 214/12 BC. Obv: Diademed youthful male head right / Bull standing right, crescent above. Æ Half Unit
I have this issue, too. It's gotten to the point where I now have triplicates of some coins yet can't bear to part with them.
Wow. I have to reevaluate my weak interest in ancients. It seems you can get pieces, heavy with history and beauty, for not too much money and you can HANDLE them. Bonkers.
IBERIAN AE Semis OBVERSE: Young male head right, Phoenician letter before REVERSE: Bull right, crescent above, two Phoenicial letters below Struck at Castulo Late 1st century BC 15.6mm, 1.8g Burgos 897
Ssh! You'll let the secret out! @bcuda- I love the artistic portrait on that one and can definitely see why you kept it! The patina is awesome, too.
Only Iberian Bull that I have: RImp Spain Lepida-Clesa Lepidus 44-36BCE C Balbus L Porcius Colonia Victrix Ivlia Lepida Victory - Bull holed RPI 262 plate 19
Despite the attribution, is it possible that the top coin is an imitation of the bottom? For that matter, might bcuda's 2nd coin be an imitation of his OP?
My two cents worth. bcuda's 2nd coin is most likely ACIP 2116. The S shaped symbol on the obverse is not there because it's off the flan. It's not an imitation of the first coin. The reverse has the M shaped Iberian letter (S) before the bull. My example: bcuda's 1st coin is likely ACIP 2131. I don't have one of those. Doug's 2nd coin is, I think, the same attribution as bcuda's 1st coin, ACIP 2116. Although, from a different die, it was a much better, and superb strike. The legend is worn, but you can still see the last letter. Again, bcuda's coin does not show the legend. Doug's 1st coin is likely ACIP 2149. There is probably a palm branch under the encrustation before the bust. Bing's type of Castulo is not covered in the ACIP, but it is in Burgos. In my copy it's listed as 572 Sextante?, 1.8g.
@doucet I also have some with the wild pig on the back. Last one with the pig has the same style of obverse as the very first coin posted in this thread.
Yep I like the bilingual coin above with the boar CN FVL. I really want to get one of those. All your coins are quite nice.
@bcuda interesting coin, I like the patina One of the things I like about most of my ancient coins is they can be held! Some are a bit fragile and should be only handled with care. Each time I look at this lot, I wonder if I should clean them. So far I have avoided that. It is interesting to see how many different sizes of cut coins were used. I wonder if 1/4th of a 20 gram was worth the same as 1/2 of a 10 gram coin or a whole 5 gram coin.
nice coin @bcuda - is this finer style typical of earlier coins? I note that mine was dated early 1st century - and is there any known meaning to the monogram/letter on obverse? There is something appealing to me about the portrait on this coin: Ancient Spain, Castulo, early 1st Century BC, Æ, Obv: Diademed male head right, iberian "ka" before Rev: Bull standing right; L and crescent above Size: 18.5mm, 4.71g Ref: CNH pg. 337, 52; SNG BM Spain 1359, ACIP 2156