New Sestertius of Plotina arrived !

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Julius Germanicus, Jan 6, 2021.

  1. Julius Germanicus

    Julius Germanicus Well-Known Member

    Today the last of my purchases of 2020 came in the mail and it was a pleasant surprise! See the seller´s pictures (and the rest of my top 10) here: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/julius-germanicus-top-ten-sestertii-of-2020.372460/#post-5340657 ).


    IMG_20210106_160435.jpg

    PLOTINA AVG IMP TRAIANI - draped bust of Plotina right, hair elaborately dressed in two tiers over brow, above which is a stephane, and elaborately waved at the back, falling down her neck in plait /
    FIDES AVGVST S C - Fides standing right, holding grain ears in right hand, basket of fruits in left
    Sestertius, Rome mint 112 A.D.
    RIC 740 (Trajan), BMCRE 1080 (Trajan), Cohen 12, Woytek Nr.711, Banti 1
    Ex Jesus Vico Online Auction 157 (26.11.2020), lot 3038

    IMG_20210106_160508.jpg

    I am not going to bore you with a writeup on the history of Plotina here, but one would expect Sestertii of Trajan´s wife to be as common as those of the other 2nd century "good" Emperors, as they were struck when the production of this denomination was at an all time high.

    But alas they are not, even compared to those of an obscure later empress like Aquilia Severa. Banti only knew of 30 specimens, Woytek listed 48, and I found a total of 54. That is only about half as many as are documented for Gordian I or II who only ruled for 20 days.

    Sestertii of Trajan´s wife are so rare that I believe this might well be the most eye appeal available for less than a four digit amount, compare for example the discussion on the (only?) other specimen posted on this forum:
    https://www.cointalk.com/threads/help-with-plotina-sestertius.366329/

    A Sestertius from the same obverse die as mine sold for an incredible 72.000 € in 2013 (but has since lost a lot of appeal, see
    https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ouch-plotina-sestertius.359516/ )

    I would be happy to find out any pedigree my coin might have or whatever else you find interesting.

    Please take care and post anything about Plotina or Trajan´s other Augustae Marciana and Matidia!
     
    Blake Davis, PeteB, Cucumbor and 29 others like this.
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. Multatuli

    Multatuli Homo numismaticus

    Still a great coin, Julius!
    Here goes my Matidia, far away to be considered almost fine... E31D9B14-F141-4B88-A47B-68C5A55F7DE1.jpeg
    Matidia Æ Sestertius (33.5mm, 22.44 g). Rome mint. Struck under Trajan, September AD 112-117. [MATIDIA] AVG DIVAE MAR[CIANAE F], draped bust right, wearing double stephane, erect on top of her head, on which her hair is built up; her hair is massed and coiled on the back of her head / [PIETAS AVGVST], Matidia standing left, placing her hands on heads of two children, Sabina and Matidia the younger, who standing looking up and raising hands to her. RIC II 761 (Trajan); Woytek 730-1; Banti 1.
     
    PeteB, Spaniard, AnYangMan and 9 others like this.
  4. Ryro

    Ryro Trying to remove supporter status

    Big coingrats! Lovely portrait. That is a white wail of mine for sure!
     
    Julius Germanicus likes this.
  5. Finn235

    Finn235 Well-Known Member

    A desirable coin in any condition! I like that despite the wear, you can still clearly make out her expression.

    Plotina thus far has evaded me in any imperial denomination; I have only a more common provincial for now

    Plotina ae gordos julia zeus seated.jpg
     
    PeteB, Roman Collector, Ryro and 7 others like this.
  6. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    I think it's a beautiful coin; you can see what her portrait looks like very well despite the wear. I like Fides on the reverse, too. Great acquisition!
     
    Julius Germanicus likes this.
  7. Julius Germanicus

    Julius Germanicus Well-Known Member

    Congratulations! A genuine Sestertius of Matidia is nice to have in almost any condition. Banti lists only 20 Sestertii of that type and yours seems to be an obverse die match to the specimen illustrated on page 298 (ex Leu 20, 1978).

    I once won this piece in auction but it sadly turned out to be a cast copy:
    Bildschirmfoto 2021-01-09 um 16.42.47.png
    A matching specimen in the Göttingen coin cabinett is still included in OCRE and their website as being genuine (https://www.kenom.de/id/record_DE-MUS-062622_kenom_161922), but it cannot be.

    Indeed, looking closely my Fides is a very elegant and also well-proportioned rendition :)
     
  8. kevin McGonigal

    kevin McGonigal Well-Known Member

    I like that the coin is light in color. For me a coin that is too dark is an invisible coin.
     
    DonnaML and Julius Germanicus like this.
  9. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    Nice new addition to the collection. Congrats.
     
    Julius Germanicus likes this.
  10. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    I agree. I never understand why to some people a "glossy black" patina is a selling point. It may be possible to create a good photo, but in hand you often can hardly see the details.
     
    PeteB and Julius Germanicus like this.
  11. Julius Germanicus

    Julius Germanicus Well-Known Member

    That is why I try to buy all my Sestertii unpatinated or with a patina as light as possible. I only have a single black one (Elagabalus is the "black sheep of the family" :) ).

    Also this is what the Roman artists designed their Sestertii to look like in hand.
    It was exactly the golden yellow tone that made the "divine" metal reserved for Sestertii and Dupondii stand out and twice as valuable as the reddish copper used for Asses, so it escapes me why the defining and, in my eyes, beautiful light tone should be hidden under a coat of black semi-corrosion.

    As far as I can tell from my collection, the orichalcum used was purest from the time of Domitian to that of Hadrian. Here is my companion piece to Plotina:

    Bildschirmfoto 2021-01-09 um 22.19.23.png

    IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC PM TRP COS VI PP -
    Laureate bust of Trajan right, slight drapery on left shoulder
    SENATVS POPVLVSQVE ROMANVS, S C across fields -
    Felicitas, draped, standing left, holding up short caduceus in right and cornucopiae in left
    Sestertius, Rome, 214-216
    25,72 gr / 34 mm
    RIC 672 var. (different bust type). Cohen 352 var. (different bust type), BMCRE -, Sear -, Banti -, Woytek 534b.
     
  12. gsimonel

    gsimonel Well-Known Member

    Interesting comment. After years of hearing collectors deriding "stripped" coins, you promote the virtue of bare metal. I don't feel particularly strongly one way or the other, but it's always nice to hear both sides of an argument. Do you remove the patina yourself, or do you just restrict your purchases to coins that have recently been stripped?
     
  13. Julius Germanicus

    Julius Germanicus Well-Known Member

    A dark patinated bronze coin can certainly be attractive, but the yellow tone is a personal preference of mine. The better visibility and originality of the light colour (versus a dark one) are just a bonus :).
    No, I have never attempted to remove a patina. I don´t even know if it is possible to "strip" a coin that is covered by a dark patina into a yellow coin again without leaving an eroded surface at least, as you never know what is underneath the patina (see the history of the formerly 72.000 USD Plotina Sestertius mentioned in my original post).
    I actively seek these out but also buy Sestertii with a matte yellowish "Tiber" patina (presumably acquired by burial in a river bed) or with a light two-tone-patina like the Sestertius in my Avatar (which certainly has untouched surfaces).
    Right now I am experimenting with keeping a low grade patinated Sestertius of Lucilla in my pocket money. After a couple of weeks the surfaces show a corroded orange tone, but in no way as yellow or clean as my Trajan or even my OP Plotina.
     
  14. Cucumbor

    Cucumbor Well-Known Member

    An excellent coin with a portrait of the better style.

    Envious Q
     
    Julius Germanicus likes this.
  15. Blake Davis

    Blake Davis Well-Known Member

    Plotina is on my list of coins I would one day like to have but probably never will - this is a GREAT coin - btw - a history of Plotina would actually be very interesting, shwe as a remarkable woman.
     
    Julius Germanicus likes this.
  16. Blake Davis

    Blake Davis Well-Known Member

    I agree - there is something "fresh" about a higher grade sestertius with Tiber patina, and many have details that are obscured by even light patina (not that I have many!) - lower grade coins with Tiber patina too have a certain look that I find attractive -
     
    Julius Germanicus likes this.
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page