Worn but Worthy

I really couldn't pass up such a neat historical type, despite the worn and somewhat rough condition. The price was right too.



Titus as Caesar [Vespasian]
Æ Sestertius, 23.97g
Rome mint, 72 AD
Obv: T CAES VESPASIAN IMP PON TR POT COS II; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: VICTORIA AVGVSTI; S C in field; Victory stg. r., l. foot on helmet, inscribing VIC AVG on shield on palm tree
RIC 433 (R). BMC 637. BNC 624. Hendin 1526.
Acquired from Praefectus Coins, May 2021.

This iconic sestertius struck in 72 at Rome from Titus's second bronze issue commemorates his recent Judaean War victory. The iconography on the reverse is quite explicit. Victory, nude from the waist up, is inscribing a shield attached to the trunk of a palm tree, the palm being a topographical symbol for the land of Judaea. There is no mistaking this for anything other than a Judaea Capta commemorative. The type was also appropriately struck for Vespasian.

I just love these worn bronzes. In hand the coin has an almost indestructible quality to it, quite fitting for it's nearly 2000 year old existence.

Please feel free to share your worn worthies.

 

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Oh man, that is absolutely beautiful!

 

That is a good coin and it sure has personality. The portrait is excellent and the contrast makes it quite appealing.

Few months ago I couldn't resist and bought this Sestertius. It's nice in hand, impressive like any other Sestertius and the patina is dark and homogeneous. Not an out of the ordinary design, but why let it go for the opening (low) bid when the coin still has some appeal?




Antoninus Pius AD 138-161. Rome
Sestertius Æ
32 mm., 24,77 g.
RIC III Antoninus Pius 840
Date Range: AD 147 - AD 148
Obverse Legend: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XI
Type: Head of Antoninus Pius, laureate, right
Reverse Legend: ANNONA AVG COS IIII
Type: Annona standing left, holding grain stalks over modius with grain stalks left and anchor

 

Most may not find this worthy but I do for a few reasons:
1) It was one of the first ancients that I bought.
2) It is very worn but the bust of Trajan still stands out and looks nice against the rest of the coin, IMO.
3) The reverse is basically gone but after help from members here, I was able to ID it as Victory which started me down the path of collecting coins depicting Victory.

 

Cool coin David. Nice in hand I am sure and quite chunky, and of course, historically very important.

 

My worn but an iconic coin of Trajan, minted at the peak of Roman hegemony (116 AD).
Regna Adsignata
Looks like it came from an agricultural field!

 

The reverse looks like a clip from an early black-and-white, soundless film. Very cool!

 

*gift from a friend

 

Both sides are great but I give a slight edge to the reverse. A really worthy example.

 

Great coin of Titus, @David Atherton .

I enjoy worn bronze coins... they had been around, sampling everyday Human History of our ancestors...

Teate, Apulia

Teate, Apulia, Italia,
225 - 220 B.C.
Bronze quincunx,
12.511g, 26.5mm, 0o,
Teate mint,
Obv: head of Athena right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet;
Rev: TIATI, owl standing right, head facing, closed wings, K (control letter) right, five pellets (mark of value) in exergue ;
Ref: BMC Italy p. 146, 9; HN Italy 702a; SNG ANS 744 var., SNG Cop 689 var., SNG BnF 1421 var., SNG Tub 378 var. (all var. no control letter),
F, porous, scratches,
R
Comments: Apulia, one of the richest archaeological regions in Italy, was first colonized by Mycenaean Greeks. Apulia was an important area for the Romans, who conquered it during the course of wars against the Samnites and against Pyrrhus in the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. but also suffered a crushing defeat there in the battle of Cannae against Hannibal. However, after the Carthaginians left the region, the Romans captured the ports of Brindisi and Taranto, and established dominion over the region.


Kalakte, Sicily


Sicily Kalakte
AE unit - SEMIS
2nd C BCE
Head Athena in Helmet -
Owl
R
It's a Sicilian bronze that imitates Athenian New-Style tets: similar depiction of Athena, owl standing on amphora reverse, late 2nd Century BC.
These are evidently quite rare. Here is the only one at CNG, in which the cataloger (Ardy?) notes that there are none found at Coin Archives, although I did find a couple on acsearch. So far, mine seems to be the best of the bunch, condition-wise.
Ex: @John Anthony

 

One of my favorites that I think is both worn and worthy. All Domitian denarii with a left-facing bust are very rare to extremely rare. Those struck for him as Caesar are, as a group, rarer than those for him as Augustus.

Domitian as Caesar Denarius 79 to 24 June
18mm., 3,15g.
Obv:Head laureate l; CAESAR AVG F DOMITIANVS COS VI
Rev: Salus stg r resting on column feeding snake out of patera; PRINCEPS IVVENTUTIS
RIC 1085 (R2) [Vespasian] BMC page 47 note. RSC 385.
Ex: Savoca Blue 19th auction April 21, 2019 Lot 1138

 

MARCUS ANTONIUS
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: ANT AVG III VIR R P C, Praetorian galley, thyrsos behind prow
REVERSE: LEG IIII, legionary eagle between two standards
Patrae 32-31 BC
3.3g, 17mm
RSC 29; Syd 1220, Cr544/16


TITUS
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: T CAES IMP VESP CENS, laureate head right, "o" beneath neck
REVERSE: FIDES PVBL, hands clasped over caduceus, two poppies and two corn-ears
Struck at Uncertain Asian Mint or Ephesus, 76AD
2.9g, 19mm
RIC V 1485 (Vesp), RPC 1459
Ex David Atherton; ex Harry Sneh Collection; ex Sayles; ex Lavender

 

The flavian coinage definetly circulated for a long time. Here a very worn Vespasian - PONTIF MAX - Denarius from my collection:

 

Just realized I have recently added a worn Vespasian denarius too.
Not rare but it ticked some boxes and the price was very decent.
After winning it my initial reaction was "OK, what was I thinking".
But actually I'm pleased with it. The portrait clearly illustrates Vespasian's classic grumpiness and the reverse, although very worn, is interesting and it's not one of the standard ones - somebody seated or standing.
I am not hunting coins in excellent conditions as I can't afford them. I try to avoid extremely worn coins but if they can be attributed, they still have appeal, they are interesting for me and the price is right, I don't refuse such a coin.



Vespasian AD 69-79. Rome
Denarius AR
18 mm, 2,68 g
RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Vespasian 681
Old RIC 72
Date: AD 74
Obverse Legend: IMP CAESAR VESP AVG
Type: Head of Vespasian, laureate, right
Reverse Legend: COS V
Type: Two laurel branches, upright

 

Historical significance like that certainly makes a worn coin worthy! I usually find Praefectus prices to be very high, but once in a while you can find a bargain - nicely done!

This is probably my favourite "worn worthy," a nice big 30mm chunk of bronze featuring the stone Elagabalus would later bring to Rome:


Caracalla, Seleucis and Pieria, Emesa, Year 527 = 215/6 AD. Obv: AYT K M AYP - ANTΩNEINOC CEB; Bust laureate, draped, cuirassed right. Rev: EMICΩΝ - KOΛΩN; Six-columned temple of Elagabalus at Emesa, containing holy stone, ornamented with eagle, set on rectangular base, flanked by two parasols or religious standards; a flight of steps leads to the temple; rectanglar frame in pediment; date [ZKΦ] in exergue.

 

Here is my worn legionary denarius. Purchased long time ago, but I still like it.

 

This Vespasian denarius made the rounds. I'd call it worn but worthy.


Divus Vespasian, d. AD 79
Roman AR denarius, 2.89 g, 17.8 mm, 6 h.
Rome, AD 80.
Obv: DIVVS AVGVSTVS VESPASIANVS, head of deified Vespasian, laureate, right.
Rev: Two capricorns, back-to-back, supporting shield inscribed S C; below, globe.
Refs: RIC 2.1, 357; BMCRE 129-131; Cohen 497; RCV 2569; CBN 101.

 

Almost all of my collection is pretty worn - and certainly worthy to me (some may beg to differ - which is fair enough).


OCTAVIAN & MARCUS ANTONIUS (Marc Antony) AR silver Triumvirate issue denarius. CAESAR IMP PONT III VIR R P C, bare head of Octavian right. Reverse - M ANT IMP AVG (MP and AV both in monogram) III VIR R P C M BARBAT Q P, bare head of Antony right. Struck at Ephesus mint, Spring - Summer 41 BC. 18mm, 3.4g.

 

Utterly fantastic!! Wow.