Hello all. Last day before my holiday - can't wait to spend a few lazy days on the sunny shores of Callatis (funny thing - I have no coins from Callatis although I visit this area every year) As I was pretending to be working today (who doesn't in the very last day) I took the chance to take (slightly) better photos from my very first lot I bought when I started collecting ancients. 34 coins, bought as "lot of roman bronzes". Actually not all of them are bronze and 1 is from Campania, but I was happy and it was a lot of fun to attribute them, as an absolute beginner. When I received them, I took photos with my phone for my personal catalogue. The phone is not designed for good macro photos, the light in my house is not quite accurate so many pictures were showing the coins worse than they actually are. So it was surprising to see some of them are nice (even if my photographic skills still demand an improvement) It's like getting new coins. Here are some where the difference is massive compared to my previous pics Crispus, Caesar, 316-326. Follis (Bronze, 19 mm, 3.51 g, 7 h), struck under Constantine I, Siscia, 1st officina, 320-321. IVL CRIS-PVS NOB C Laureate head of Crispus to right. Rev. CAESARVM NOSTRORVM around wreath containing VOT V; below ASIS*. RIC 161 1.40 g 13.3 mm Arcadius 383-408 Mint: Nicomedia, 388-392, 1st shop. Vs: D N ARCADIVS P F AVG Draped, cuirassed bust with pearl diadem to the right. Back: SALVS REI - PVBLICAE Victoria striding to the left with her tropaeum on her shoulder, dragging a prisoner behind her with her left. In the exergue: SMNA RIC IX 45 RIC VII Rome 57 Obverse Legend: IMP CONSTANTINVS P F AVG Type: Bust of Constantine I, laureate, draped, cuirassed, right Portrait: Constantine I Reverse Legend: SOLI INV-I-CTO COMITI Type: Sol, radiate, chlamys draped across left shoulder, standing left, raising right hand and holding globe in left hand Deity: Sol MintMark: -/-//Rt 3.54 g 17.5 mm Constantine I (306-337 AD) for Constantinus II Caesar. AE Nummus (18 mm, 2.83 g), Treveri, c. 322. Obv. CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C, Laureate bust to left, wearing ornate trabea, holding Victory on globe in right hand and parazonium in left. Rev. BEATA TRANQVILLITAS, Large globe on an altar inscribed VO/TIS/XX; three stars above, dot STR dot in exergue. RIC 382 Of course, these are not rarities or exceptional conditions but it feels good to rediscover nice coins (I don't like taking coins out of their albums) Please post the coins you rediscovered, noticing they are nicer than you remembered.
Perhaps this does not fit the theme here since I only got it a year ago making it one of my most recent additions so I recall how it looks. It is my only Callatis. ex. PeteB June 2020 Julia Domna AE23 Triassarion, Dioscuri
Nice coins! I like the category "nice coins you almost forgot about". Some coins are very common, i.e. can be bought in good condition in substantial numbers at any given point in time. This coin below fits the bill. It is very common and too easily overlooked or forgotten. However, the style is exceptionally fine with a face that is quite naturalistic for this series. Constantius II, Follis FL IVL CONSTANTTIS NOB C // GLORIA EXERCITVS Mint: RFT - Rome
Yes, it does! While I wouldn't consider the 10 coins that comprised my first purchase of ancients to be especially nice, I did enjoy re-photographing them some years later. I had neglected them for newer/prettier/more interesting coins subsequently purchased, but it was nostalgic to pull each of them out again for awhile. More recently - maybe about a week ago - I got out my first denarius of Antoninus Pius on a whim and did get that feeling of rediscovering a nice coin. I also took the opportunity to update its photograph and was quite pleased with the results. ANTONINUS PIUS with MARCUS AURELIUS AR Denarius. 3.44g, 18.9mm. Rome mint, AD 140 AD. RIC 417a. O: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right. R: AVRELIVS CAESAR AVG PII F COS, bare head right.
Good coins, all! @dougsmit - I envy you for the Callatis coin. It's embarrassing that I spend all my summer vacations in that area but I don't have one. I have decided to stop my acquisitions for a while, but definitely a Callatis is on the short list. Another ones that I remembered being worse And one of the coins I always liked, it also made it to my top 10 2020. This is one of the things I like about ancients, you can find a nice coin without paying 3, 4, or 5 digit prices (if I calculate price per coin, all these cost 4 EUR each).
I have many coins I have not even looked at yet; much less forgotten. I was lucky enough to acquire a few entire collections of unofficial Siscian VLPP's. Many of them, (several hundred) I have not even taken out of the folders yet. As I have time, I slowly get to them...I have a few years backlog. I just took this one out, which has number 141 on the envelope and a price of 45 euros--
I had actually forgotten about this coin and one other denarius for almost a year until I was looking for something else. Luckily, she was still in her flip, so I could find where she'd come from. Moneyer: Q. Cassius Longinus Obv.: LIBERT / Q. CASSIVS - Head of Libertas right Rev.: Curule chair within temple of Vesta; urn to left, voting tablet inscribed AC (Absolvo Condemno) to right Mint: Rome (55 BC) Wt./Size/Axis: 3.52g / 19mm / 2h References: RSC 8 (Cassia) Sydenham 918 Crawford 428/2 Acquisition: Roma Numismatics Online Auction Auction IX #544 22-Mar-2015 ATB, Aidan.
I have only posted this one a single time and I nearly forgot about it. Sad, because it's a nice coin. So this seems an opportune time to post it again. Maxentius, AD 307-312. Roman billon follis, 6.44 g, 24.5 mm, 1 h. Ostia, 4th officina, AD 309-312. Obv: IMP C MAXENTIVS P F AVG, laureate head, right. Rev: AETE-RNITAS - AVG N, Dioscuri standing left and right, each holding scepter and bridled horse; MOSTQ in exergue. Refs: RIC vi, p. 404, 35; Cohen 5; RCV 14975.
