At the last auction I participated in, although my wins were not exactly what I had in mind, I managed to add a Sestertius. This is certainly not the best Sestertius anybody has seen (probably close to the worst) but it is an example I wanted as it is on one of my areas of collecting - coins related to Dacia. IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, bust of Trajan Decius, laureate, draped, cuirassed, right | Bust of Trajan Decius, laureate, cuirassed, right / DACIA SC, Dacia, draped in long robe reaching feet, standing left holding staff topped with a wolf's head (Draco) RIC IV Trajan Decius 112 30 mm 15.13 g First thought when seeing this coin was that I didn't know Franz Joseph was depicted on ancient coins. Now speaking seriously, the coin being identifiable, the odd pentagon shape and of course the low hammer price made me content with this coin. But another reason for buying it is that it pairs with my Antoninianus of the same type. IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, bust of Trajan Decius, radiate, draped, cuirassed, right / DACIA; Dacia, draped in long robe reaching feet, standing left holding staff topped with a wolf's head (Draco) RIC IV Trajan Decius 12b So, a budget addition that has a place in my albums. Please post - - pairs of coins, different denomination/metals but same design and ruler - coins with odd shapes - rulers looking like Franz Joseph - anything you think relevant
My only pair of different denominations with same design. 1. Commemorative coin of Uttama Chola (970-985 AD), 3g, shows the conquest of the neighboring kingdoms of Chera, and Pandya, depicted as the royal emblems-Cholan tiger, flanked by the Pandyan twin fish to its right, and the Cheran bow behind the tiger, all under the single rule symbolized by the umbrella, flanked by two lamps on the either side to denote auspiciousness. And the legends in Nagari states, Uttama Chola. 2. This is an 1/8 Kahavanu of Rajendra Chola (1014-1044), 0.45g. Also a commemorative coin with same but slightly off-centered imagery, however the reverse reads Yudha-malla, aka one who's strong in wars.
Fun new sestertius! I've been looking for a Trajan D sest for my collection for a while now. This little beauty was a Saturnalia gift from my man @bcuda and has one of my very favorite portraits (I LOVE the detail in each of his wrinkles):
I can do this for Trajan Decius. First is a radiate: Trajan Decius. Antoninianus. 22 mm. 3.19 grams. GENIVS EXERC ILLVRICIANI (Spirit of the Illyrian Army) RIC 17b. Sear III 9375 The other is a sestertius of the same design: Sestertius. 31-30 mm. 19.47 grams. RIC 117c. Sear III 9404. Those two were bought in 1986 and 1983, respectively. When you buy interesting coins, you can enjoy them for a very long time!
Excellent and much nicer than my Sestertius. But I like mine too. Although I try to avoid extremely bad coins, seeing one that managed to survive from antiquity, was, probably, heavily used for its main purpose, most likely buried for many centuries and available today for us to study and say, for sure - this is a Decius sestertius or a Tarentum diobol or a Persian siglos - this makes me respect these coins. A lot. Noticed that your coins are RIC 17 and 117 and mine are 12 and 112. It appear this is just a coincidence, as checking RIC I see this is not a rule.
Cool, @ambr0zie! Sestertii of Decius are often weird shaped. Trajan Decius AD 249-251. Roman Æ sestertius, 15.11 g, 29.4 mm, 1 h. Rome, AD 250. Obv: IMP CMQ TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, laureate and cuirassed bust right. Rev: PANNONIAE S C, the two Pannoniae standing left and right; each raising right hand; the one on the right holds a standard in her left hand and there is a vertical standard behind the one on the left. Refs: RIC 124a; Cohen 87; Sear 9407; Hunter 54.
From the Philip I 1000th Anniversary of Rome SAECVLARES AVGG series from 248 AD, an antoninianus and sestertius that both depict a stag on the reverse:
Nice one, @ambr0zie - like @Roman Collector says, these sestertii of Trajan Decius often have squared-off or irregular flans. Here are my two Dacian sestertii - one shows Dacia holding a legionary standard, the other holding the "draco standard" or donkey-headed staff or whatever it is (there are threads on this topic, for instance: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/this-is-not-a-donkey-head.336071/page-2#post-3556829 ) Trajan Decius Æ Sestertius (251 A.D.) Rome Mint IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, laureate, cuirassed bust right / DACIA S-C, Dacia standing left, holding standard. RIC 113a, Cohen 28 (18.73 grams / 29 mm) eBay Oct. 2017 Trajan Decius Æ Sestertius (249-251 A.D.) Rome Mint IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, laureate, cuirassed bust right / DACIA S-C, Dacia standing left, holding Dacian draco standard, or staff with head of an ass or wolf. RIC 112a, Cohen 18. (15.18 grams / 24 x 28 mm) eBay Dec. 2018 Here is the same type in silver - this was one of my better eBay purchases - $19.99 "buy it now" and it came in a Harlan J. Berk flip! It is one of my few respectable provenances: Trajan Decius Antoninianus (c. 250-251 A.D.) Rome mint IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right / DACIA, Dacia standing left, holding draco standard or vertical staff surmounted by ass's head. RIC 12b; RSC 16; Sear 9368. (3.88 grams / 22 mm) eBay May 2020
Good pairs. @Roman Collector wrote a detailed article on the link you provided. When I acquired my antoninianus, I also noticed the traditional description error here https://www.cointalk.com/threads/trajanus-decius-dacia.371941/ Perhaps someday I will get a tetradrachm to pair with my giant 6 mm hemiobol
Pairs are interesting. The wolf's head are pretty neat. I have a few pairs (or more than pairs) where an early Aes Grave issue is larger than a later one. The large shell / knucklebone coins have an equivalent As weight over 327 grams. The smaller ones are about a third the size.
