Poor abused and unwanted coin

After nearly 5 weeks, the coin arrived today from Spain!!! I was pleasantly surprised by its appearance in hand. Sure, it's rough, but it's hefty and toning nicely. Here's my photo and my own measurements:


Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 23.61g, 34.2 mm, 7 h.
Rome, summer AD 151 or mid 152- autumn 154.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVG PII AVG FIL, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: PIETAS S C, Pietas standing facing, head left, holding flower and cornucopiae, with child standing facing, head to right, to her left.
Refs: RIC 1379; BMCRE 2177-79; Cohen 173; RCV 4715; Strack 1321.
Notes: Sear identifies the child on the reverse as Lucilla. Ex Antonio Carmona collection, ex-Roma E-sale 82, lot 1380, 15 April, 2021.

 

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Better late than never, RC!
I just won another coin that nobody wanted. Sure, the surface is probably a -2/5
But for 10 EUR, I will not refuse Livia on a coin.


Macedon. Thessalonica. Tiberius and Livia AD 14-37.
Bronze Æ
21 mm, 8,41 g
Obv: ΤΙ ΚΑΙΣΑΡ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΣ, head of Tiberius, r. / ΣΕΒΑΣΤΗ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΕΩΝ, bust of Livia, r
RPC I 1567, Touratsoglou, Tiberius 38–61 (c. 22–3 and later)

 

I missed this thread first time through. I have many coins that would fall into the category of abused and unwanted but I was processing a new purchase today thart I would say qualifies more than most....

Valentinian II, Western Roman Empire (AD 375-392). AR siliqua (well abour 2/3 o one anyway)
Obv:- D N VALENTINI-ANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Valentinian II right, seen from front
Rev:- VRBS-ROMA, Roma seated left on cuirass, Victory on globe right in right hand, scepter in left;
Minted in Lugdunum. LVGPS in exergue. RIC IX 43a.1. A.D. 388-392.

A field find in the UK. It looks as though it was struck in the ground at some point, which broke the coin into pieces. The remaining coin is also bent and cracked.

 

I saw that one at auction! I'm glad it went to a loving home!

 

Cool! Not one we see every day, either. I'm glad that abused coin found a happy home.

 

I recognize that coin! I think you bought that on eBay from me lol.

I promise it wasn't me that broke it...

 

My local dealer has a small box of unidentified Greek and Roman AEs, $9.95 each. They are pretty cruddy, but I couldn't resist this one - I have a weakness for goats, apparently. Don't tell my cat.


Macedon, Thessalonica Æ 18
(c. 100-51 B.C.)
Thessalonica mint
Head of young Dionysos right, wreathed in ivy / [Θ]EΣΣA[ΛO] NIKHΣ aligned vertically to left and right of goat standing right.
Moushmov 6610; SNG Copenhagen 365-366.
(6.10 grams / 18 x 17 mm)
Oct. 15, 2021 $9.95

 

Magnentius, RIC VIII Rome 206, post-Nepotian mid 351 AD

Obv: [DN MA]GNENTIVS PF AVG
Rev: VRBS [ROMA]

Quite a scarce type, being a very brief continuation by Magnentius of a Nepotian type, after Nepotian's defeat.

I'd rate the surfaces as 3/5 (that's to say 3/5 present, the rest missing), which seems to have deterred most other buyers, resulting in me buying if for $3 in 2009.

 

This legionary denarius of Septimius Severus was unwanted in the junk box at a show in New Carrolton MD in 1987. Despite the hole, crack and patina gained from being hoarded with bronze coins (it is not fourree), I considered it worth $10. It was my first SS legionary but has been upgraded several times. IMO any SS legionary that is identifiable to legion and is not the most common LEG XIIII GEMMV is worth having. This one is quite certainly LEG XXII PRI which is one of the most scarce of the series. Of course, I don't know anyone but me who cares enough about the series to try to have the set. This coin is permanent in my collection just from being first of what later became an obsession. I have known several people who joined me in my interest of SS Eastern denarii but fewer seem to like the Rome mint coins (of which I only specialize in the 193 AD issues). I do suspect that this is the worst known example.

 

I think I am probably the only person in the world trying to assemble a type set of Severus Alexander's middle bronzes. So I am quite happy to adopt the scarce but unwanted grotties like the two below:


Other Sol types are reasonably available, but this one (Sol standing facing, raising hand and holding globe) is rare.


This Virtus type is also rare.

 

I call mine "budget" coins, in that they don't cost much but they all have character:

Some really pitted, but interesting coins.






A really nasty off-center, I guess not as nasty as sniffing the lions bum.


Some major ware.


I can't even begin to explain this one.



All one of a kind "budget" coins....

 

I picked up this Faustina cheaply because of the strange strike on the reverse. Clearly showing two S´s from SC and two long torches. Strange

Faustina II AE Sestertius. 19,80g, 33mm.
DIVA FAV-STINA PIA, draped bust right / SIDERIBVS RECEPTA S-C, Faustina as Diana, standing right, holding long torch across body with both hands, crescent behind neck. RIC 1715, Cohen 215. SEAR 1988 # 1530
Commemorative issue struck under Aurelius, circa
175/6 AD.
Reverse struck twice with clear images of two torches and two S of SC. Bizarrely, it circulated for a long time in this condition
And this was just 2 Euros. After a long soak in distilled water, details emerged. The obverse suffered from it´s interment over the millenia, but a respectable reverse meant it would stay with me forever.

Troas, Gergis. Circa 4th-3rd Century BC. AE12mm, 1.28 g. Head of Sibyl Herophile right, three-quarters facing / ΓEΡ, Sphinx sitting right. SNG von Aulock 1515; SNG Ashmolean 1147; SNG Cop 338.