Featured Follow the coin theme GAME - ancient edition - post ‘em if you got ‘em

AV Quarter Noble (Annulet Issue) ND 1422-30
Tower Mint
Henry VI of Lancaster (First Reign) 1421-71
Mint State
NEXT:Another coin that you paid too much for....

I won this coin from Stack's Auction (Theo Law Coll)
My problem I got into a stupid bidding frenzy/ ended up winning it for insane bid of $4200 way to much

 

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It was the vandalism that I paid for. Still I paid to much:

Next up: defaced/intentionally harmed coin

 

that glue looks familiar @Ryro - nice patina...here's another Gallienus, I think from the same glue-lover. Some irony that even with all that glue - the tag is gone.

@dougsmit shared a useful classification of damage that I will paraphrase:
- born ugly - from the day it was struck
- achieved ugliness - through the natural aging process
- had ugliness thrust upon it - through a sudden event e.g. glued, holed,

Next: more had ugliness thrust upon it

 

This gives me a chance to complain again about the way in which Athena Numismatics spoils the appearance of so many perfectly nice ancient silver coins by applying an artificial blue patina to them. (Never mind the artifical desert patina on bronze coins; that's a separate issue.) An example is this Hadrian Aegyptos coin, which looked like this when I received it:



But looks like this now, after going through a process involving distilled water and baking soda that Brad Bowlin explained to me, after much of the patina had already faded on its own after a couple of months:



So it appears that Athena's artificial patina doesn't ruin coins permanently. I fail to understand why it seems to appeal to so many buyers. I think it's both ugly and tremendously obvious as being artificial. But enough buyers must like that look for Salem to keep doing it -- just go to Athena on V-Coins and look for ancient silver! A few examples of items currently for sale:












Don't try to tell me that any of these coins acquired that blue patina naturally! (Yes, I understand that it's possible for that color to appear naturally. But what a remarkable coincidence that so many of Salem's coins managed to do so! Plus, of course, the blue patina on mine would not have largely disappeared on its own within a few months, before I treated it in any way, if it had been a natural patina.)

Next: another coin with its appearance damaged, permanently or otherwise, in modern times.

 

There are also a couple of dealers that seem to apply "desert patina" to bronze coins and folles in an effort to make the devices stand-out. Which it does, but not really in a natural way. I've learned to steer clear of those guys, without naming any names.

 

As I mentioned, this dealer does that as well. (There was once a thread here about the practice, with "A to Z" in the title to call out this and one other dealer.) Which is OK if it's disclosed, but most dealers who do it don't disclose it. As far as I know, though, Athena is the only dealer who consistently applies the kind of artificial patina I described to silver coins.

 

Your coin cleaned up nicely, @DonnaML. Much better without the make-up.

This once was a nice hemilitron from Akragas until someone decided that river gods just look better with a firmly chiseled eye. The toning on the Hadrian denarius can be washed away, the damage on this coin is permanent.

Next: a coin with genuine find patina.

 

Philip the Arab, Hieropolis (Mambij, Syria) 244-249. tetrassarion (12 h)
Obv.: AVTOK K M IOVΛI ΦIΛIΠΠOC CЄB, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev.: ΘЄAC CYPIAC IЄPOΠO / ΛITΩN, Atargatis seated facing and holding scepter, riding lion walking right.

What happened to this poor coin? It is not the orange patina, because it does not come from Salem or his provider . It is the cuts on the edge: they are not fresh but I don't think they date back from antiquity; they are more probably modern. Who did this? He/she probably wanted to turn the coin into some kind of tool, but which one?

EDIT : too late, @Ignoramus Maximus replied first. BUT never mind, I am sure this coin has its original find patina (even if it's orange). So I keep this post...

NEXT : Atargatis

 

Nobody else has an Atargatis, I guess, so I'm invoking the 12-hour rule. How about a different deity riding on a different big cat?


Faustina II, AD 147-175.
Roman provincial triassarion, 6.34 g, 23.4 mm, 7 h.
Thrace, Pautalia, AD 161-175.
Obv: ΦΑVCΤΕΙΝ-Α CΕΒΑCΤΗ, draped bust of Faustina II, right; band of pearls around head.
Rev: ΟVΛΠΙΑC-ΠΑVΤΑΛΙ-ΑC, Dionysus seated on panther walking, r., resting r. arm on panther, holding thyrsus.
Refs: RPC IV 8811; Ruzicka 99.
Notes: Double die match to RPC IV 8811(4) = Ruzicka 99(4) = Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum 8775.

Next: Dionysus and panther.

 

next: Mithradates VI

 

Hope 'the time of...' is good enough.
I think the wolf skin on the Amazon is a nice touch.


Next: Herakles without lion skin.

 

Next up: double axe/bipennis

 

Lydia, Thyateira. Civic issue. 2nd century B.C. AE14
laureate head of Apollo right
Rev: ΘΥΑΤΕΙ / ΡΗ-ΝΩΝ, ethnic above and across handle of bipennis (double-axe) palm-branch to right.
Cf. SNG Cop 571 ; Cf. Klein 578; Cf. SNG Von Aulock 3200.

Next - Thyateira

 

Lydia, semi-autonomous AE of Thyateira (3rd Cent. AD), Tyche, Athena
Obv: Draped bust of Athena, wearing Corinthian helmet, right, with aegis; behind, spear.
Rev: Tyche standing facing, looking left, wearing kalathos, holding rudder and cornucopia. Legend: ΘYATEIΡ-HNΩN

Next: more from Lydia

 

Spithridates
Satraps of Lycia & Ionia
334 BC, AE10 1.05g
Head of Spithridates right, wearing a Persian headress
Forepart of a horse right, monogram above
SNG Cop 1538
Ex: Aegean Numismatics
Killed by Cleitus the Black while attempting to kill Alexander the Great.
Arrian reports that Spithridates, who followed his father Rhosakes as the Persian satrap of Lydia and Ionia, died in the Battle of Granikos in 334 BC after Kleitos cut his arm off to keep him from shooting Alexander in the back with an arrow amidst the battle.
Next up: coin from the lifetime of Alexander the Great

 

I guess this barely fits @Ryro's requirement...

Alexander III Lifetime - Early Posthumous (as indicated on NGC label)
AR Tetradrachm. 17.13g.

Next: Another Alexander tetradrachm, with legs NOT crossed.

 

As found... Acre mint, 323-322 BC. Price 3260.
Price monogram 1505 (a kind of retrograde ok) and Phoenician date IIII"

Next : a Phoenician or Punic legend

 

Not too many legends in Punic on Carthage Empire coins that I have seen in my collection.


Sicily Akragas Punic occup 213-210 BC AR Half Shekel 19 mm 2.9g Male head r Triptolemos wreath grain -Horse leaping r Punic Ḥ SNG COP 378


Next : a Phoenician or Punic legend

 

PHOENICIA, Byblos. Uzzibaal. 350-335 BCE
AR dishekel, 13.3 gm
Obv: Three hoplites with shields in war galley left, roaring lion's head on prow, waves below galley; hippocamp left below, with murex shell below it; Z O (N O?) in field
Rev: Phoenician inscription; lion attacking bull left
Ref: SNG Copenhagen 132, BMC 26.95, 4.
acquired August 2014
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-a-coin-from-the-purple-people.250752/

Next: Punic legend

 

Under neck of horse (mostly of flan) says ""people of the camp""



next: punic Sicily