An Interesting Oddity

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Harry G, Nov 29, 2021.

  1. Harry G

    Harry G Well-Known Member

    Hi all!

    I just bought this at NSB Auctions, and thought I'd make a post about it :)

    [​IMG]

    It is a follis of Maximinus II, on an interesting undersized and serrated flan. This coin appears to be a variety of RIC 147b from Alexandria mint, although this coin has X above the B (rather than the other way round).

    Might this coin have been overstruck on a serrated coin from the Seleucid Empire, such as this one (not my coin)?

    [​IMG]

    My coin weighs 4.1g and is 20.1mm in diameter, while the closest Seleucid coin weighs about 4g, but is only 16ishmm in diameter, although it's possible that my coin was flattened when striking.

    Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

    Also, make sure to share any oddities and overstruck coins you have in your collection :)

    Thanks!
     
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  3. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    Harry, That is a fascinating discovery :jawdrop:! I think you're right about the over-strike theory ;).
     
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  4. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    That is really interesting! Both the coin and the theory. I could see it possibly being overstruck. The legends on the obverse aren't all on the flan which could be because the host coin was smaller than what the die was intended for.
    I am far from an expert though haha.

    I really like serrated coins. I don't have one yet though. Need to fix that. :)
    Thanks for sharing!
     
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  5. Aleph

    Aleph Well-Known Member

    I would guess it was altered to be serrated. There are a few of these around which supposedly were altered in antiquity to be game tokens or something related
     
  6. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    I agree with Aleph. Seleukid "bottle cap" coins gained their serrations from the flan mold, giving a distinctive shape of the serrations and a certain contour of the flan, both of which are not matched by the OP coin.

    The OP coin's serrations are more finely and artfully done than on some of the similarly altered "serrated" coins shown on CT. It's an interesting coin regardless :).
     
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  7. Victor_Clark

    Victor_Clark all my best friends are dead Romans Dealer

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  8. Deacon Ray

    Deacon Ray Artist & Historian Supporter

    SERRATED2021.jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2021
  9. Harry G

    Harry G Well-Known Member

    Thanks for ideas, everyone!

    I assumed that the serrations on my coin looked different because it had been struck again, flattening the coin.

    One of the reasons why I thought it might be overstruck is that the flan appears very small, which I don't see much of for this issue.

    I'll see how thick it is when I receive it, and post more pictures then :)
     
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  10. Victor_Clark

    Victor_Clark all my best friends are dead Romans Dealer

    The flan is small because pieces were removed. It is not overstruck, these modified coins are actually fairly common. Many were used as weights, others token, gaming pieces... etc. I casually collect these, below are some of mine.

    Gordian III.JPG

    1825749_1618171648.jpg

    Decentius Lyons.jpg

    Maxentius.jpg
     
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