When I was a kid, my father (who never was a coin-collector) had in a drawer not a loaded gun but an old brown envelope with small ancient coins inside. Seeing I was very interested he gave them to me. Somebody had given him these coins when he was himself a child. It is a group of 20 coins. I was fascinated by the details on the best preserved ones. I deciphered the names and was at first a bit puzzled because I had never heard about these emperors : Gallienus, Postumus, Tetricus... For me Roman emperors were Caesar, Nero, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius... The Claudius on the coins did not at all look like the emperor Claudius depicted on a book. Well... with some more books I learned one or two things about these rather obscure emperors, that Gaul had been independent for some time in the 3rd c., that it was a period of crisis and barbarian invasions. Dark ages we never study at school. My dad did not know from where these coins came. Perhaps a handful taken from a bigger hoard, or the content of a purse. They obviously come from a well-protected hoard, for they have not been cleaned and have been found in such a good condition, with their smooth patina. The lot is homogenous : all coins are official bronze antoniniani except for one Tetricus I which is an imitation, all were minted between the mid-260s, when all trace of silver had disappeared from antoniniani under Gallienus and Postumus, and the early 270s under Tetricus, probably 271 or 272, before Aurelian coins had arrived where this money circulated. It is interesting to note that there are nearly as many coins of the legitimate emperors (Gallienus, Salonina, Claudius II) as of the Gallic usurpers (Postumus, Victorinus, Tetricus I and II), with only one imitation. Too bad I will never know where these coins were found... I wonder if other CT members have groups of coins that were found together...
I have bought coins that came together as a group, recently I got this lot of barbarous radiates that I assume came from the same hoard/find given the uniform wear and patina, Although not a hoard find, this lot of Roman and Alex III drachm I got on ebay listed as a collection as a part of deceased estate. And this lot of Roman imitation coins from Sri Lanka apparently came from a hoard find.
These Sri Lanka imitations are very interesting. The first two imitate Roman coins of the 4th c. (Fel. Temp. Reparatio falling horseman and Gloria Exercitus one standard), but what is the 3rd one? The rev. looks like a svastika.
I bought these from a seller in France, all from the Lyon mint with same patina topic about these-- https://www.cointalk.com/threads/th...-small-constantinian-hoard-from-lyons.358644/
I agree with you, these coins must have been found together, and the older and bigger Soli Invicto Comiti follis must have circulated together with the smaller Gloria Exercitus. If your seller was not a professional dealer and was actually from Lédenon, ahem... >>cough, cough<<... You know, Lédenon is a village with archaeological sites. First, a Latin inscription has been found in the village, reading: LETINNONIBOP IMPERPONI NEMAVSENSES "The city of Nemausus (Nîmes) commanded the villagers of Letinno (today Lédenon) to place this" In Lédenon there are remains of a Roman aqueduct, and this aqueduct crosses the river Gardon on the Pont du Gard, one of the most famous Roman monuments of France, which is precisely 5 km from the Lédenon city hall! Very interesting indeed. But no one can be sure these coins come from Lédenon. He may have found them elsewhere, after all...
That’s a great cache of ancients, @GinoLR and the fact that they came from your father makes them even more so. A few years ago, I had the joy of conducting a Roman coin giveaway contest. I had a great deal of fun doing it. I purchased many of these coins in bulk. Here are some Judaean prutot that I purchased in bulk a number of years ago. I’m really not certain if they were unearthed from the same location. From their appearance—some cleaner than others—they are probably from various sources. I purchase the red velvet bags in bulk also.
A great story of the beginnings of your interest in ancient coins. As those are from your father, I'm sure they are very special to you and should always stay together.
The third coin was probably copied from a cross type, although the Hindu/Buddhist culture in Sri Lanka/Tamil kingdoms changed the cross to their auspicious symbol of Swastika. I have made a post about these coins https://www.cointalk.com/threads/roman-coins-from-sri-lanka.380242/
