Hi all. I had a small revelation moment when viewing my Dionysos coin the other day. While tilting and moving the coin to different angles in the morning sunlight Dionysos looked back at me for the first time. I have owned the coin for 6 months but never noticed this faint detail.To me it brought the face to life and certainly added some intensity to the gazing. I've tried to take a photo but it's not easily seen. I'm referring to the iris part of the eye in the first pic. The first two are of my coin and the following pics are examples of the coin I found online. THRACE. Maroneia. Ae (Circa 189/8-49/5 BC) Obv: Head of Dionysos right, wearing ivy wreath. Rev: MAPΩNITΩN. Dionysos standing left, holding grape bunch and narthex stalks. References: Schönert-Geiss 1556; SNG Copenhagen 646 Moushmov 3942 Weight: 7.01 g. Diameter: 18 mm. This last pic is not one of my coins, And it seems to have a different stlye to the previous coin pics, but I really like the eye particularly. The eye to me on this coin seems to express alot Has anyone else had a similar discovery? Noticing something new and previously unseen by them while looking at there coins? All the best
Coins featuring Titus are sought after compared to Vespasian (father) or Domitian (brother), but the bust of Titus and his father on most coins look similar, so when I bought this coin last year I though I was getting a Vespasian for a discounted price at 25 bucks on Vcoins. I was happy with it for it's dark toning and the expressive angry face. After some months, I came across a listing of the same type listed under Titus (as caesar), upon closer inspection, I noticed a trace of the letter T on my coin as well, denoting Titus! T CAESAR IMP VESPASIANVS, laureate head right. Reverse - COS VI, Mars standing left with spear & trophy.
Eyes are the hardest part of a portrait to cut. Remember they had to leave a high place in the die so the eye would be recessed naturally. Not planning ahead would make the eye stick out on the struck coins. There are some mints that never really got the hand of natural eyes. There are also some individual dies that just failed to make the eye look right even if it did not stick out. Some dies were the work of master craftsmen; others suggest an apprentice who was learning. Like everything else, it seems there were coins made on what we call 'Monday morning' or 'Friday evening' (not suggesting those people worked a schedule like that). Below is a coin of Clodius Albinus from Rome mint in 193 AD. On this die, the cutter just blew it. Once the eye was cut too high, there was no fixing it. If I were the boss, I might have told him to trash it and start over but there was always pressure to turn out coins on a schedule and some dies that were not top quality had to be used. Regarding Titus: Yes the two men resembled each other but, with some experience, you can develop a feel for which was which. I recently sold this Vespasian version showing more or less the same reverse with COS VIII (dad had been Consul more often that year). Other than being a left facer (both came both ways) and not having the T, you might see the older man looking a bit more gruff. The easy answer is to avoid coins missing that part of the legend. Note on this die, the cutter really had to squeeze in the AVG at the end of the legend. When this coin was made, Titus had not yet become Augustus. 'Plan ahead' should have been a motto at the mint.
Thanks dougsmit, Great to imagine the ancient mints in action. And very interesting to see the human side and pressure element of a working mint materialized in the coins that your shared.
What a great outcome JayAg47 it must have been exciting to have that unexpected discovery. Its great to hear your story and I now know what to look for when dealing with this lookalike roman family.
Very nice coin ambr0zie. It really is amazing how ancient coins are still so full of surprises after all this time
Yep, probably my favorite sestertius. I took photos of all my coins recently because I wanted to have a personal catalogue. The initial photos, with a phone with a mediocre camera, did not do justice to the coin. I was quite surprised myself when seeing the new photos.
Here's a upward-looking, bug-eyed Constantinopolis for you! Constantine I, AD 307-337. Roman billon centenionalis, 2.22 g, 17.8 mm, 6 h. Siscia, AD 334-335. Obv: CONSTAN-TINOPOLIS, bust of Constantinopolis, laureate, helmeted, wearing imperial cloak, left, holding reversed spear in right hand. Rev: Victory, winged, draped, standing left on prow, holding spear in right hand and shield in left hand; •BSIS• in exergue. Refs: RIC vii, p. 456, 241; Cohen 21; LRBC I 751; RVC 16469.
Ha ha you absolutely nailed the song choice Roman Collector It's all in the eyes Roman Collector and your Constantine l, definitely has a memorable eye. Thanks for showing it. I have never heard that song before but it's "banging" as in unbelievably awesome!
