We are so used to seeing Antoniniani of the late 3rd century in brown, black or dark green colours that it is easy to forget how these coins looked when they came fresh from the mint. A French seller recently offered a number of Antoniniani (Probus, Diocletian, Maximian) in uncirculated mint condition, with practically full silvering. I bought six of his coins, below are three of them. All of his coins are from Lugdunum and I suspect that they were found together, because they all have the same appearance (full silvering, no signs of circulation, some light brown stains)
Here is another one. This is the seller's picture. The early portrait of Probus, where he looks like Florianus is quite desirable.
Dirk, That's a great haul of gem grade coins with silvering ! I like gem grade silvered coins too, but prefer the larger nummi coins of the tetrarchy . Collectors are willing to pay a hefty premium for fully silvered coins like the example below. Usually the silvering is muted like the example. On rare occasions a fully silvered nummus will tone a uniform steel/grey color of striking beauty like the coin pictured below. Constantius I as Augustus, AD May 1, 305 - July 25, 306. Ticinum Mint, 3rd Officinum. Billon Nummus: 10.67 gm, 27 mm, 6 h. Reverse: FIDES MILITVM (Loyalty of the Military). Sear 14170. Scarce.
Here are two beautiful silvered coins from the tetrarchy. They were part of this year's Secret Saturnalia gifts for FFIVN and my daughter. Before these, I'd never seen a silvered tetrarchy follis.
They are, indeed, impressive and a good example of these emperors trying to restore confidence in the government's coinage after decades of uninspiring coins shaking the confidence of the populace. They look so good I wonder if anyone confused them with the solid argenteus that had been reintroduced at the same time.
@Tejas Some really nice pieces. How can you tell that the coins were struck at Lugdunum. Thank you. Merry Christmas!!
Nice new coins @Tejas - the silvering is indeed impressive. Now how long did it take for the silvering to wear off?
Not sure that I understand what you means. The style of the Lugdunum mint is easily recognisable in that period.
I don't know and I wondered about that myself. I guess not very long. They were minted within a span of some 2 to 4 years, but none of them shows any signs of wear. I shall ask the seller if he knows more about that group.
I've obtained antoniniani in various states of silvering, which are useful as visual aids when telling other people about how they were made. But, with those examples out of the way, I actually seek out antoniniani that have lost their silvering. I know that it's less representative of "Mint State", but I just find that they are more aesthetically pleasing when de-silvered.
I agree, I think it is the same with all ancient coins. Bright silver is usually less attractive and hence less desirable than a nice and even patina or toning.
I would agree that bronze coins have the potential to have way more eye appeal than silver, but of course, they also have the potential to look more like a turd than silver! The spectrums on how the metals age are much wider for bronze on both ends. But for me, with antoniniani in particular, it's not really about that. I like denarii just fine, but they are solid silver. It's something about the silver wash approach that is aesthetically unpleasing to me. I'm sure that the best of the best actual mint state examples look pretty nice, but anything short of that just looks gritty and shadowy to the point that I'd prefer the wash to have worn away.
The seller replied to my question, saying that the coins were found together in the French Département de l'Yonne (central France some 300 km north of Lyon), but unfortunately he had no more details.
This Maximian Follis is spectacular. Clearly UNC/mint condition. As "Cherd" said, if the silvering is partially preserved or fragmented this can look much worse than a coin with no silvering at all. However, the above coin is perfect and should command a substantial premium over pieces with black, brown or green patina. I noticed that it has the same kind of brown spots like my coins. I guess the coin was preserved under relatively dry conditions or at least without direct contact with the soil, perhaps in a clay pot or something.
