An Otho from Antioch?

Hello ladies and gentlemen,
Otho is not present in my albums, this shouldn't be a big surprise as we all know the prices for his coins .... so my target was a provincial, the good old Antioch was the biggest possibility.

Just won this


The description is "Syria, Seleucis and Pieria. Antiochia ad Orontem. Otho?. A.D. 69. Æ 14.97gr" so they are fully covered with the "?"alibi.

As usual on Antioch coins, the legend is incomplete and irrelevant in this case.
My winning bid was not very cheap for a worn Antioch ... but quite a bargain for an Otho from Antioch.
I am still not convinced this is an Otho coin and not Nero for example.
Could it be https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/4318 ?

 

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Looking carefully at the nose and mouth area, it does seem to strongly resemble the Otho from the reference you gave.

 

That's my idea too, thank you for looking. Domitian, Nero and Claudius have (somehow) similar portraits.
The legend would have been a major plus, but this would surely made the coin a 3 figures price.

 

..i'm at a loss to ID it.. but i like the countermark

 

Will have to check it in hand, no idea what that is ... and I suspect this will remain the same with the coin in hand.

 

Juice up the lighting and see if it makes a difference for anyone else.

 

Bought this coin as an Otho from Antioch:

 

Looks like Otho to me: I think it is RPC 4320 seeing the positioning of the V and O on the obverse to left of the portrait.

 

Thanks, I will take a photo of the coin when it arrives.
So it appears it really is an Otho coin? not bad with all the imperfections.

Thank you as well for looking... I would need to study it when it arrives - on what remains from the legend I see it starting with IM... and ending with a G, going clockwise. 4320 appears to be counter-clockwise.

 

Ozie, I think your Aes is most likely an Otho issue. McAlee illustrates an example with a dot left of the head that can be seen on your coin too, 321(c)/1.

 

For me, this is good news as a new emperor is welcome.
I will think if the coin should be soaked in distilled water - perhaps the deposits would disappear easier.
From checking different Otho coins, I think the countermark should be an anchor.

 

Nice new Otho! I saw it up for sale and don't know why they had the question mark. It's an Otho.
Thanks to their lame identification you got that thing for a song I see!!!
My dad gave this to me as a Nero years ago. I was able to identify it as Otho and gave it back to him.
You can see the IMP M O(THO):

 

Thank you Ryro... to bad your coin is incomplete.
Frankly I wasn't convinced it's an Otho.
I can't wait to receive the coin - I intend to clean it but using the least aggressive method. Would a soak in distilled water or olive oil for a few weeks remove the crud? Cleaning is not my area.

 

Take a look at AC search of you need more convincing.
https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&currency=usd&order=0
What do you mean incomplete
I wouldn't recommend cleaning... But if you must, let it sit in distilled water for a week or see and scrub it with a toothbrush.
I'd be interested to get a better look at that countermark. That type often has Athena countermarked...

 

Here's a much crappies example than yours, a write up on the countermark and this one sold for near 5x what you got your example for. But you can see the countermark better:

The Athena countermark appears on several issues of the bronzes from Antioch mint and Howgego suggests, because of the connection of Domitian with Minerva, that this is an imperial countermark. He believes it was applied at Antioch between A.D. 83 and A.D.96. It has no denominational significance as it occurs on both denominations of SC coinage. This coin is lacking legend because of wear but is obviously Otho's portrait.
($130-150)

 

I wasn't convinced when bidding, but after getting replies on CT I am convinced I added a new face in the collection
I am also interested about the countermark. The picture is bad, even with the extra brightness added by Mat, but it could be Athena or an anchor, like on this one
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=6096765

 

I agree with you - RPC 4319 is a better fit.

 

Thanks @Sulla80 , but I eliminated 4319 as the average weight is 7.21 g
My coin is 14.97 g. The house doesn't mention the size.

 

that certianly convinces me that 4318 is the answer - LOL.

 

A few years ago, I bought this Otho in an auction; pretty worn but a very good price. Years later I refocused my collection and sold it. The buyer called me back later to tell me: « I looked at the coin with a microscope, reread the obverse legend and it fits Nerva not Otho ! »
I trusted him and gave him back a good discount….So it seems I’m not very qualified to attribute your specimen…