Saturday Night Free For All

It’s Saturday… what’s everyone working on? Here’s a new coin… not perfect, as the reverse legend is somewhat off flan but still nice.


Aurelian - VIRT MILITVM
Autumn 273 ad
Rome - RIC V-1 56

 

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Here are a couple of my most recently photographed and composed. A couple Greek and one Roman:

 

On this Saturday... admiring this Severina! A very beautiful coin. What's everyone working on tonight?

 

Nice coin!

As mentioned in the other topic, Im currently contemplating my collection, starting the process of selling some coins and updating my wishlist. All the while premier league football was on, Liverpool is doing horrible...
Im still waiting for two recent purchases/wins: a severan dynastic issue and a dupondius of Nero with the Macellum Magnum.

 

Hi all, how's the Saturday going?

This coin is interesting... can you guess why? ...before you click the linked thread below..

Answer HERE.

 

WOW!! Nice!!!

 

...wow i say too...man....on LRB's i often scoffed at the notion of someone making copies of cheap coins...but that proof is in the pudding there...ole @Heliodromus did his homework on those/that deal

 

Hey all,
Long time, no Saturday Night Free for all. I post here and there but coin time has been scarce. Figured I'd revive this thread for fun. What's everyone working on?

I'm working on this Diocletian from London. I think it's a RIC VI 6a... but struggling on identifying it in LMoC&C as either 1.03.001 or as a 2.01.003.


Also, finding examples to match a new favorite... my Julian Bull. This one sat in US customs in LA from July 12th until September 3rd. Almost gave up hope but glad to add it.

Hope everyone is doing well. I'm here and NF. Although posting occasionally on each, I'm mainly lurking lately.

 

Those are both great coins @Orange Julius . I especially like your Julian Bull coin. Antioch, yes?

Here is mine.


I have also been lurking around more than posting due to being busy. I typically have more time for coins in the fall and winter so hopefully I’ll have the chance to catch up on photos and research for my 2023 additions. Good to see you posting.

 

I really love your Julian. What's funny is my favorite detail is the hump on the bull which is covered by encrustations on my coin. That's a beautiful coin. And... really what better mint to have than Antioch!? Those beard-haters made beautiful coins. If only Julian survived that spear, found victory... how would history have changed?

 

Wow - unexpected - thanks for the post!

 

One nice thing about having a Julian II bull from the mint of Antioch is that we have a famous contemporary account of the citizens of Antioch complaining about those coins. He was on his way through town to fight the Persians:

"The Antiochenes not bearing the insult – for they are a people naturally impatient with insult – instantly broke forth into invectives against Julian, caricaturing his beard, which was a very long one, and saying that it ought to be cut off and manufactured into ropes. They added that the bull, which was impressed upon his coin, was a symbol of his having desolated the world. For the emperor, being excessively superstitious, was continually sacrificing bulls on the altars of his idols, and had ordered the impression of a bull and altar to be made on his coin.” The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus Chapter XVII.

Sadly, my better example of the type is from Nikpolis, not Antioch:

 

The square one I like the most

 

LMCC 1.03.001 is RIC VI 6a and LMCC 2.01.003 is RIC VI 6a and 16a. They combine both RIC numbers because RIC separates the two on bust distinctions (smaller vs. larger) which are pretty arbitrary and are actually engraver differences rather than chronological differences.

 

Thanks for the citation! I love finding a good rabbit hole to climb down. I’ll be reading through this for sure. Here’s a link to the text. I’m not sure if the link will take you right to the page… but the above quote is from Book III Chapter XVII, page 195.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000003089566&seq=221

 

Thanks Victor! Yeah I love LMCC as a resource but with this coin, I was a bit lost. Those RIC 6a coins stretch across several groups in the reference. There are just so many unmarked early London coin variations (love em but wowzers). I finally DM’ed Lee directly to ask. I’ll follow up if I get a reply. Thanks!

 

Love the ticket.

 

So let’s get Saturday rolling. This one’s not new or expensive but rather a coin that shows you don’t need to spend much ($11 for this one) to collect rare and interesting coins.

Here’s a rare/scarce dated coin (259 AD) of Gallienus with “GER” in the obverse legend.

Obverse legend: IMP GALLIENVS P AVG GER. Radiate bust of Gallienus right
Obverse translation: “Imperator Gallienus Pius Augustus Germanicus”
Reverse legend: P M TR P - VII COS // [MP?] Veiled and toga-clad Gallienus standing left, holding a short transverse scepter in his left hand and a patera in his right hand, sacrificing above an adorned and lighted altar.
Göbl 1239f/1316f (mint mark off flan), RIC V-1 459v Milan
259 AD

 

JAIME I. (1213-1276 AD). Spanish States
Obverse: ARAGON., bust of King Jaime, crowned and draped, left.
Reverse: IACOBVS REX., cross of Caravaca, (Patriarchal Cross).
1 Denier (1/240th Libra), Billon.
1.09g. 18mm. Jaca mint, (1085-1340), Spain. CRU # 318.

 

Is that supposed to be a crown?