My coin cleaning is yielding many ordinary 4th century examples, but oddities and emperors that are new to me are still emerging. I post a few examples; reverses are generally boring or not yet clean. One appears to be Crispus...nice detail but mottled appearance. One is Julia Soaemias, murdered with her son around 222 AD. This one might be a silver alloy so I am reluctant to continue cleaning until I figure out how. The Constantius II has more detailed text than other examples I've seen. The chap with the spikey crown is unknown to me...any ideas on approximate date of such a coin?
The spiky guy looks like Gallienus but it would always help to post both sides since sometimes the reverse will confirm an ID. The Soaemias could be one of two things. If the silver you see is under the red material, the coin is a silver denarius and might respond well to short soaks in lemon juice followed by rubbing between your fingers or brushing with a really soft tooth brush and complete rinsing in clean water. That same technique could wreck the coin if the silver is on top of the red in which case the coin is plated and already cleaned down to base copper which would get rougher looking in an acid like lemon juice. In that case, I'd leave it alone. You might tell looking directly or, better yet, using a stereo microscope. The rough method would be to scratch into the red and see if there is silver underneath or into the silver and see if there is red. If you do decide that the coin is silver under red dirt, go slow and try hard not to scratch the silver. Soaemias is not the cheapest denarius so you want to keep it looking as good as possible.
Very cool, already liking the Julia Soaemias. Would like to see the reverses also. Good luck with the continued cleaning and post progress pics. Its something ive thought about maybe trying since I have more free time.
Yes, the spiked crown is a radiate Gallienus antoninianus from 260-268 AD. From the darkest days of the crisis of the third century.
Great to get ID and background Well, that is most satisfying to know. I've just cleaned another Gallienus, not quite as interesting as this one. Thank you very much.
What are these? This is my only Roman coin. I got it a flea market for 50 cents. Is it worth anything? I know they made tons of them. View attachment 88514 View attachment 88513
Sorry they didn't work. Try here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kostynracing/3160542827 http://www.flickr.com/photos/kostynracing/3161378378 Let me know if you can view them there. Thanks Ben
That's pretty good for 50 cents. I would have paid a couple of bucks for it. The coin depicts Constantius Gallus, who was Caesar from 351-354 AD. The reverse shows a soldier spearing a falling horseman with the legend "FEL TEMP REPARATIO," which roughly means "The Return of Happy Times." The mintmark, which is below the figures, is partially cut off, so I can't tell you the mint, though someone with more experience may be able to tell from the style.
A pleasant looking but extremely common late Roman coin like this is well worth 50 cents and perhaps more like $5. The mint mark is partial as are the main legends but their readings can be reconstructed which is more than can be said for most coins of this type we see offered for anything near the price. Ancient coins are not nearly as consistantly priced as are modern US. There are those who will try to sell such coins for $50 citing the fact that they are interesting historical mementos of a time 1700 years ago. Others will point out that there are a million of the things including thousands that look better than this one and not all that many people wanting them. What is the 'value'? I'd buy a bunch at 50 cents and very few at $5 but value is not set by only one collector.
I'll add that the type and legends are identical to the same coin from Constantius II. You can tell them apart because Constantius II wears a pearl diadem on his, whereas his brother-in-law Gallus is always bare-headed. When the three sons of Constantine (Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans) inherited the empire, there was a big purge in the family. Everyone else with a possible claim to the purple was bumped off in quick succession. Only a couple of notables survived, including Gallus who was too young to be targeted at the time. Years later, he served as a Caesar under Constantius II and married Constantina. But he too met a sticky end when he made an ill-advised grab for power.
Thanks for all of the information! I have a coin that's 1700 years old and I can still pull it out and show it to someone without worrry. I knew the value wouldn't be more than $5 or $10 because of the reasons you list above. I love that the legend on the reverse shows the death of a soldier and legend "The Return of Happy Times." It's so much history in such a small coin. I'll check back to see if I can round up a few more coins in this condition from the flea market and be lurking in this forum to learn more. Hey, a coin worth 10 TIMES more than I paid is one of my best buys ever! Thanks again! Ben Jenkins
Although those 2 coins are poorly shaped, the portrayals are much more interesting than the equivalents I have (which are in much better condition). The rendering of both "fallen horseman" and the emperor are spectacular. Wonder if mine are just slightly different region or era?
The type was issued for about 15 years from 15 mints. If you count minor variations a complete set would be about 2300 coins. Style varies a lot from place to place and timt to time. This is a nice collection: http://homepage.bluewin.ch/helvetica-coins/feltemps.htm
