I enjoy finding errors as it breaks up the monotony of sorting through piles of coins (and helps keep you focused) and this week I have catalogued several errors. The first N in Constantine's name is an M. The missing T is from a clogged die. Constantine I A.D. 307 Ӕ follis 27mm 8.0g FL VAL CONSTANTINVS NOB C; laureate and cuirassed bust right. GENIO POP ROM; Genius standing left, tower on head, loins draped, r. holding patera, l. cornucopiae. In ex. PLN RIC VI London 88b; LMCC 5.01.008, 2nd ed. the engraver mistakenly gave Jupiter a reversed spear instead of the normal sceptre Diocletian A.D. 286 Ӕ Antoninianus 21x22mm 3.8g IMP C C VAL DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG; Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from rear. IOVI CONSERVAT AVGG; Jupiter standing left, holding thunderbolt and leaning on reversed spear; A in right field. RIC Vii Lyon 43 the engraver left out S from SEN(ior) in the obverse legend Maximianus A.D. 308-310 Æ Follis 23x25mm 5.4g IMP C MAXIMIANVS P F EN AVG; laureate head right. GENIO IMPERATORIS; Genius standing left, holding patera & cornucopiae; Kin left field, B over P in right field. In ex. ALE RIC VI Alexandria 102
Nice, I like errors too. The Diocletian - sceptre vs spear - is not isolated to a single die. Out of the 40 or so coins of the general type in my collection I have two other examples also with an inverted spear. The error seems to occur several times but is very much in the minority. I have not looked through all the plate coins in Bastien to determine the overall ratio but I suspect it occurs more often than we would otherwise suspect.
I didn't look in Bastien either. The Maximianus error is not isolated to a single die either. I just saw another example from different dies.
I just won a different type of error-- a uniface error occurred because two flans stuck together during the minting process; which later separated creating this error. The obverse is either Maximianus, Licinius, Maximinus or Constantine. Uncertain Tetrarchic ruler A.D. 310- 311 Ӕ follis 21mm 4.5g GENIO AVGVSTI CMH; Genius standing left, modius on head, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder, right holding patera from which liquid flows, left cornucopiae. In ex. SMNE RIC VI Nicomedia 66
