Well no, actually, it was the smallest show I have ever been to. One guy had a couple hundred ancients of which maybe ten would have followed me home at $10 each. I ended up buying two (the other was shown on another thread here) mostly because the dealer is a friend and the guy who makes the local clubs survive so I wanted to buy something. That is a problem with shows - you feel funny going home empty so you buy something The coin is an antoninianus of Maximianus when he first joined Diocletian as co-Augustus and became associated with Hercules along with Diocletian's association with Jupiter. We see more of his coins showing two reverse figures so I do not mind having this solo Hercules. The coin is only moderately well struck but has little wear. Unfortunately it is a classic example of the ugly stage silver washed coins pass through when they start to lose their silvering. It would be a prettier coin if entirely brown but it is what it is. RIC 437 page 270 (Lugdunum mint) allows more than one placement of the C or its absence without changing the RIC number. I do not know the meaning of the C. (Help, please.) Hercules is shown with his club resting on a rock. His lion skin is slightly indicated around his forearm.
I always appreciate Doug's descriptions of his thought processes. Thanks for telling us about the show.
I have no business sense whatsoever. Seeing the number of people present and the number of them buying and the small number of tables sold, I wonder how anyone made money. I know that coin clubs might just enjoy doing something like this but someone has to pay the bills. I miss the brick and mortar coin stores I frequented years ago (the ones with ancients and old men who knew them). I'll miss coin shows (other than the massive ones) unless they figure out a way to outlast me. If a table cost $90, how much do you have to sell to make it worth doing? Same question for big shows with $1000 or whatever it is now (plus hotels, travel, food etc.).....
Awesome addition, Doug => Herc looks fantastic!! (congrats) => that's what happens when my wife and I drop-by the local craft-shows in town (we pretty much know everybody, so you look like a cheapskate if you don't buy "something") ... we have quite a few of these items waiting for our next garage sale (hopefully the person we bought it from won't drop-by and see it laying in the box of dime-sale items) ... your coin-day sounds fun (congrats again on a cool pickup)
Maybe the letter C on left field of reverse could refer to Colonia, hinting that Lugdunum is a Roman colony.
Here is mine with D. The mint was using A, B, C and D and the officina marks. C does appear in exe. too
There is also a backwards C, A, P, B, S, III. The listings in RIC is a jumbled mess not helped by the fact that officinae used significantly different types or different enough details that they are listed separately. I will be interested in seeing how any new edition of RIC chooses to organize them all.
i went to a "coin show" that was one dealer and the 15 or so members of a coin club. i got the impression they were doing this every so often just to shoot the breeze. there were two ancient coins i found in the "junk tub", they were worn slick lrb for 4 bucks each. i still got this for a buck.
I had a Maximianus coin at one time with a Hercules reverse but it was different from the one you're showing: This one has the legend HERCVLI INVICTO AVGG.
