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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DonnaML, post: 8277712, member: 110350&quot;]I heard back from Julien Cougnard, the proprietor of Odysseus Numismatique. With his permission, this is what he said:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;I don&#039;t have the Depeyrot book, but I have the Vinchon 1966 catalog so I looked today and indeed it&#039;s absolutely the same coin, there is no doubt. The weird shape of the L could be due to several things : old photographic technique, light, printing... but my best bet would simply be a sticky little dirt that was there when the picture has been taken, and with the uniformity of colors and textures + the &quot;molded look&quot; of vintage coin photography, we can&#039;t really distinguish it.</p><p><br /></p><p>I also knew that the previous owner kept buying few coins in auction houses between the 60s and 80s, so it matches. . . .</p><p><br /></p><p>I can assure you that it&#039;s 100% the same coin, it&#039;s obvious when you look at the flan.</p><p><br /></p><p>Unfortunately we don&#039;t see it much better on the Vinchon catalog, due to low print resolution.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>I recommend his website, by the way; he sells both ancient coins and ancient Roman intaglios, seals, jewelry, etc. See <a href="https://odysseus-numismatique.com/en/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://odysseus-numismatique.com/en/" rel="nofollow">https://odysseus-numismatique.com/en/</a>. He also sells on MA-Shops. I&#039;ve bought several items from him besides this solidus.</p><p><br /></p><p>So I really have no doubts at this point regarding the provenance. It&#039;s a good thing I decided to buy a copy of Depeyrot II, based on Sear&#039;s reference to it in the RCV catalog entry bearing the closest resemblance to my coin. Little did I know that it would turn out that Depeyrot specifically cites my coin, and its sale at a specific auction in 1966, allowing me to find the provenance.</p><p><br /></p><p>My updated description, without the footnotes:</p><p><br /></p><p>Valentinian I, AV Solidus, 365 AD [Sear, Depeyrot] (reigned 364-375 AD), Antioch Mint, 3rd Officina. Obv. Rosette-diademed (with square &amp; round rosettes separated by ovoid pearls), draped, &amp; cuirassed bust right, D N VALENTINI-ANVS P F AVG [<i>Dominus Noster Valentinianus Pius Felix Augustus</i>] / Rev. Valentinian, in military attire, standing facing, head right, holding labarum or vexillum ornamented with “T” [uneven/Tau cross?] in right hand* and, in outstretched left hand, Victory standing left on globe, holding up crowning wreath towards emperor, RESTITVTOR – REIPVBLICAE around; in exergue, ANTΓ [Antioch Mint, 3rd Officina**].&nbsp; RIC IX (1951) Antioch 2b (var. unlisted) ***; Sear RCV V 19267 at p. 294 (rosette-diademed, with no cross in the reverse left field, no stars or dots in the reverse exergue, and known from Officina 3, as well as Officina 10) (citing Depeyrot); Depeyrot II Antioch 23/1 Valentinian I (p. 281) (examples with this mint-mark, without stars or dots, &amp; monogrammed cross in labarum rather than Chi-Ro, known from Officinas 3 [citing 1966 sale of this coin] &amp; 10) [Depeyrot, George, <i>Les Monnaies d&#039;Or de Constantin II à Zenon (337-491)</i> (Wetteren 1996)]. 21.2 mm., 4.44 g. <i>Purchased from Odysseus Numismatique [Julien Cougnard], Montpellier, France, Feb. 2022, “from an old Parisian collection”; ex. Maison Vinchon Auction Sale, Mon. 25 April 1966, Hotel Drouot, Paris, Lot 257 (sold for 780 French francs, = $159.16 in 1966 U.S. dollars).</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p>So this is now how far back I can document the provenances of my five ancient gold coins: Vespasian (1910), Antoninus Pius (2015), Valentinian I (1966), Arcadius (1960), and Honorius (1998). Certainly further back, on average, than most of my other ancient coins, with a few exceptions like my one 1887 East Harptree Hoard siliqua and my ex. Dattari Collection Phoenix tetradrachm cited in the 1901 Dattari book.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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