Featured A Stupendous Act of Generosity from a CT Member: 32 Ancients Show Up in the Mail

LaCointessa · Apr 6, 2020

Marsyas Mike said: ↑

In January I received a PM from CT member tenbobbit, asking if I was interested in a batch of ancients. I told him I'd look them over, warning him I'm a cheapskate bottom-feeder and I didn't want to insult him with a lowball offer. He sent over the photos and said he wanted to send them to me for free! I was astonished - but agreed, of course. A few days later a huge envelope came in the mail...

In our PM's, tenbobbit asked that I don't get carried away on this post, so I will just say, as I told him, I haven't had this much fun opening a package since my 10th birthday when I got a Marx Blue & Gray Civil War playset (which I still have). Thank you, tenbobbit!

Each carefully, individually wrapped:

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I've never had a big lot of ancients like this, and I found myself reacting in an array of ways as I opened up each one. I thought I would cover the various reactions I have to this collection - not necessarily the "best" coins, but the ones that best cover the range, and the ones that most delighted me.

So here goes, in no particular order (I'll keep the attributions to a minimum on some of these to save space):

Colors: Gordian III Æs: Here is a pair of Gordian III's, an as (RIC 298b) and a sestertius (RIC 307a). I've wanted an as from this reign for a while - they are a bit scarce compared to the big ones and I just hadn't come across a budget one (well, I did, but the eBay seller never shipped it, so I got a refund). Notable about these two are the dramatic patina on both - the green on the sestertius is great, but never had I seen one like on the as - a kind of slate-gray-blue. Just lovely!
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Countermark! I am very fond of countermarks, and the extensive series of Antigonos II Gonatas. I have a couple of these, but this is my nicest one in terms of the host coin, which is of a lovely style (some of these can be a bit crude). It even has a lagobolon symbol on the right reverse - the Ancient Rabbit-Bashing Stick of the Greeks. A great face on that Pan, don't you think?
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The Appeal of the Incomplete: Seleucid Æ 18: As soon as I opened this one up, I sort of swooned a bit. Seleucid Æs have really been appealing to me anyway - something about all that Greek lettering flanking a little god usually leaning on a tripod or a bow or sitting on an omphalos, usually not entirely on the flan. Here we have Hermes standing on a base.

Despite it's small size, this one has a kind of monumental-looking flan. It occurred to me that it reminds me of the Rosetta Stone - which is far more interesting to me broken than intact. Can't defend this appeal (or the collecting strategies behind it), but with ancients, there is something about the lost or the occluded that really turns me on. And this one is great, especially the reverse. I believe this is Demetrios III c. 97-87 B.C., SC 2456; Hoover 1312.
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Rosetta Stone photo from Wikipedia, Hans Hillewaert

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The Appeal of Place - Jerusalem?: Remarkably, out of the whole lot, only one coin had been over-cleaned. This one perhaps had suffered from bronze disease. It was still quite interesting, what with it's architectural reverse, but what really lit me up was when I found it was from Aelia Capitolina, what the Romans called Jerusalem after they'd sacked it for a second time. They scraped off the Temple Mount and put up a big temple to Jupiter. History and its catastrophes! This was very difficult to photograph - it looks much better in hand.

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This appears to be a rather scarce variety, and so I am not 100% sure of the attribution, so I am including everything, including my rationales under the photo (a single Agora Auction listing). Any corrections, as always, would be appreciated.

Elagabalus Æ 23
(c. 218-222 A.D.)
Judea, Aelia Capitolina
[IMP] C M A ANTONIN[VS] radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / [COL AEL CAP?] in ex., temple, Tyche-Astarte standing left, holding small bust & scepter; two figures of Nike between columns.
(8.26 grams / 23 mm)

Attribution Note:

This type usually has reverse legend around temple; this one has it in the exergue. Only example I found was:
Agora Auction Lot 53-103.
cf. Kadman 31; cf. Meshorer, Aelia 53; cf. Sofaer 123.
Noted as "Unpublished in standard references"

Herennius Etruscus from Antioch: For a while now I have been watching CT posts of these Imperial tetradrachms from Antioch and I've been watching them on eBay, but they keep lofting out of my price range. Thanks to this wonderful gift, I not only have one, but it is from Herennius Etruscus, a guy who is kind of hard to find for a bottom-feeder like me. It took a little work attributing this, since it is a new type for me, but I think I figured it out: Prieur 632; McAlee 1153c with three dots below bust.

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An Unlisted Faustina II Dupondius? This one is a bit of a puzzle - I could only find it as an As, but the weight would indicated a dupondius. It has a lovely green patina which hides the color of the original metal, so I was hoping Roman Collector would weigh in with one of his masterful analyses. I found one very similar to it in a Nachfolger auction (see below) - mine is actually heavier.
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Faustina II Æ Dupondius
(161-176 A.D.)
Rome Mint
FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right / [DIANA LVCIFERA] -C, Diana standing right holding long torch in both hands.
RIC 1632 var. (dupondius?)
(13.36 grams / 23 x 21 mm)
Attribution Note: This type is only listed in RIC as an as. But the weight of this specimen makes it likely it is a dupondius. See:
Dr. Busso Peus Nachfolger
E-Auction 420 Lot 5326 Nov. 18, 2017
dupondius (possible die match?), weight 11.76 grams.
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4550011

A Faustina I as was included (RIC 1178) - making for a nice mother-daughter pairing. Note the As is bigger than the dupondius, but weighs 9.62 grams.
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Part II follows (10 photo limit maxed me out)...
Click to expand...

WOWZERS!!!!! Wonderful. Such generosity!! Congrats!!

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Featured A Stupendous Act of Generosity from a CT Member: 32 Ancients Show Up in the Mail

LaCointessa Well-Known Member

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Featured A Stupendous Act of Generosity from a CT Member: 32 Ancients Show Up in the Mail

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