Between my increased responsibilities at work and the end-of-semester rush, I've withdrawn somewhat from posting here and elsewhere on this site. With that being said, it has been some time since I have posted a thread here in the Ancient Coins forum. To that end, I figured that my most recent purchases would be an ample opportunity to share with the community. Overall, the past few months have also been kind to me in the context of my numismatic interests. For instance, I have had the good fortune to acquire a trio of Roman Imperial coins without breaking the bank courtesy of Victor Clark's eBay store. Generally speaking, I'm not a specialized collector by any means, as my range of numismatic interests embodies a series of contrasts, as evidenced by my purchases, whether it be ancients or paper money. 1/3 Licinius I A.D. 311-313 Obverse: IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS P F AVG; laureate head right. Reverse: GENIO AVGVSTI; Genius standing left, modius on head, naked but for chlamys over l. shoulder, r. holding patera, l. cornucopiae; to l. altar; Δ in right field. In exergue SMN Diameter: 21x22mm Weight 4.8g RIC VI Nicomedia 71a 2/3 Severus Alexander A.D. 226 Ӕ Sestertius Obverse: IMP CAES M AVR SEV ALEXANDER AVG; laureate and draped bust right. Reverse: P M TR P V COS II P P S-C; Pax running l., holding olive-branch and sceptre. Diameter: 26x28mm Weight: 20g RIC IV Rome 465 3/3 Philip I A.D. 244 - 249 Æ Sestertius Obverse: IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG; Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Reverse: FIDES EXERCITVS S-C; Four standards. Diameter: 25x27mm Weight: 14.7g RIC IV Rome 171a With all that being said, be sure to share your recent impulse purchases or whatever coins you feel are relevant to this thread.
I like them, especially the sestertii. My last auction was a mix of impulse purchases and coins I was hunting, but most of these ones were lost due to hammer prices I didn't like. Some impulse purchases Illyria. Dyrrhachion circa 229-100 BC. Victoriatus AR 18 mm, 3,16 g Attribution: SNG Copenhagen 467 Date: 229-100 BC Obverse: MENIΣKOΣ; Cow standing right, suckling calf, raven flying right above Reverse: ΔYP / ΔI / NY / ΣIOY around double stellate pattern within linear square border Saw it in live auction, never noticed this coin before, liked it, got it. Wasn't sure I want this coin or not - it's very artistic, but the condition wasn't very encouraging from pics. I decided to bid having quite a low threshold and won it. The coin is a little better in hand. Euboea. Histiaia circa 338-304 BC. Tetrobol AR 14 mm, 1,94 g obv. head of nymph Histaia to right, wreathed with vine, hair rolled, rev. nymph Histaia seated to right on stern of galley, wing on galley around IΣTIAIEΩN (cf.S.2496, BCD Euboia 387ff, HGC 4, 1524); I can call this an impulse purchase. Or a bid by mistake. Aelius coins are not common and quality specimens are not in my price range. I wanted one for a while but they rarely appear in the auctions I watch. I wanted to bid on other Aelius, the one coming next in line, with a Pietas reverse. I wasn't fully paying attention and I saw Aelius, clicked Bid Now. For some reason, I won, and the price was well within my limits. Aelius, as Caesar AD 136-138. Rome Denarius AR 18 mm, 2,80 g RIC II, Part 3 (second edition) Hadrian 2645-2646 Old RIC II Hadrian 434 Obverse Legend: L AELIVS CAESAR Type: Head of Lucius Aelius Caesar, right Reverse Legend: TR POT COS II Type: Salus standing left, holding patera and sceptre; to left, altar with snake coiled around This was a clear definition of "impulse". Didn't have a Philip II coin and I kinda liked the portrait. The reverse is bad but I don't think that's BD, even if it looks this way. Philip II, as Caesar AD 244-246. Rome Sestertius Æ 30 mm, 14,16 g RIC IV Philip I 255 Date Range: AD 244 - AD 246 Obverse Legend: M IVL PHILIPPVS CAES Type: Bust of Philip II, bare-headed, draped, right Portrait: Philip II Reverse Legend: PRINCIPI IVVENTVT S C Type: Philip II, in military attire, standing right, holding transverse spear in right hand and globe in left hand
I missed this thread earlier - I'm all about impulse purchases. That's pretty much my only kind of ancient purchase. Nice coins in this thread so far, so I'll toss in some of mine to bring down the neighborhood. Here's a recent one - at a bit over $4 I thought it was worth it because of the Aelius as with Spes. The Elagabalus "standards" from Nicacea is a bit rough, but has a really nice portrait. The Trajan as is pretty much a loss - that's Victory with an SPQR shield on the reverse, but I can't prove it! The Elagabalus: Elagabalus Æ 22 n.d. (218-222 A.D.) Bithynia, Nicaea M AVP ANTΩNINOC AVΓ, laureate head to right / ΝI-ΚΑ-ΙΕ-ΩΝ between three legionary standards, (3-3-3 badges; 3-3-3 bars each), all three topped with crowns. RPC VI, 3128 (temporary). (4.10 grams / 22 mm) And here is the Pièce de résistance, Aelius with an acne problem: Aelius (Caesar) Æ As (137 A.D.) Rome Mint [L A]ELIVS C[AESAR], bare head right / [T]R [POT] C[OS II], S C, Spes walking left, holding flower and raising hem of skirt. RIC II.3 2700 (RIC 1067a (as)). (9.65 grams / 23 mm) Here's another "impulse" purchase. This one came from a seller in the Czech Republic I buy from now and again. Great service, but description is minimal. I thought this might be a sestertius, but to my surprise, it was an as, which is actually a bit scarcer, I think. Trebonianus Gallus as with the Apollo Salvtari reverse: Trebonianus Gallus Æ As (251-253 A.D.) Rome Mint IMP CAE C VIB TREB GALLVS AVG laureate, draped & cuirassed bust right / APOLL SALVTARI, S-C, Apollo standing left with branch, leaning on lyre on rock. RIC 104b var. (As, APOLL rev.). (7.90 grams / 23 mm) Attribution Note: Obv. legend: CAE / VIB / TREB Rev. legend: APOLL without O RIC 104b: Short obv. legends, but only APOLLO reverse. Only As denomination listing. RIC 103: Long obv. legend (for Sestertius only), with APOLL reverse, no As denomination. I already had the sestertius version, so I photographed them together. Not very lovely, but an interesting type - it is speculated this was issued in response to a plague. Both of mine feature mutilated portraits - damnatio memoriae?
I apologize for not responding to your post earlier; I must say that is an impressive group for $4. Although in my opinion, your Aelius looks more like Gus Fring post-mortem than a teenager with a severe acne problem.
Nice pickups @Bradley Trotter ! I especially like the follis of Licinius, it has great detail and near-full silvering. I've picked up 4 coins over the last 2 weeks, all sestertii. However, they are definitely not what I would consider impulse purchases. Here's a little preview, #1/4. Nerva AE Sestertius RIC III 88 Photo taken by Numismatica Ars Classica
