A couple of days ago I was doing my usual trawl through the many pages of coins on ebay, and came across an entry for a coin of Allectus, a person high on my wishlist, with a terrible photograph and very little interest. After pondering it for a while I decided to throw a bid in and see what happened, knowing that I could be getting a dud, but also aware that I could attribute the piece from the pictures and that it would be welcome in my collection even if it was as rough as it potentially could have been. I was successful with a comical total cost of £23.56, and sat back expecting a long wait. This afternoon it plopped through the letter box, and after a very quick once over to see how stubborn the soil deposits on it were, I couldn't resist snapping a quick picture. RIC 22 IMP C ALLECTVS PF AVG LAETITIA AVG - Laetitia, draped, standing left, holding wreath in right hand and anchor or baton in left hand S/A//ML - London 21mm, 4.46g Found by a detectorist in Sibley Hill, Wiltshire It has a beautiful thick green patina, a fair amount of honest wear, but overall it will be very attractive when it is properly cleaned up. Share your coins that were a gamble that paid off, your coins of Allectus, or any other usurpers you may have.
I paid $27 for mine. Yours is better. Allectus (293 - 296 A.D.) Billon antoninianus O: IMP C ALLECTVS P F AVG, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. R: PROVIDENTIA AVG, Providentia standing left, globe in right hand, cornucopia in left hand, S in left field, P in right field, ML in exergue. Londinium (London, England) mint 21mm 2.52g RIC V-2 36
I got this Macrianus for a relatively low price... Macrianus, A.D. 260-261 Type: AE antoninianus, 22 mm 3.1 grams, Antioch mint. Obverse: IMP C FVL MACRIANVS P F AVG, radiate cuirassed bust right Reverse: APOLINI CONSERVA, Apollo standing left holding branch and resting hand on lyre set on a low column. Reference: RIC 6; RSC 2; Sear 10799.
I don't know what I paid for this Allectus, but I hope it wasn't very much!!!! ALLECTUS Antoninianus OBVERSE: IMP C ALLECTVS P F AVG, radiate, cuirassed bust right REVERSE: VIRTVS AVG, galley rowing left, QC in ex. Struck at Camulodunum 293-6 AD 1.2g, 16mm RIC 128
Using wooden toothpicks, and Andre's Pencils, along with cotton buds, distilled water and a magnifier. For coins with good patina and where the material is just impacted soil of one sort or another, you can often get by with using the abrasive pencils that come in the Andre set to gently agitate the soil, being careful not to continue rubbing through the dirt and into the surface of the coins. When working around fine details, I use the brass chisel end pencil. For the finest details, regardless of what people say about not using anything harder than the material of the coin itself, you have to use a sharp implement and a very steady hand. I usually stop somewhat before what someone might classify as fully cleaned, as I would rather have a few stubborn spots I can work on when I have more experience and better tools than a scratched patina. I use a light toothbrush to brush away the dust if that is appropriate, in some cases I find I have to use a rinse in distilled water followed by a paper towel or cotton buds to pick up the muck.
Hmmm. Most coins of Allectus go for between $250 and $900 or so in very fine condition - so you got quite a deal I'm sure.
Further to what I wrote above about cleaning: The things I describe are only suitable in my experience for the kinds of coins you get from detectorists in stray field finds. They coins you get often in 'uncleaned lots' are the worst of the worst for thick, black much that is more like concrete than what I am working with. For that sort of thing, I just won't bother after having tried once. I am also looking for a professional coin cleaner in the UK to do a proper job on a couple of very rare pieces I have, but I have no luck in my search at all.
Very nice Allectus @thejewk! The only ursurper in my collection: Postumus 260-269 AR Antoninianus struck 267 AD 3,68g/23mm IMP C POSTVMVS P F AVG bust of Postumus, radiate, draped, cuirassed, right MONETA AVG Moneta, draped, standing left, holding scales in right hand and cornucopiae in left hand. Ric 75
I found this piece online by Andrew Burnett and published by the British Numismatic Society which offers some speculation regarding Allectus' coinage and reign and a decent catalogue of types: https://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital BNJ/pdfs/1984_BNJ_54_5.pdf
This is my only Allectus. I can't explain it but I've always had an attraction for ships on coins...however I don't have the sea legs...(paid 33$)
Mine was $77 in 2013 from a 'name' dealer not known for bargains but it is a common Pax and I suspect anything not Pax is in higher demand for Carausius and Allectus. I might note that coins of anything remotely British often sell for more in the UK than in the US. I avoided UK mint coins from UK sources for most of the last 20 years for this reason.
To be perfectly honest, I think most coins of Carausius and Allectus being offered online by retailers are grotesquely overpriced in most cases, and I can't imagine many of them actually selling. The more common types are found with regularity by detectorists as stray finds, and if you keep an eye on ebay UK you'll always find some available, and most coins in middling condition sell regularly at auction for around £70 before fees. Of course the nice ones and rarer types can be very expensive, and so far the efforts to catalogue them have been less than comprehensive. I am eagerly awaiting the new RIC volume by Sam Moorhead which will be featuring the coin in my avatar, but I have no idea when it will come out.
