Today I bought this coin at a coinfair. It was found in the Netherlands. The obverse is totally obliterated, I can't find head or toes about it, but there should be a head of Augustus or Tiberius on it. It has a countermark TIB. The reverse is fairly clear for a countermarked coin, it shows the altar of Lugdunum with a wreath flanked by palm branches and little men, and topped by two Victories. Underneath is the inscription ROM ET AVG. It's smallish, only about 20 mm, and it weighs 7.30 gr., that's o.k. for an as. Do you have any ideas about it? Please!
By it's weight and diameter it seems to be a semis (half an As) both Augustus and Tiberius issued them, that could be a TIB (Tiberius) counterstamp over an Augustus obverse.
I agree with AncientAussie, although I don't know the coin well. There are two versions, right? One with the bust of Augustus and another with the bust of Tiberius, struck under Augustus? It makes sense that the OP coin would be Augustus with a TIB stamp rather than Tiberius bust with Tiberius stamp... assuming the TIB countermark means Tiberius as in the second emperor of the Roman empire and not some other meaning/person.
Probably the best way of telling is to measure across the die stamp on reverse between two columns victories are standing on, mine is 9mm, if yours is bigger than that it is a cut down As.
AUGUSTUS AE As OBVERSE: CAESAR PONT MAX, laureate head right REVERSE: Altar of Lugdunum, Victory on each pedestal, ROM ET AVG below Lugdunum 15-10 BC 8.4g, 26mm RIC 230
My coin is oval, I now measured it exactly: it is between 21.5 and 23 mm in diameter. The distance between the two columns is 9 mm, not more, not less.
I now believe this is the right aspect of the obverse. The head must be offcenter to the right and down: And then the obv-rev-ratio is 6h.
From that I am sure your coin is an As, maybe slightly lighter in weight as portrait ground or worn down, but I would be happy with a coin like that as probably unique, congrats.
Thanks, but please could you make clear to me what is unique about it? I bought it yesterday (for 5 bucks) because I don't have early Imperial countermarked coins that are so small, and the reverse has been preserved well. On the obverse are some ugly raised warts that intrigue me, probably the coin has been tampered with somehow in antiquity. Maybe the coin was countermarked because it was smallish and disfigured.
What I mean't by unique is I have never seen the whole obverse cleaned of to add a countermark, on those particular type, so there would be a lot less of them than the normal As of Augustus.