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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;hotwheelsearl, post: 7811072, member: 75143&quot;]Hats off to AMCC for holding a great auction. Lots of amazing coins, and I was fortunate enough to score five awesome provincials.</p><p><br /></p><p>The packet was sent on Jul 29, and arrived on Aug 6, just one week! It sometimes takes USPS longer to deliver a single letter from my parents about 60 miles away...</p><p><br /></p><p>My main collecting focus these days is large provincial bronzes, the larger the better. I was fortunate that the prices were stomachable, and the provenances were excellent.</p><p><br /></p><p>From small to large...</p><p><br /></p><p>Gordian III</p><p>AE25</p><p>Markianopolis</p><p>Features: The Three Graces</p><p>Price: 4 Large Big Mac Combos</p><p><br /></p><p>Seller pic:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1341847[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>My pic:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1341848[/ATTACH]</p><p>In this case, I think the seller pic is more accurate to in-hand appearance.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve always wanted a Three Graces coin, and now I finally have one. The flan is a bit wonky with off centering on the reverse, but the grade is high, patina is nice, and I&#039;m pleased.</p><p>This bad boy is also from the [USER=84744]@Severus Alexander[/USER] collection, which only makes it THAT MUCH BETTER</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Septimius Severus</p><p>AE28</p><p>Caesarea</p><p>Feature: Fireball Island</p><p>Price: 2 Large Big Mac Combos</p><p><br /></p><p>Seller pic:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1341851[/ATTACH]</p><p>My pic:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1341850[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>This time, I think my pic is more representative, especially of those <i>gorgeous</i> mineral deposits on the obverse. The colors here (green malachite and blue cobalt?) are more what you see on those Alexandrian tetradrachms, so seeing blue and green here was amazing. A slight break in the patina shows the original bright brassy orichalcum.</p><p>The reverse is a fire altar; Caesarea is known for those Mount Argaeus reverses;now I have the mountain the mountain-like altar <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Valerian I</p><p>AE28</p><p>Anazarbos</p><p>Feature: Easter Baskets</p><p>Price: 2 large Big Mac combos + extra fries</p><p><br /></p><p>Seller pic:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1341859[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>My pic:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1341857[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Here I believe my pic captures the color a bit more accurately. Anazarbos was known for holding these awesome festivals with lots of games and competition. The winner would be awarded an Easter basket full of goodies. This has six whole prize urns. I wonder what was inside...</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Diadumenian</p><p>AE29</p><p>Mopsos</p><p>Feature: I like big flans and I cannot lie</p><p><br /></p><p>Seller pic:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1341863[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>My pic:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1341856[/ATTACH]</p><p>Once again, my little iPhone camera more accurately captures the color on this coin. Although the coin itself isn&#039;t super interesting overall, with a rather poor state of preservation and a bunch of minerals, I like it because the die diameter is about 24mm while the entire flan is 29, which is a MASSIVE discrepency! Then again, this is also rather thin, especially for a provincial, so I suspect that the slaves just sort of messed up on size, but the weight I would imagine is correct.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Philip I</p><p>AE30</p><p>Antioch</p><p>Feature: Filed Edges</p><p>Price: 3 Big Mac combos with a McFlurry and a pie on the side</p><p><br /></p><p>Seller pic:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1341867[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>My pic:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1341858[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>My picture is more accurate for color. It&#039;s definitely not that dark, and the color is really a rather pleasing brown. This coin is MASSIVE, and I love every bit of it. The obverse obviously has some pitting, perhaps it was under water and part of it was sticking out. But I can forgive that for the sharp details on both sides, and a very delicate and pretty rendering of Tyche on the reverse. The edges are heavily filed to make a very round and pleasing flan shape. You don&#039;t often see such careful post-striking preparation for a coin, but obviously the slaves at Antioch had some sort of pride in their work, or were simply tasked with finishing the coins. Provincials are often rounder than their imperial counterparts (cf centration dimple), but this was was really rather carefully handled. This coin also has a double-provenance: first from Triskeles Auctions, and then from our very own [USER=86498]@Terence Cheesman[/USER]. I&#039;ve never had such a powerful provenance, and I&#039;m super stoked. This coin is so good that I am almost certain this will place in my Top Ten of this year.</p><p><br /></p><p>I can&#039;t wait for AMCC 4![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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