Geta Dupondius 12.76 grams, 25mm Obverse inscription: P SEPT GETA PIUS AVG BRIT Reverse Inscription: FORT RED TRP III COS II Unlisted but would be near RIC 173 In 20 years of buying, selling and collecting ancient coins I have come across few truly "unlisted" pre-268 AD imperial coins (around the last year of the traditional sestertius) - that is, a coin type completely missed by the authors of RIC. What I mean by unlisted is a type completely out of the books, not a coin with a slight difference on inscription, or a different bust style. About five years or so ago Numismatik Naumann posted for sale a completely unknown sestertius of Caracalla (price was WAY out of my league). I can't think of another example, but there have been others - but all in all the authors of RIC were pretty comprehensive. The coin I want to discuss is very much a known type, not only for Geta, but for his brother Caracalla as well. It was struck in 211, and presumably celebrates the successful conclusion of the British expedition. RIC does list the same type with the inscription, P SEPTIMIUS GETA PIUS AVG BRIT on the obverse and FORT RED TRP III COS II PP. Are these differences significant? Probably not. But it is an interesting coin that was purchased on ebay for $80 during that magical period of the early 2000's when ebay was a major selling place for ancient coins, and it was a buyer's market. I wish someone would write about this period, and tell me where all those coins went. I recall going to the New York show in 2003 or maybe 2004, and seeing enormous quantities of imperial folles (folli?), and bag after bag of other types - Greek, Roman etc. That was around the first year of the Moneta bulletin board and there was so much enthusiasm for collecting ancients. But I digress. There are a number of other coins I want to post so I will end this here. PS - I looked for the Naumann coin, which showed, among other things, a sacrificial scene, on ACSEARCH, and could not find it - perhaps it was not genuine? I have to once more mention Doug Smith's excellent article on unlisted coins on the FORUM site. It is worth mentioning again that Mr. Smith's articles on ancient coins are the best introduction to the hobby, and an excellent resource. I go back to them again and again.
This coin from LEU auction is a obverse die match. https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4459055 (Link corrected) In the text they mention that their coin is a die match with BMC 270 and pl. 62, 6 EDIT: The BM example https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_R-15897
Thank you - I have a book in which I collect scans of coins that are die matches to any coin I have - I will also look up the example from the British Museum. This is also a heavy example.
Blake, Two others from the same dies as yours: CNG E457, 4 Dec. 2019, 323, see their picture below. Glasgow p. 79, no. 65, not illustrated, dies checked from my plaster cast. It is interesting that this Fortuna Redux type was introduced while Septimius was still alive, and Caracalla and Geta were not yet P P, showing that even before the arrival of news of Septimius' death, the mint of Rome apparently already knew that the emperors were planning to return to Rome.
Curtis - I just purchased this coin - yes it is heavily smoothed and possibly tooled, the photograph is too bright, it is actually dark brown of different shades. The fact that it is not on ACSEARCH is not great. But, it was purchased from an English collector who said he had owned for quite some time, and it is close to the coin of the same type on ACSEARCH sold by Gorny in 2009 (I think) - in fact I thought it was the same coin. I don't like the smug expression on Geta's face which doesn't seem to be related to any other coin of his - but then again that isn't conclusive. There should be spears sticking out of the trophy on the reverse ut again that could have been smoothed away. What do you think? Weight: 23.98 Size: 32mm die axis - like an American coin, almost exactly - reverse is upside down when you turn it. The expression on Geta's face looks familiar - I know I have seen it before. The Forum site does not have it as a fake.
Blake, Again I happen to have a plaster cast of your coin: it was in Glendining Sale, London, 4 July 1973, lot 23. I think it is tooled but authentic. The obv. die was prolific and was used with many different rev. types, e.g. BMC pl. 59.2 and 59.5. The rev. type is properly Caracalla's, as we can tell from its dated version, always TR P XIII or XIIII and with obv. of Caracalla. The undated version as on your coin only occurs from this one rev. die for Geta.
Curtis - thanks so much for this - I was all set to have to send it back, but I am now comfortable with it being authentic - it might be a die match to the 2009 sale mentioned above. I do have a worn example of Caracalla's type with the same reverse. I was surprised at being able to find two other examples of this coin on ACSEARCH - may not be the last word but it is all I have to judge rarity - Blake
