Ancient Coins => Hip-Hip-Hip-Hippo!! (ya gotta love it!!)

Ancient Coins => Hip-Hip-Hip-Hippo!! (ya gotta love it!!)


... my "coin-guy" hinted that this is a pretty cool coin, so a took a sip of wine and pulled the trigger!! (owww, I love that feeling!!)

Otacilia Severa. Augusta, Æ Sestertius
AD 244-249
Secular Games issue., 4th officina. 9th emission of Philip I, AD 248
Rome mint
Diameter: 28 mm
Weight: 15.99 grams
Obverse: Draped bust right, wearing stephane
Reverse: Hippopotamus standing right
Reference: RIC IV 200a (Philip I); Banti 13
Other:12h … Good VF, dark brown patina, with some red.
Ex Robert O. Ebert Collection



Continuing the tradition of Claudius and Antoninus Pius before him, the celebration of the Secular Games at the end of every century since the founding of Rome culminated during the reign of Philip I, as the city celebrated her 1,000th anniversary in AD 248. The legends on these issues almost exclusively read SAECVLARES AVGG, and feature a similar iconography from previous games, such as the she-wolf suckling the twins, the various wild beasts paraded through the amphitheater, and a cippus inscribed for the preservation of the memory of these events

 

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Very Cool!

 

You have a coin guy? Is he quartered with the butler and maids?

 

Great patina, great details, great portrait and a stunning hippo

That coin was struck for you my friend

 

ahahaha ... I wish!!

=> No, he's more like my coin-saviour!! ... he occasionally sells me absolute winners, plus he has uncanny skilz at detecting fakes and he also seems to have lightning-fast coin-reflexes!!

=> Batman Rocks!!

 

It's a great coin, and it looks like it's double-struck.

 

Ummm, it may be slightly double-struck => but I don't think that it is largely double-struck ...

=> here are a few other examples of the same coin (the doubling seems to be more design, rather than an actual double-strike) ..

http://www.cngcoins.com/Search.aspx?IS_ADVANCED=1&ITEM_IS_SOLD=1&ITEM_INVENTORY_NUMBER=&CONTAINER_NAME=&ITEM_LOT_NUMBER=&ITEM_DESC=otacilia+200a&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_1=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_3=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_2=1&VIEW_TYPE=0

 

Don't see any sign that the coin is double struck personally, "maybe" a very minor die shift (last G of the rev. legend)...

 

Maybe that's what I mean by double-struck. Some of the letters look repunched, and there are shadow images in various places around the hippo.

 

It's stamped that way to give the hippo some depth ... c'mon man, get on the same page!!

 

Another below from the same reverse die for comparison. Did not find another as high grade but it gives an idea...

 

Oh. Well...I didn't know that.

 

Steve, another awesome coin, i think i know who your coin guy is.....i need to hook up with him too...Wow...:thumb::thumb:

 

man, you really have a thing for animals and fish.....and half animals and goats......ummm, well, yes, you like animals.

Great coin Jerry. This one deserves three thumbs :thumb::thumb::thumb:

 

I like the coin, but i have to admit i hate hippos on ancient coins. My reason is personal, when i used to look for rhinos, dealers would pull out hippos. I saw so many hippos and so few rhinos i started hating hippos.

I know,i am weird.

 

Nice hippo.

And the coin looks good too, good condition and now that I think of it it may be the first time I've seen a hippo on an ancient.

 

med, you hate hippos? surely you don't hate the the hungry, hungry ones?

i dig that hippo!

 

:too-funny:

Well medoraman, this is my first Hippo ... I don't have any Rhinos coins, "yet"

=> Hopefully I won't grow to hate hippos (I will try not to judge the hippos personally) ...

=> oh, and as always, thanks for your coin comments (I love having my coin purchases "critiqued") ... you guys are awesome!!

 

For the record, the type also comes in silver antoniniani but the artwork on the sestertius is usually better (and the bronze price is higher, too). I was always amazed at the variation in how the hippos were drawn but suspect that the animals were not really familiar to the die cutters.

 

Those are a couple of great lookin' denarii, Doug!!

:thumb::thumb:

... this is most likely where an engravers may have caught a glimpse of a hippo?