I bought this tetradrachm of Alexandria of Diocletian because it was nicer than any I had. It came from eBay (a trusted dealer from whom I have several coins). At year 2, it is also my earliest of his which probably explains it being better struck. His quality seems to have tapered off as time went on. I also liked it because I did not have another of any ruler with the Jupiter reverse. I have no idea how scarce Jupiter is compared to the more usual personifications and eagles. Wildwinds has one and I believe it is a die duplicate of mine. Coins with fewer dies tend to be scarcer. http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/diocletian/Milne_4762.jpg Diocletian, Potin Tetradrachm, Alexandria, 8.57g, Year 2.AK G OVA DIOKLHTIANOC CEB, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.LB, Zeus standing left, holding patera and sceptre, eagle at feet left. Curtis 2043; Milne 4762; BMC 2434As these go, this one has more easily read legends than most. Note it is a fine example of the tiny O used in Diocletian that cam make his coins easy to identify even when the letters are just bumps.
That's an interesting Potin Tet, Doug. I'm not sure I've seen one with the Jupiter/Zeus reverse. I have one Diocletian Potin Tet, but it has an Elpis reverse: Diocletian Potin Tet OBV: A K GOYA L DIOKLHTIANOC CEB, laureate draped bust right REV: LA, Elpis standing left, holding flower, a long sash (?) hanging from her arm, & clutching hem of robe Struck at Alexandria, 284/285 AD 6.6g, 20mm Milne 4750
Sadly, I only have one Potin coin and it's not a Diocletian ... hey, but it is an Alexandrian, so that counts for something, right? => yah, I admit that I felt left-out, so I'm gonna post mine anyway, okay? (it's been a slow night) Carinus Potin Tetradrachm Alexandria Mint 283-284 AD Obverse: Carinus right Reverse: Eagle between standards
Being picky: I note many dealers have trouble with legend spacing on these and there is some variation in them. A K is Autocrator Kaiser or Imperator Caesar. Gamma is Gaius. Valerius in Greek usually starts OV probably indicating the W sound rather than a V. I am sloppy about separating the AK or AVTK but your GOYA L bothers me and should be G OYAL. Note my coin has no L but is simply G OVA despite the way the Wildwinds dealer chose to write up his coin. Lambda and alpha are hard to tell apart but when there is just one upside down V, I believe it has to be the A. I am not consistent about the V and Y, it seems, and I'm not sure that bothers me either. I'm sure someone wishing to do a minor study of some merit could survey the selections of reverse types in late Alexandria (perhaps defined as after other cities had stopped making 'Provincial' coins). Personifications are much more common than full fledged gods like Zeus. Everyone seems to use eagles, Tyche and Spes. Many seem to reappear after a few years off but I am not aware of a pattern.
Thanks Doug for the corrections. I usually rely on my youngest son to help with Greek translations, but he's actually in Greece at the moment. When he's not around for me to task, I have to rely on references. And, as you say, they are not always so reliable. So I've made the corrections to my catalog (A K Γ OYAΛ ΔIOKΛHTIANOC CEB).
I picked up a few of these recently from the Roman Egypt of my coin club. He had a big bag of them, (all extras to him). I should have bought more. Nice pickup. I am getting more attracted to Roman Egypt for some reason. My latest purchases from there were the group lot of Trajan dichalkoi I bought to get the rhino, and the Sothic Cycle coin I bought simply because I heard about the Sothic cycle, and a couple of days later saw that coin. I took it as a sign. Btw, I have a few extra Trajan dichalkoi with hemhem crown reverses if anyone "needs" one. I need to get better about pawning off extras I accumulate.
