Following on from my Elagabalus with horn on floor beside him that I posted recently I thought that I would inflict another Elagabalus (or two) on you. This is my most recent purchase. Elagabalus Denarius Obv:– IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, laureate, horned, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev:– INVICTVS SACERDOS AVG, Elagabalus standing holding a patera over an altar and a club. Star in left field. Bull behind the altar Minted in Rome. A.D. 220-222 Reference– BMC 209-210. RIC 88. RSC III 61 A nice sharp reverse with a clearly defined bull behind the altar, which is not always so clear. The star has been decorated with dots at the end of each point and another in the centre. Elagabalus looks quite youthful. His facial hair has not yet developed to a ful beard. He can be seen wearing the "Horn" on his head. I thought it worth posting another recent purchase alongside it for comparison. It is the same type but this time catalogued as RSC III 61b showing him slightly more mature with a full beard but no longer sporting his "Horn". The bull is not as clearly defined on this example. There is an intermediate type with a horn and full beard but I don't have an example to illustrate. Martin
Oh my God, not another creepy Elagabalus!!! ... just jokes, Martin ... Sweet => that is an extremely cool coin (I love animal coins, so the fact that you scored yourself a cool camo-bull-behind-the-altar is fricken top-drawer, my coin-friend!! (another total winner!!)) ... Keep-up the great coin-hunting!! (I love seeing your threads!) Cheers
No need to post mine again, but nice additions. Interesting with the stars/dots. I like that. Who would have thought there is minor varieties with this particular coinage.
Really lovely coins, Martin. The bull behind the altar is a fascinating detail, but I'm having some trouble making out the features. It looks like some sort of caterpillar, actually.
Neither do I but I will point out that the beard is not an on/off matter but there are dies that show it progressing downward. This one is longer than the sideburns Martin showed but still not on the chin. Many emperors can be tracked in a fashion sense or as they aged. This is a good one for that activity.
