Again, I am still going through the stuff I have put away over the years. Now I am trying to catalog what they are. Any ideas on the coin in the pics? The coin is not round, its odd shaped as it looks in the pics. Thank you in advance for whoever has something to say about this one. Jim
The inscription is clearly that of Antonius Pius but I'm a bit puzzled by the portrait.If you go to Wildwinds and look at the more than 450 thumbnails,you will not see any of him without a beard.He is almost always portrayed as slender,with a straight nose and full beard.The portrait on this coin clearly shows a young man,beardless and a bit pudgy.As far as I know,there were no coins minted with his inscription prior to his becoming emperor,so I don't think it was just a young portrait.Some of his coins show his adopted son Marcus Aurelius who suceeded him to the throne but this is not him either as he is always shown with a very bushy,curly head of hair.The coin doesn't look like a modern reproduction,and even if it was,who would produce one with a portrait that looks nothing like the original? it doesn't make sense.See for yourself: http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/antoninus_pius/t.html
Ahem.. This is a denarius of Caracalla. IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, Laureate head of Caracalla right LIBERTAS AVG, Liberty standing, holding pileus and sceptre. Ref : see RCV vol II # 6817, Cohen vol IV # 144 (Caracalla) To justify is rights of being emperor, Septimius Severus pretended to be an heir of Antoninus Pius, and adopted himself into the antonine dynasty. After that he changed the name of his elder son from SEPTIMIUS BASSIANUS to MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS. The reason why on many coins of Caracalla (the same guy's nickname) you find that name Cucumbor
What does this mean? any idea of a year span that this coin was minted? Does it have any value? Excuse the pun but what you typed looks all Greek to me. Jim
Hello Jim Sorry for a belated answer, I have been very busy these days. It's not greek but latin :kewl: A denarius is a coin denomination, as is a dime or a nickel : it's a silver coin, and was worth 4 sestertii or 16 asses. You needed 25 denarii for an aureus which was the gold denomination of those times. IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG are the titles of Caracalla : IMP stands for imperator (designates a victorious general), Antoninus Pius is his name, and AVG stands for Augustus (indicates his supreme authority) "LIBERTAS AVG, Liberty standing, holding pileus and sceptre" is what figures on the reverse, as a representation of Liberty (you can find some of them on modern coins aswell, especially in the USA i've been told :hammer: ) RCV is "Roman coins and their values", Cohen is "description historique des monnaies frappees sous l'empire romain", two of the numerous reference books about roman coins This coin has been minted in Rome, AD 209 as staded in RCV Hope it helps Cucumbor
I just bought a coin (denarius) of Caracalla on Ebay last night! Also a coin of the real Antoninius Pius recently. Both for around $30 US.
My latest Roman coin - Antoninus Pius denarius ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III Laureate head right ANNO NA AVG (Annona, Roman goddess of the harvest) Modius with four corn ears and poppy Struck around 141 AD Roman Imperial Coins RIC 62a Roman Silver Coins RSC 33
