Just started dabbling in Ancients. I believe the first one is Severus Alexander, the military standards are confusing me. The second I think is Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus, however the apparent deer on the reverse has me questioning my choice. Again very new to this side of coins. I didn't want to just say help identify without a guess on my part so any pointers or opinions on the coins are welcome. Thanks in advance
Rough, but here are my guesses: First coin: Provincial coin of Severus Alexander struck at Nicaea Second, Gallienus
It has IOVI CONS AVG as a reverse inscription -- it's a goat (the association of Jupiter with Amalthea): It's part of Gallienus's popular zoo series. Read more about it here. I also have a similar provincial of Severus Alexander from Nicaea:
I commend you for taking that initial effort, and very nice coins you have got there. Welcome! Curious what your process was or resources you used to get the info you had in your OP?
Started with a couple of opinions from my local coin club, then went to the following books, Reading and dating Roman coins, Whitman ancient roman and Greek, then the book Alec II. Checked a little on images via internet after I thought I had narrowed it down
I am particularly happy you were able to explain your efforts before posting here. I might suggest a good first step is to decide which major category the coin fits in: Greek, Roman or Provincial. Of course there are many other non-classical civilizations (mostly Eastern) but narrowing a coin down to one of the three often helps. The Severus Alexander has Greek legends with a portrait of an Emperor so Provincial is the choice. The Latin legend on the Gallienus is pretty clear but the secret here was the reverse. If you can identify the reverse 'deer' you might search using that term and find who used the type. Postumus did not but you might note that his beard was very different from Gallienus' so you might go in the right direction even without reading the legend. The secret here is practice. Read threads here and try to ID coins belonging to others to build your vocabulary of ancient coins. Ask questions when you get stuck but I guarantee that you will get more help out of many of us if you show efforts on your own that tell us you want to learn rather than having it handed to you on a platter. Welcome to the group.
A couple of good coins, and your effort at attribution is commendable given that you are just starting out. Welcome to the world of Ancients!!!
