For some reason, all types of Tacitus with bust left are rather rare. So after I lost a bidding war for a lovely VF one 3 months ago, I decided to acquire this one, which is exponentially lower in quality (also in price) but has the elusive bust left, with a twist - the Medusa head on the (unfortunately very worn) cuirass: TACITUS AE22mm 2.87g Antoninian/Aurelian (F) AV: IMP C M CL TACITVS AVG; radiate, cuirassed, with Medusa head on cuirass bust l. REV: SALVS PVBLI; Salus stg. r., feeding snake held in r. hand from patera held in l. hand. EXE: T REF: LV 1704, RIC V-1 160var. (for bust type), RIC Online #3424, 3rd officina at Ticinum mint, early – June 276AD. Scarce bust left issue of an otherwise common series. Double die match with this one from Budapest Museum. If in VF, this would easily have been a 200$ coin.
Sometimes you gotta settle for a lower grade like I often do. That's still a decent coin and with the rare left facing bust makes it better. I have a Tacitus which isn't too bad at all and I got a good price on it too. It is also unlisted in RIC. Might be in some other reference books, who knows. I did submit this coin to the RIC V project online and it was accepted. Tacitus AE Antoninianus. 275-276 AD, 3.6g, 23mm OBV: IMP C M CL TACITVS AVG. Radiate and cuirassed bust right. REV: MARTI PACIF. Mars advancing left, holding branch, spear and shield. XXIVI in ex. REF: Unlisted
Gil, your coin is BNC p. 375, a very scarce issue and your rev. is die match with this one, from Budapest Museum: http://www.ric.mom.fr/en/coinview/3...esult&hpp=5&from=advanced&ancre=type-specimen
These lefties are scarce indeed for Tacitus. I have only ever owned one, which I sold to Barry Murphy for his Tacitus collection. Tacitus Antoninianus Obv:– IMP C M CL TACITVS P F AVG, Radiate, cuirassed bust left Rev:– PAX PVBLICA, Pax standing left, holding olive branch and transverse sceptre Minted in Lugdunum (No marks), Emission 1, October to December A.D. 275 References:– Cohen 82, RIC 44. Bastien 31 (5 examples cited).
I would've liked that one too. It's justly worn, but the toning redeems it. Yes, bidding wars are a nuisance and they often get out of control. I was willing to pay more than I thought it would worth but someone just wanted it more. And could afford it. Eh, live to fight another day.
Thanks for that information and I'm going to update the reference very soon. Yeah, mine and that coin looks almost dead on for a die match. Very nice!! I'm pretty sure I submitted my coin to that website and it was accepted. I did read about my coin at that site as there were a couple of examples but not cataloged.
The OP coin is a reminder of why if not an expert, one should ALWAYS avoid cleaning his coins with anything else than a light mechanical cleaning.
Yeah, your OP coin is definitely over cleaned. People ruin coins like that because they are being impatient and want it now. It really makes me sad all the coins I've seen ruined. However, yours is fine and I'm sure you know how to take care of it with the patina being stripped and all.
When it comes to very rare issues, sometimes you've got to take what you can get. The OP coin will darken over time - it's by no means ruined for the cleaning. I would just keep an eye on it for BD.
