Best worst coin: battered up VIRT EXERC by Licinius

Coin is in really bad shape, probably went through some extensive and not so healthy cleaning process, but is an interesting and scarce type:


LICINIUS I AE3 20mm 1.90g Follis/Nummus (F)

AV: IMP LIC - INIVS AVG; laureatte cuirassed bust r.

REV: VIRT-EXERC; plan of Roman camp, Sol stg. in the middle, raising r. hand, holding globe in l., chlamys across l. shoulder.

EXE: [•TS•gamma•] Thessalonika mint.

REF: RIC VII Thessalonika 68var, unlisted obverse break LIC - INIVS instead of LICI - NIVS, rare type 319AD.

It is a minor variation, but on a very interesting type which still escapes proper interpretation.


Maybe a good opportunity to start a "best worst coin" thread that highlights coins of rarity and importance in sub-par condition

 

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That coin is in rough shape but the patina looks pretty thick still. That reverse type ain't common as far as I know.

 

I've seen similar reverses, and coins with that reverse are desirable. However, I think I would pass on this one regardless of rarity.

 

Plowing scene from right to left ! Possibly Emp. Caracalla..

 

The first one to my mind--at least of some rarity and not just a worn, environmentally damaged 'common' type (of which I have more than a few, unfortunately) is the following; arguably Cleopatra III:

Bronze dichalkon. Kreutzer Pg 44: Svoronos 1160 (Ptolemy IV); SNG Cop 649; Weiser- aF, Paphos Mint, 1.24 grams, 10.5 MM

Obverse: Diademed bust of Cleopatra VII as Isis right, hair in melon-coiffure;
Reverse:'PTOLEMAIOU- BASILEWS', double cornucopia flanked by ribbons...

RE: FORUM: " Kreutzer, in his book 'The Coinage System of Cleopatra VII and Augustus in Cyprus', assembles evidence dating this type to Cleopatra VII instead of the reign of Ptolemy IV used in older references."

 

Persia, Satrap of Caria,
Turkey, Halicarnassus
AR Tetradrachm 23.6 mm x 13.63 grams
Maussollos Hecatomnid Dynasty (r.BC 377-353)
Obverse: 3/4 facing head of Apollo
Reverse: Ba'al Standing Right with Labrandus (Double Headed Axe) MAYSSWLLO[Y]

 

Good idea for a thread. I've got a few of them, acquired entirely for rarity as opposed to eye appeal.



Mesopotamia, Rhesaena, Severus Alexander
AE26, 11.1g, 5h; Rhesaena, 222-235
Obv.: [AΛEXANΔROC CE.. A CEB]; Laureate and draped bust left, holding shield
Rev.: PHCAINHCI-[ΩN LEG III G]; Tyche seated left on rock, holding eagle in right hand, left hand set on rocks, river-god swimming left below.
Reference: Mionnet 187; BMC Rhesaena 1; cf. Castelin 30 (?)

 

I have way too many coins that qualify and continue to be attracted to rare coins. A friend calls them 'ghosts' since they are merely spirits of their former selves.

First rank goes to my sestertius of Divus Caracalla which is offensively rare in the first place. Banti, I Grandi Bronzi Imperiali IV-1 was aware of 2 specimens with the five story pyre and showed a drawing of a coin from Vaillant with only four tiers but present location unknown. I have no way of telling if my coin is the same one and the drawing was not realistic enough to help. The coin has remained bronze disease free in the decades I have owned it. Unique is almost as rare as does not exist.

 

I find myself attracted to rare coins as well, but bearing in mind how common the quality of rarity can be in the world of ancients, I can't help but be a little tickled by how rarity gets touted, particularly by dealers and auction houses. I have to rate the term "exceedingly rare" as common, "excessively rare" as scarce, and now "offensively rare" as rare and possibly unique?

 

interesting coin seth, i wasn't familiar with the type at all. here is one form acsearch in pretty good shape...not my coin.


http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=2404961

this coin is at least somewhat rare...and more than somewhat ugly...but i kind of like it.





it's a sesterius of caracalla, the reverse shows asclepius, a globe to his right and his son telephorus (who is a "little person", not a kid).

here's one in pretty good shape on vcoins....mine was 20 bucks...a bet less than this fellow wants for his.

http://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/mun...98217_sestertius_215_rome/502420/Default.aspx

 

IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG P M T P P P COS III, bust laureate r. resting on globe and with aegis on shoulder

FIDES EXERCITVVM, S C in ex. , clasped hands before legionary eagle on prow.

The obverse die is A23 in Colin Kraay's unpublished Oxford dissertation, the rev. die P75. Kraay didn't know this die combination, but it is recorded by RIC 70 from a single specimen in the Termopolio Hoard from Pompeii, published in 1997.

These are rare types: only one other obv. die of the issue shows this combination of aegis and globe for the bust, and this is the only rev. die of the FIDES EXERCITVVM type used in the issue, though a second such die was used later in the year with Vespasian's name abbreviated VESPASIAN (no -VS).

To see what your dies looked like before the corrosion, see RIC pl. 18, 117 and pl. 16, 71 for the obv. and rev. respectively! There are the same two dies on well preserved specimens in other die combinations."

 

I have quite a bit of "rare but ugly coins" (kinda what happens when you try to collect scarce/rare 5th-6th century on a budget), but I'll only post a few.

Majorian, Western Roman Empire
AE nummus
Obv: D N IVL MAIORIANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped bust right
Rev: VICTORI-A AVGGG, Victory advancing right, holding palm branch and trophy
Mint: Milan (Mintmark: MD; struck 457-461 AD)
Ref: RIC X 2642



Libius Severus, Western Roman Empire
AE nummus
Obv: D N LIBIVS SEVERVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped bust right
Rev: Monogram of Ricimer within wreath
Mint: Rome (struck 461-467 AD; Libius Severus reigned 461-465 AD)
Ref: RIC X 2715



Hilderic, Vandal Kingdom
AE nummus
Obv: HILD [REX], pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right
Rev: Cross potent within wreath, ring above
Mint: Carthage (struck 523-530 AD)
Ref: BMC Vandals 9



Gelimer, Vandal Kingdom
AE Nummus
Obv: GEIL-AMIR, pearl-diademed, draped bust right
Rev: Monogram of Gelimer within wreath
Mint: Carthage, struck 530-533 AD
Ref: MEC 1, 28-30; BMC Vandals 4-6, Very Rare

 

This one was so ugly that the previous owner didn't want it and threw it into a group of coins I bought from him as a freebie. It was unattributed and he probably wasn't aware of its rarity, but even if he was, I'm not sure if it would have made a difference?

Only one specimen cited in RPC Online (from the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum), with no other examples turning up in my searches.


COMMODUS
AE19
4.77g, 19.3mm
CILICIA, Augusta, 183/184 AD
RPC Online 6170 (temp, Marcus Aurelius) = Karbach, Augusta p.54, 81 (same obv die)
O: Laureate head of Commodus right, AV KOMODO [...].
R: AVGOVSTN(sic) ETOY EPD, horse standing right, head turned left; tree to left.

 

Very harshly cleaned but also quite scarce.

Probus
Obv:– IMP C PROBVS AVG, Radiate cuirassed bust left with spear over right shoulder
Rev:– TEMPOR FELICIT, Felicitas standing right, holding caduceus and cornucopiae
Minted in Lugdunum (II in exe) Emission 8 Officina 2. Autumn to Late A.D. 281
Reference:– Cohen -. Bastien -. RIC 108 (Rare)
Obverse die match to the plate coin in RIC

All examples with this bust type from Lugdunum appear to come from a single die. It is listed in RIC and illustrated in the plates but somehow not found by Bastien when he examined all the collections in his studies. This is one of two examples I have seen come on the market in 15 years.

It really is a coin only a specialist collector could love.

 

I'm glad my challenge sparked such interesting replies.
As I see it, many collectors consider battered rare coins as a cheap way to fill a gap in their collections. Big dealers don't really care for these and usually they end up in "5$ bargain bins" or on ebay.
Also, most of your coins look better than the one I posted in the OP

So here is another that fits the category:


CONSTANTINE II AE3 18mm 2.12g Follis/Nummus (F/F+)

AV: CONSTANTINVS IVN N C; half-length bust r. laureate, draped and cuirassed with spear pointing forward, globe in left hand.


REV: BEAT TRA-NQLITAS; globe set on altar inscribed VOT/IS/XX


EXE: PLON London mint.


REF: Unlisted in RIC for bust type, should've been after RIC VII London 288. Extremely rare, maybe unique, no other specimen recorded. 323-324AD.


Very interesting piece w/ a seldom and sought after bust type. May actually be an "irregular" issue.

 

This coin arrived today, and although its condition is by no means terrible, it's rated R4 in RIC (2-3 known examples). Now I realize RIC rarity values apply only to the samples taken by the authors, but sometimes they do coincide with current market availability.This is the first I've come across in several years of hunting.

The seller of this coin probably thought of it as a common type, as there are thousands of similar coins on the market at any time. What makes this coin rare is that it is a Cyzicus emission of the 2-standards type for Constans. It was likely minted for only a couple months before the mints transitioned to the 1-standard types. The 2-3 known examples recorded in RIC are in the British Museum.

RIC VII Cyzicus 103 S, page 657



How many of these GLORIA EXERCITVS types do we see on eBay any given day, and which are worth buying? This cherry-pick proves that knowledge is power when collecting crusty bits of old metal nobody else cares about.

 

Could you believe this Constantine I from Lyon is rated R5 ? Hope it's in the BM alone....

 

I make it RIC VII Lyons 53. Rated C2 like mine below:-



What attribution to you have?

 

Wildwinds rate RIC VII Lyons 53 as C2. And they rate RIC VII Lyons 52 as R5. Could you please tell me the difference between them? I think it's a very delicate and important matter. Thanks..

 

RIC VII Lyons 52 has a Laureate, Draped and cuirassed bust as on the following coin:-



Yours is clearly cuirassed only without drapery.