Every so often we discuss coins here that were struck from 'billon'. This term is applied to an alloy of silver with too little silver to be silver looking but having too much silver to look really copper. Billon varies to things that could be called silver or copper if we pushed the point. In general we think that less silver was used as time went on but the fact remains that we see coins from the same mint (Alexandria is common) and ruler that simply do not match in color. I got a new billon tetradrachm of Elagabalus (reverse Dikaiosyne year 4) that bears a red and green patina that completely hides the fact that there is any silver inside (probably 15%???). More 'normal' is this toned billon year five with Serapis. Much more silver is this Gordian III which is about as late as I have seen in an Alexandrian tetradrachm that could be called silver without pushing the point. The question is how much of these differences are from the original alloy and how much is due to what has happened to the coins in the time of burial and recovery/cleaning? Has anyone seen an extensive study of the metal used in Alexandrian tetradrachms? Pile on your Alexandrian tets that are either late and silver or early and not at all silver in appearance. I'm sure some will want to show their coins that are normal looking for their date like the ones below. It is little surprise when beginners are confused by terms like billon. Gordian III year 6 with normal darker tone: Julia Domna cleaned to reveal the gray billon:
Nice additions. Same ruler, different look. Same year. Severus Alexander (222 - 235 A.D.) Billion Tetradrachm Alexandria, Egypt O: A KAI MAP AYP CEYHP AΛEΞANΔPOC EYCEB, Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: Tyche (Fortuna) facing left, reclining on a "lectisternium" (vessel) holding a rudder with her r. hand, leaning head on left. At left LE=5th yr. or 226 AD Alexandria Mint 10.4g 24.6mm Dattari 4384 Emmett 3140.5 More silver Severus Alexander (222 - 235 A.D.) Billon Tetradrachm EGYPT, ALEXANDRIA O: A KAI MAR AUR SEUHR - ALEXANDROS - EUSEB, Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. R: Athena Nikephoros seated left on throne, holding scepter; LE (date) to left, shield below. 22mm 12.4g G. 2427; Dattari 4286
that first red and green coin is SWEET...great color. i have a couple of weirdly colored tets. two toned aurelian, brown and ....orange(ish). Aurelian Potin Tetradrachm of Alexandria, Egypt. Year 5 = 274-275 AD. O: A K L DOM AVPHLIANOC CEB, laureate, cuirassed bust right R:ETOYC Epsilon, star left, eagle standing left, head right, with wreath in its beak. Milne 4422 20 mm, 8.4 g and this gordian iii....i don't know what color this is...brownish/goldish/redish?
The different look may be from it not being the same ruler. I started with Elagabalus, not Alexander. Here are a couple more of Alexander's. Watch for a coin of Severus Alexander with a bare head and LE date. These are when he was Caesar under Elagabalus and dated with Elagabalus dates. I do not have one.
My one is colorful: Probus, AD 276-282 Potin, tetradrachm, 7.5g, 20mm; 11h; Alexandria, AD 276/277 (regnal year 2) Obv.: A K M AVP PPO-BOC CEB; laureate cuirassed bust right Rev.: LB; Dikaiosyne standing left holding scales & cornucopiae Ref.: Geissen 3127, Dattari 5527 Dikaiosyne is a personification or spirit of jusitice and righteousness. Her primary sources include Orphic hymns and Philostratus. So I have the above coin as bein made of potin. Is that the same as billon?
Terms vary. Potin has no appreciable silver content and we start seeing the term used on the later coins. Exactly when the last coin with any silver was made, I don't know.
Billon: RI Poppea-Nero BI tetradrachm of Alexandria LI yr10 63-64 CE Milne 217 RPC 5275 POTIN: RI Carinus 282-285 CE Potin Tet Alexandria Egypt 19mm Athena Seated holding Nike
Billon Egypt, Alexandria. Dattari. Gallienus, 253-268 Tetradrachm circa 267-268 (year 15), billon 23mm., 9.51g. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. Eagle standing l., holding wreath in beak; behind, palm. Geissen 2944. Dattari-Savio Pl. 273, 10547. Extremely Fine. From the Dattari collection. Naville Numismatics 29 February 26 2017 Lot # 438
Interesting question. I am not an expert on Roman Empire coins, I only have 1 or 2 examples of several of the Emperors that I am collecting for my Grandkids. Both were attributed by the Seller. Ergo, I really could not speculate when Potin starts... I do understand Billon is Brass/Bronze/Copper + Silver in varying amounts. And that Potin could be an admixture including Tin and/or Lead (but no Silver). I do not know when the Empire decided to make these decisions.
I have a handful of Alexandrian Tets. Aurelian Billon DIOCLETIAN Billon TACITUS Potin I recently added a Salonina tbat would be perfect for this thread but I haven't had time for a photo & no seller pic either. Great question and thread idea. I always thought billon was like 1 part silver 19 parts bronze.
Cool thread, Mentor ... Ummm, hopefully my few are worthy of Billon examples (I have several Potin examples, but these babies are classified as Billon) ... oh, and yes, they're prior to Carinus Alexandria, Julia Mamaea Augusta, Billon-Tet 222-235 AD Valerian I, Billon Antoninianus 253-260 AD Alexandria, Saloninus as Caesar, Billon-Tet 258-260 AD => sweet billon colours, eh?
Not really what you asked for, Doug, but I thought you might get a kick out of seeing this virtual tray of 16 A-Pi billon tetradrachms I photographed today - one of those unpictured group lots from Gemini XIII. A mixed palette of shiny silver, rusty silver, black and yellow, dark gray, brown, and green-hued silver. All Ex Robert L. Grover Collection of Roman-Egyptian Coinage, previously held by the Art Institute of Chicago; the top two rows Dattari-Savio plate coins.
I'm late to this thread but will follow with interest and will try to contribute something useful when time allows . Nice tray, Z!!
Thanks. Those are nicer than I expected from the Gemini unillustrated lots. I am the first to point out that I do not understand 'business' but I can not understand selling groups of half decent coins in the back of the book led off by supercoins. That collection should sate the market for 'also ran' Alexandrians for a long time. I understand the high prices for the top drawer Dattari coins but it will be interesting to see where the worst of the low end ones end up. How did you select which lot(s) to bid on?
The pedigree seems strong enough that even the worst ones will sell. Some of the dregs that have been appearing (alongside the excellent and interesting ones) in the Naville auctions of recent months have been pretty awful, but I don't recall many going unsold. In the case of this lot, the advertised percentage of ex Dattari coins (8 out of 16, with 6 D-S plate coins) was high compared to most of the other unpictured group lots, and the "About VF" condition description suggested that I'd find fewer outright dogs in the group. The porosity and overcleaning on some of the coins was expected, but overall this lot turned out better than I thought it would.
I'm not sure who wrote this introduction for NFA's 1991 major sale coins of Roman Alexandria, but it includes the following statement : "Under Marcus Aurelius output at Alexandria began to decline, and in A.D. 176/7 the tetradrachm suffered its first debasement since Nero, its weight reduced to c. 11.90 grams and its silver content to only 0.92 grams. The new, inferior alloy is termed potin." I don't see that most sellers go as far as to say that, but by the time we get to Gordian, the tetradrachm could not have been more than 5% silver, if that. I'd struggle to think of any tets past Philip I or Trajan Decius as anything other than potin, or just plain AE. Edited to add : Oh, the intro to that sale was written by David Sear. The plates contain a lot of eye candy for fans of coins of Roman Egypt: http://www.coinsofromanegypt.org/html/library/NFA/NFA_index.htm
