I went through a pile of ancient coins at yesterday's coin show and picked some out. I recognized many of them, but I'm not sure what this one is. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
I believe your coin is from Nicaea, and possibly Severus Alexander. I can't say for sure, but look at this link to see if you can tell if it matches: http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/severus_alexander/_nicaea_AE20_RecGen_617.jpg
It looks very, very similar, but not an exact match. Could it be a slightly different variation or something?
The images you posted are very dark, so I am having difficulty reading the legends. When you say it's not an exact match, what is different? I feel confident we will ID this coin before the day is out.
The differences I notice are pretty subtle. For example, the "K" on the reverse of my coin is in between the 2nd and 3rd lines (I don't know what they actually are). On the coin you've found, it's in between the 1st and 2nd. Also, my coin has 2 circles (?) on all 3 lines while yours appears to have 2 on the 2nd line and 1 on the 1st and 3rd lines. Sorry if that sounds like nonsense to you, but I don't know what else to call them. I also tried taking some pictures with a camera in direct light instead of using the scanner like I did in my first post. Are these pictures any better?
These images are much better. Now I can have another look see. BTW, here is a Severus Alexander of mine from Nicaea. It's not the same, but once again similar. Mine has the laureate bust while yours has a radiate bust: SEVERUS ALEXANDER AE20 OBVERSE: M AVP CEVH ALEXANDROC AV, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right REVERSE: N-IK-AI-E / WN between and beneath three standards Struck at Nicaea, 222-235 AD 3.8g, 20mm BMC 103 Notice that the "lines" on the reverse you refer to are actually standards. Yours is in much better condition. Because the lettering is Greek, and I do not read Greek, it makes it somewhat more difficult. However, let me see what I can find.
Not 100%, but I think I may have found it. I believe it is a Gordian III: http://wildwinds.com/coins/ric/gordian_III/_nicaea_BMC_125.jpg Gordian III. AE19. 3.45 gr. Nicaea, Bithynia. 238-244 AD. M ANT GORDIANOS AV, radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right / N-I-K-AI-EWN between and beneath three standards. BMC 125.
The new photos make all the difference! They read (in Greek) M ANT GORDIANOC. The way the city name was divided on the reverse was not consistent from die to die let alone from ruler to ruler. Most are common but Severus Alexander is most common. I do not own a Gordian III like this but will show a Severus Alexander and his mother Julia Mamaea. Note my Alexander has the entire reverse legend on one line with the last two letters formed into a ligature while the Mamaea has the last two letters on a second line below (mostly off flan on my poor specimen) as shown on Bing's coin. The original poster coin has the last three letters on the second line. This makes absolutely no difference in ancients. Each die was cut individually and the cutter did things as he saw fit at that moment.
You have to type fast to beat Bing! While talking about things that make no great matter please note my Alexander shows standards with an extra set of round elements on the standards compared to the others but they were much smaller to make room. Perhaps this sort of thing would be a massive interest in some coins but this is one of the most common and least in demand ancients out there and very few people show any interest in collecting them by variety. When there are a million types of ancients and only thousands of serious collectors a coin has to try harder to be interesting enough to attract people willing to pay extra even if a variation is super rare. I do not know what proportion of these show the extra row but it makes no difference until someone writes up the series and creates a demand for flyspeck variations.
You're very welcome. Many of us enjoy attributing coins, so any others you may have or come across, bring 'em on.
Hi, @no name2015, welcome to the ancients board of CoinTalk. I think you'll find your experience to be better if you refrain from posting identifications and "values" for coins which were correctly identified months ago . There are usually several "what is this coin" posts every week; perhaps you can wait for the next unknown and jump in with the answer at the appropriate time.
