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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Shea19, post: 5074445, member: 90981&quot;]I recently added this rather unique-looking denarius of Caracalla.&nbsp; It was struck from a seemingly brand new obverse die and has a nice clear portrait, but it is on a strange-looking oblong-shaped flan.&nbsp; Something about this one really caught my eye, so I was very happy to win it, and even happier when I got it in hand.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s the seller&#039;s photo and then mine (I&#039;ve been working on my coin photography so any comments/suggestions would be appreciated).</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1202267[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1202178[/ATTACH]</p><p>Caracalla, AR Denarius, circa 213-217 A.D., Rome, (22mm.,3.02g.) Laureate head of Caracalla to right/ Rev. VENVS VICTRIX,&nbsp; Venus standing left, holding Victory and spear and leaning on shield set on helmet. RIC 311b.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m not sure what it is that struck me about this one, but there&#039;s just something about having a sharp, high-relief portrait from a fresh die on a hot mess of a flan.&nbsp; The coin somehow manages to be both beautiful and ugly at the same time.</p><p><br /></p><p>I assume that this result just comes from the flan preparation (whoever at the mint was responsible for this one would have loved working in the Gallienus era).&nbsp; But for those of you with more expertise about the technical aspects of the preparation and striking, is it possible that something about the way this was struck could have had an effect on its shape?&nbsp; Or was this just poor quality control at the mint?</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s another photo of the coin in hand, which I think really highlights the shape.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1202268[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Please share your coins with irregular or oddly-shaped flans, your favorite Caracalla or Venus, or anything else relevant.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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