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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Curtis, post: 6167524, member: 26430&quot;]Been quite a long time since I&#039;ve participated here, and I&#039;m sorry to return hat-in-hand, but I could definitely benefit from opinions from those more experienced with this period. I received this coin from CNG (<a href="https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=393239" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=393239" rel="nofollow">e-456, #731, part of</a>) about a year &amp; a half ago in a group lot of 2nd &amp; 3rd cent. Sestertii.</p><p><br /></p><p>I worry this sounds too good to be true and I&#039;m missing something important:</p><p>(1) D CLODIVS ALBINVS CAES, rare for a Sestertius, from Clodius’ first year, also the Year of the Five Emperors, 193/4 AD;</p><p>(2) it has a Saeculum Frugiferum reverse, patron deity of his hometown, Hadrumetum in N. Africa;</p><p>(3) the obv./rev. combination appears unpublished and I find no similar examples;</p><p>(4) the rev. legend looks like it may also be unpublished for <i>any </i>first-year coinage of Clodius, AE or otherwise (ending COS rather than COS II).</p><p><br /></p><p>From what I’ve gathered, that would seem to make it a rather exciting coin (worn or not) – <i>if </i>I happen to be understanding it correctly. I’m not particularly knowledgeable about Clodius Albinus or “Year of the Five Emperors” coinage, and I’ve gotten as far as I can with RIC IV, a handful of other refs, and auction records. I don’t want wishful thinking to get the better of me (if it hasn&#039;t already)!</p><p><br /></p><p>Since the photo isn’t great, <a href="https://i.imgur.com/YUYiCH3.mp4" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://i.imgur.com/YUYiCH3.mp4" rel="nofollow">here is a video of the coin-in-hand</a> in which it is much clearer (the obv. especially). A few of my notes and concerns are below. (I’ve also got more notes &amp; description + photo <a href="https://conservatoricoins.com/gmedia/clodius-albinus-sestertius-saecvlo-frvgifero-png/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://conservatoricoins.com/gmedia/clodius-albinus-sestertius-saecvlo-frvgifero-png/" rel="nofollow">on my website/coin gallery here</a>.)</p><p><br /></p><p>I’m grateful for any thoughts anyone can share. Apologies for length.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/conservatori-clodius-albinus-sestertius-draft-2-png.1245530/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Obverse</b>: Rare legend for Clodius Albinus’ AE coinage, used exclusively in his first year (193 AD), and very few examples are published (those I’ve seen photographed have partial legends), none of which are published with Saeculum Frugiferum type reverse.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Reverse</b>: The reverse type is usually described as rare in the few auction records I find on acsearch or elsewhere. All examples I find are on his second-year Sestertii, as well as his AV Solidus, and at least two examples of AE As (perhaps Dupondius). I’ve also seen the two examples of <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/rare-septimius-severus-sestertius-saeculi-frugifero.351774/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/rare-septimius-severus-sestertius-saeculi-frugifero.351774/">Septimius Severus’ Saeculum Frugiferum Sestertius ending “TRP COS” posted here</a> by Blake Davis and Doug Smith.</p><p><br /></p><p>It would be curious for a first-year obverse type to be matched with a <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=SAECVLO+FRVGIFERO+COS+II+AE" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=SAECVLO+FRVGIFERO+COS+II+AE" rel="nofollow">reverse type from his second yea</a>r (SAECVLO FRVGIFERO COS II / S-C). Looking closer – although the legend is very incomplete – it appears from the positioning of what remains that the II may be absent and it ends in “COS” (i.e., SAECVLO FRVGIFERO COS, for his first year Consulship in 193-4 AD).</p><p><br /></p><p><b>CONCERNS</b>: I’m not sure if this coin could’ve been tooled to change the obverse legend or any other form fakery. I suspect CNG must not have examined it too closely, for them to throw it in a group lot without any comment (especially without the obverse legend visible). Or perhaps it is some type of contemporary imitation or counterfeit. Finally, the weight is a bit on the light end for a Sestertius (though too heavy for AE As or Dupondius), about 17.9g (though not unreasonably so, especially for a worn example; more than 10% of examples in acsearch are lighter).</p><p><br /></p><p>Mainly, I’m just not especially knowledgeable about the period and I’m sure there are things I haven&#039;t considered.</p><p><br /></p><p>Again, many thanks for any thoughts!</p><p>Curtis[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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