Coin #2 – GTCTer 2019 (Guess the Owner of This Coin)

Welcome to Round 2 of Guess the CTer 2019. For the latest updates on the game and to review the clues to the possible prizes please check out the master thread.

[Ancients] Guess the CTer (2019) Master Thread

Coin #2


Gordian III and Tranquillina (AD 238-244)
AE 26, Odessos mint (Thrace)
Dia.: 26 mm
Wt.: 14.5 gm

Why I added it to my collection
I bought this coin mainly because I liked the combined portrait of Gordian and his wife. On researching the coin, I also found a small mystery. Odessos issued a fairly steady stream of bronze coinage from Trajan onwards, but usually just a couple of types per emperor. Under Gordian III, the mint went into high gear, issuing dozens of different types. Why? I finally found one source that says there’s evidence Gordian may have visited a local athletic festival at Odessos. Perhaps that’s what stimulated the vastly increased mint output? Regardless, it’s a cool provincial bronze.

How the Game Works
The object of the game is pretty simple: Guess which CT member the above coin belongs to out of the five participating members.

@dougsmit
@Al Kowsky
@Valentinian
@Curtisimo
@Parthicus

This is the 2nd of 5 total game threads. After I post all coins and allow for three days time for each thread I will hold a drawing to select 5 winners from those who played the game. Participants can earn multiple chances to win based on the following rules.

1. Guess who the owner of the coin is and give a reason why you think that. (Ex.: I believe that this coin belongs to Curtisimo because he owns pink socks and thinks a toboggan is a hat.) This is the minimum requirement for entry into the drawing. Please include a reason with your guess!
2. Anyone who posts a photo of an ancient coin along with their guess (related or not) will receive an extra chance to win.
3. Anyone who gives a particularly well thought out or amusing reason why you guessed a certain person will receive an extra chance to win.
4. Anyone who guesses correctly will receive an extra chance to win.
5. Anyone who is a young numismatist (age 18 or younger) will receive an extra chance to win. If you are a YN please say so in your entry post.

In total there can be up to 5 chances to win for each member in each thread!

A Note to the Volunteers
If you would like to follow along with the results of the poll feel free to vote for yourself.

A Note to Poll Voters
The poll option is intended just for fun. If you wish to have your guesses counted for the game or to be eligible for the prizes please comment in the below thread per the above.

 

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@Valentinian I feel like this would be something on his site and the description.

heres my gordian III that I got from @Bing

If you zoom in on the hand you can see a mark that looks like a claw, spooky




Gordian III
GORDIAN III AE 26, AMNG II 650, Sarapis
OBV: AVT K M ANT GORDIANOC AVG CEB TPANKVLLINA, Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Gordian III right, facing diademed and draped bust of Tranquillina left
REV: OVLPIANWN AGCIALEWN Sarapis standing facing, head left, wearing kalathos, holding patera and cornucopia
12.44g, 26mm
Minted at Anchialus, 238-244 AD

 

I'm guessing this coin belongs to @Al Kowsky. Why? Good question! I think Al collects mush as I do, and this type of coin I think would strike his fancy as it does mine. And the supposition of Gordian visiting Odessos seems right up his alley.

GORDIAN III
AE 25/26
OBVERSE: AVT K M ANT GORDIANOC AVG CAB CEB TPANKVLEINA, draped busts face to face
REVERSE: OVLPIANWN AGCIALEWN, Zeus standing left, naked to waist, holding thunderbolt and sceptre
Struck at THRACE , Anchialos, 238-244AD
9.7g, 25mm
Moushmov 2945; Varbanov 740-741

Oh, and one more reason. Al likes bacon!!

 

I've gotta go with @Roman Collector on this one.

Oh, wait. He's not a choice .

Hmm.

It's not Doug's coin. The lighting and focus aren't right... unless he purposefully shot it that way. Nah. Not Doug's.

Could be Valentinian's-- he does like to shoot in sunlight, and this coin was either shot in full sun or very bright lights. It's a coin he would not shun. But... I've already picked Big V for Round One, so not him.

Curtis... nope, unless he purposefully lit the coin differently than usual and missed the focus a bit. The "why I bought it" has enough depth of fact to be a Curtis choice, but the blurb alone isn't very revealing because most CT regulars do at least a little bit of research beyond price.

That leaves Al or Parthicus.

Parthicus is heavy on Eastern coins but we know he sometimes strays. He shoots in sunlight and the camera focus usually isn't great (sorry man... but it's true ) so that fits the presented images. Parthicus's joined images are usually pretty small though-- sub-800 pixels wide-- and the OP mystery coin image is almost twice as wide. Curtis could have enlarged it but the focus/resolution would be even worse, or it could be an auction house or seller image. Hmm.

Al... hmm Higher end collector, seems to have a thing for Syrian tets with eagle reverses, likes to slab higher grade coins prior to selling so the "magic letters" will attract HA buyers. This does not look like an Al coin unless he was buying some lower grade coins to give away, although he does have some interesting provincials. Al usually posts auction house images so I'm not sure what his photographs look like, or the images could be from the seller.

Gotta go with @Parthicus for this one!

Edited to add a coin for the thread. Nothing special, but also a confronted bust provincial (and a crummy image that needs to be reshot!):


MOESIA INFERIOR, Markianopolis
Macrinus and Diadumenian, CE 217-218
AE pentassarion, 27 mm, 12.3 gm
Obv: AYT K M OΠEΛ CEV MAKPEINOC K M OΠE ANTΩNINOC; Laureate head of Macrinus left and bare head of Diadumenian right, confronted
Rev: VΠ ΠONTIANOV MAPKIANOΠOΛEITΩN; Artemis advancing right, reaching for an arrow in quiver at shoulder and holding bow, hound at foot, E in left field
Ref: Varbanov 1159 var. (obverse legend); Megaw MAR5.12d; Hristova/Jekov 6.24.13.1

 

I'm voting for Parthicus because it's not normally coins he shows here and the image reminds me of his.

Here's an unrelated coin but more consistent with Pathicus' collection:

 

Would I do something like that? You bet I would. So far we have seen two coins that may or may not be mine and both are similar to other coins in my collection. I think I'll guess each of the coins in this thread to be mine. That way I'll get one right.

 

You prefer coins with better surfaces and legends. Not your coin. But it's okay, I understand... one's memory slips when one is older.

 

I'm gonna go with @Valentinian because I'm somewhat confident it isn't @Parthicus and a little less confident after reading @dougsmit's post that it is his.... I haven't seen a ton of @Al Kowsky's posts to have an opinion one way or another.

Looking through FFIVN and my collection for something to post and we unfortunately don't have anything with 2 portraits so I will go ahead and post the only Gordian III that we have:

Gordian III
AR Antoninianus
Obverse: IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AVG, radiate, draped & cuirassed bust right Reverse: VICTORIA AVG, Victory advancing left with wreath & palm

 

I'm going with @Valentinian....Plus side - He seems to like dual portrait coins, also the Odessos mint, and a nice little bit of research...Down side - He prefers bigger coins this one is only 26mm.....But I'll go with him....
I dont have any dual portrait coins but here's my Gord..

Gordian III AR Antoninianus 23mm/4.28gr
IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, radiate draped bust right / VIRTVTI AVGVSTI, Hercules standing right leaning on club set on stone and holding lion skin
Rome mint: AD 241-243 (9th, 10th, and 11th Issues, 4th Officina) RIC 95, RSC 404

 

I am going to guess @Parthicus .
This one looks like @Parthicus type of interest in His previous posts and is right up His ally in my opinion.
All of my provincial coin's are from Spain and end at Caligula's rein.
Here is my Caligula.

 

LoL, that was my first thought as well!

You covered the reasoning for my choice perfectly too. Has to be @Parthicus just through elimination of the other possible owners.

 

@Parthicus has been known to now and then also collect provincial Roman coins , this wouldn't be the only Gordian III in his collection. Yet, though Odessos is somewhat eastern-ish, it's not quite east enough to fit his collecting focus.

On the other hand, @dougsmit has a couple of twin portraits on his website, including a wonderful Gordian III & Tranquilina from Tomis. I can see him adding a similar coin from a different city to his collection. The picture isn't quite his usual superb photography, but he might just have used his cellphone instead this time in order not give himself away.

Thus, I'm guessing @dougsmit.

I don't have an Odessos coin to show, but here is an Imperial Gordian denarius with a nice equestrian reverse:


Gordian III, Roman Empire, denarius, 240–241 AD, Rome mint. Obv: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG; bust of Gordian III, laureate and draped, r. Rev: P M TR P III COS P P; Gordian on horseback riding l., raising r. hand and holding spear or sceptre in l. 20mm, 2.66g. Ref: RIC IV Gordian III 81. Ex Auktionen & Münzhandel Dr. Christoph Stadler (Bremen); ex Münzbörse Stadtwaage (Bremen).

 

I have to go @Parthicus as well, purely because I think it is more his collecting style and not so much the others.
Roman Provincial, Moesia Inferior, Nicopolis ad Istrum, Gordian III (238-244 AD) Æ 27 (12.43g) Sabinius Modestus, legatus consularis., City Gate, Obv.: Laureate and draped bust right. Rev.: Arched gate flanked by two roofed towers with arched windows in uppermost story. Varbanov 4182.HrHJ (2018) 8.36.46.1. Rare! NGC XF.
Obv: AVT K M ANT ΓO;PΔIANOC .
Rev: VΠ CAB MOΔЄCTOV NIKOΠOΛЄITΩN ΠPO/CICTPON.

 

I'm going to have to go with @Al Kowsky, since he has a thread on Gordian provincials! Just a hunch. Anyway, here's my only confronted bust coin, a big (34mm) Philip I from Seleucia ad Calycadnum. The reverse shows Tyche and Apollo. There is also an almost invisible countermark on the obverse, showing a KA monogram (Howgego 618) on Philip's neck.

 

Before reading the thread I had narrowed it down to Parthicus or Al... and I'll go with @Parthicus because I think Al would find the surfaces a bit too "comfortable" for his tastes.

Here's my favourite Gordian provincial:



Moesia Inferior, Marcianopolis: Gordian III / The Three Graces

 

I absolutely LOVE this design.

 

I was wrestling between choosing Doug Smith and Valentinian. Doug Smith almost got the vote because of the photo lighting. I voted for Valentinian simply because it is my guess and I want to get 5/5.

 

Interesting, a lot more people seem to think that Coin #2 is mine than Coin #1. If you think Coin #2 looks like one of mine, wait until you see Coin #4!

True, my images sometimes have trouble. That's because my camera set-up consists of just my own two hands. I place the coin on a neutral background (usually some grey high-density packing foam) and set it flat on a table next to my windows on a sunny day. Then I hold my camera a couple of inches above the coin and shoot, using the Macro function. I should probably upgrade by getting at least some sort of support to hold the camera, but every dollar I spend on camera equipment is a dollar no longer available to buy more coins.

 

Hahaha I am loving the gamesmanship on the part of the volunteers.

For my part I love large folles and Gordians as much as the next guy perhaps all these coins belong to Curtisimo...



This years game has been great fun so far.

 

I sense some tensions rising in this contest . Yippee !!!