Here's Elagabalus. I bought this as an EF. The more experts that see it, the higher the grade goes. That's pleasant, if unusual. It's another case of a younger collector, now 54, selling a lifetime collection to put his kids through college. It's a shame, however... What's your grade opinion for this piece? If you have a high-res monitor you can zoom in on the expanded view for an even closer look. I am very proud of this coin. NOTE: I am not going to try to tell you the weight nor did I specify that, or catalog numbers in my image text. If you wish to post any data about this silver coin, please do so. : ) I can tell you the Fortuna is not holding a "rudder," rather the tiller, which is attached to a rudder post to which the rudder beneath the ship was attached, The descriptions say that beneath Fortuna's seat is a wheel. I don't know what kind of wheel that could have been. Do you know, or could you post your guess? I am curious. Also, the "rudder' (sic) is said to be atop a globe. Hmm... what does that mean, unless that globe merely is used in the 'round' context? I know a lot about sailing but don't understand any function for such a piece except as ornamentation. And the word 'globe' may have existed even before knowing for sure that the earth is round. While 'globe' many have been proper, they might have said a word like 'orb' in those days. When known, facts should be used in descriptions. Then there's the cornucopia, for which I suppose Fortuna must have had mounting hardware or an invisible slave. Perhaps the cornucopia is only symbolic. I think the cornucopia looks more like the Frito Bandito, but I can claim relative ignorance about ancient coins owning less than ten so far. ; )
Hi, Larry. That's a great looking denari and with my limited knowledge I would say au maybe ms? By the way. The best part about Elagabalus was when his dead body was dragged through the streets of Rome and dumped into the Tiber with mom.
You bring up some interesting questions of artistic interpretation and symbolism. Its important to note that the items Fortuna (Goddess of Fate) appears with are not important as practical tools of sailing and shipping, but as symbols. First, rudder/tiller are synonymous with one another. The rudder atop the globe shows Fortuna's control of the seas, particularly the fate of those on them. Orbis was the Latin world for globe, Orbis Terrarum was the way they referred to the Earth (heaven was another orb). The wheel is, in this case, not at all a practical device but in fact the wheel of fortune (no Vana White, unfortunately). Fortuna here holds her cornucopia in the crook of her left arm - it is a bit of an awkward interpretation and would fall down in real life. As far as grade, I'd say its at least XF. I don't particularly like the quality of the engraving on this one, though, partly because of the awkward cornucopia. With regards to attribution - 219 AD, RIC 18, RSC 149, BMC 94
