Finally got a coin I've had my eyes on for two years, but it's bittersweet...

One of the coins on my bid list in CNG e-auction 364 of the RBW Collection in December 2015 was one of the most dramatic overstrikes I'd ever seen: a Roman Republic CA series triens overstruck on a Zeus/Man Faced Bull issue of Oiniadai, Akarnania. There were a lot of great coins in that auction and my budget was completely spent by the time that awesome triens came up but I was excited to see later that day that @Stevex6 had picked it up and I hoped that when his collection eventually went up for sale or auction I'd have a second chance at it. When I finally pulled the trigger on it a week or so ago, on one hand I was thrilled to have finally added the exact coin to my collection that I'd had my eye on but it was also bittersweet as I never expected that the day Steve's collection would go up for sale would be so soon and under the present circumstances. Hopefully if nothing else, the money can help him and his family in their time of need.

As for the coin itself, this triens comes from the "CA" series, thought to have been struck at Canusium(or maybe not) circa 209-195 B.C.. All of the trientes of this series seem to show signs of overstriking, most commonly on coins of Zeus/Acheloüs(the man-faced bull river god) bronzes of Oiniadai or on Athena/Acheloüs bronzes of the Akarnanian League. These bronzes were likely captured during the raids of Marcus Valerius Laevinus on the Greek coast during the First Macedonian War which took place right smack-dab in the middle of the Second Punic War. While this particular triens is actually relatively common, most were overstruck so haphazardly that it made a mess of both the Roman type and the overstruck type(like this coin), so finding one like this where both the Roman devices and the devices of the undertype are so bold is a real treat.


Roman Republic Æ Triens(20mm, 5.88g, 12h), anonymous("CA" series), 209-195 B.C., Canusium(?) mint. Helmeted head of Minerva right; above, •••• / Prow right; above, ROMA; below, ••••; to right, CA. Crawford 100/3; Sydenham 309c
Overstruck on Oiniadai, Akarnania Zeus/Acheloüs, cf. BCD Akarnania 345-348 for undertype. For CA triens overstruck on Oiniadai cf. Hersh NC 1953, 14, cf. Crawford Table XVIII, 91
Ex @stevex6 Collection via coin.ages, eBay, January 27 2018, ex RBW Collection, CNG e-auction 364, December 2 2015, lot 90, ex Stacks Coin Galleries, August 20 1986, lot 117, ex Frederick S. Knobloch Collection, Stacks May 4 1978, lot 90

If you need any help seeing the overstrike, check out the comparison image below. Both images copyright Classical Numismatic Group.


This time, post your ex @stevex6 coins!

 

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That's a great over strike!

 

Super cool coin! It looks like the back of the prow is Zeus's face...or Zeus has a rockin mullet (business in the front and symposium in the back)!

 

@Ryro I will send a private message

 

ex Stevex6 collection: Cities in Asia Minor- Ephesus, Miletus, Amisos, and Tarsus

 

Excellent coins. I particularly like that Tarsos bronze at the end

 

Thanks! Seeing them posted together like this gave me a new appreciation for the variations in their color/patinas.

 

I’m seeing Thomas the Tank Engine. Awesome coin, though. It’s truly special.

 

Coins of the Oinaidai are very cool. I have this one:


Akarnania, Federal Coinage (Akarnanian Confederacy), 250 - 200 BC
Silver Drachm or Hemistater, Leukas Mint, 19mm, 4.70 grams
Obverse: Head of river god Acheloös right, ΛYKOYPΓOΣ behind.
Reverse: AKAPNANωN, Apollo Akitos seated left on throne holding bow.
Lykourgos as magistrate.
BCD Akarnania 25.5 (this coin) // HGC4,724 // Imhoof-Blumer20

 

Nice! He really had a thing for cool overstruck coins and I'm glad to see his Thomas to Tank Engine go to a good home.

I haven't managed to add to the group I bought from him back in November, but I'll take the opportunity to post my favorite two.




Actually, make that favorite three... I really love this one too!

 

Congrats, that's an awesome coin! I had my eye on it, but was dithering... thanks for eliminating a budgetary dilemma.

 

I don't follow ancient coins but I collect overstruck coins... Must resist...

 

I considered this the best of the X6 coins but was unwilling to pay the price so did not get it. Overstrikes are odd in the market since some of us consider them bonus items and others would not touch such a defective coin. I buy from people who find them offensive and not worth anything. I am glad the coin stayed in 'the family'.

 

I love the way Zeus' face is added to the front of the galley.

I mean no disrespect to the coin at all when I say it reminds me of:



My only Stevex6 coin is this one:



John

 

My SteveX6 Collection:


RI Trajan AE Dichalkon Laureate hd L Rhinoceros walking L LI-Z yr 17 CE 113-114 12.9mm 1.25g Emmet 719 var. rhino right


Makedon Philip II AE 18 Apollo - Youth Horseback spear hd below 359-356 BCE 18mm 6.2g SNG ANS 850-1


Kebren AR Obol Archaic hd Apollo L - Hd Ram in Incuse sq 5th C BCE 7.65mm 0.64g SNG Ash 1086


RR Hd Juno Sospita R goat skin hddrss She-wolf R placing stick on fire eagle stndng fanning flames 45 BCE 19.0mm 4.07g Cr 472-1

 

That is a really cool coin @red_spork
I picked up two medieval coins from Steve's collection.

 

I had a hard time with the price as well as only a handful of my coins fall in this price range but every time I looked at eBay I felt like it was staring out of the screen speaking to me. I think what finally pushed me over the edge was recently updating my photofile for the type and realizing I knew of no other example that I liked so much as Steve's and that I'd have trouble forgiving myself if I didn't buy it while I had a chance.

 

There are quite a few interesting overstrikes within ancients. You could form a marvelous and interesting collection of ancients just collecting overstrikes like this one, or @zumbly's awesome overstruck Labyrinth or @dougsmit's Byzantine overstruck on Gordian III.

 

Great overstrike @red_spork that you were lucky to acquire. I say lucky because I know of two other RR collectors that were seriously considering it, including myself!

BTW, was the Knobloch provenance disclosed on the eBay listing? I don't recall that critical bit of info.