Hello! Wanted to share a group shot of three of my latest acquistions. Unfortunately I don't have the time yet to post them individually with an accompanying write up, which they they deserve. So, instead below a short explanation about why I got them. The denarius of Brutus has been my no. 1 coin on my wishlist for a very long time, and although it's not rare, it's hard to find one that I can afford. This is my white whale and I do truly hope that @David Atherton concurs with me using this term The quality is not that great, but I'm more then excited to be able to finally add this type to my few other imperatorial issues. And it's as close I can get to a coin of the assassin of Caesar with a "knife" on it! The denarius of Marcus Aurelius is pure joy to me. An appealing portrait is what I was looking for, but I also got a cuirrassed bust, an appealing reverse with lovely details and a great history behind it. So far I've been unable to properly attribute it however, it appears to be a variant and not in RIC. More fun! Lastly, about the Nero sesterius; who doesn't love a good big chunk of Julio-Claudian metal! I've been eyeballing these coins in auctions for quite a while, looking for the right one, and I finally got this one which is a perfect mix between afforability and appealing details. Obviously, the reverse is where the action is. I love how the reverse shows the brickwork, the windows, the (closed) doors and the garlands above. The fact that the higher areas of the reverse are a bit lighter makes it even more appealing. Thanks for looking. Please share your group shots, latest acquisitions, white whale(s), or any coin you find relevant or like to show.
Very nice coins, @Limes! Here are two recent acquisitions, which have nothing in common except that both portray Roman emperors who lived to be over 70. Not a common outcome! Rhoemetalces and Augustus, AE 22 mm., 11 BCE-12 AD, Thrace. Obv. Jugate heads of King Rhoemetalces and his queen Pythodoris right, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΡΟΙΜΗΤΑΛΚΟΥ / Rev. bare head of Augustus right, ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΥ. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. I 1711 (1992); RPC I Online at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/1711 ; Sear GIC Thrace 5396 [D. Sear, Greek Imperial Coins and their Values (Seaby 1982)]. 22 mm., 8.93 g., 7 h. Ex. London Ancient Coins. [The photo has the Augustus side to the left, but all the authorities I looked at agree that that's actually the reverse side.] Tacitus, silvered billon Antoninianus, Lugdunum [Lyons] Mint, First Officina, 275-276 AD. Obv. Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust ight, IMP C L TACITVS AVG / Rev. Felicitas standing left, holding long caduceus upright in right hand and cornucopiae in left hand, TEMPORVM FELICITAS, A [First Officina] in left field, star [*] in right field. RIC V-1 65, Sear RCV III 11817 (ill.), Cohen 144. 23 mm., 3.4 g. Tacitus, of course, was the short-reigned emperor (what else is new for that century?) who claimed to be descended from the historian Tacitus, and was supposedly an aged Senator. However, Sear states (see Sear RCV III at p. 445) that his advanced age, his Senatorial status, and not only the fact but even the claim of descent from the historian, may all be later fictions, and that he may simply have been yet another military emperor from the Balkans. His portrait certainly doesn't look elderly, although by itself that proves nothing. Please follow up on Limes's suggestion on what to post. And/or post more coins of Tacitus or Augustus -- or Rhoemetalces -- or of other emperors who lived to be over 70!
excellent groups all. My group is 3 twos: biunex shell / knucklebone aes grave; Mercury / prow left aes grave sextans and two ounce scale weight with VNCIA II and gamma B.
Couple of weeks ago I received from David Hendin a nice coin of Titus from Dora with a countermark (Howgego 157). It is quite rare, I am aware of just two more examples, see Sofaer 27 for one of them. What is interesting, it completes a set of 6 coins for me - 3 of Vespasian (no c/m, one c/m, two c/ms) and same for Titus. I believe it is a unique set, I have never seen other coins of these two types bearing two countermarks. The LXF countermarks are found on some Dora coins but I have only seen them on 'autonomous' types with Doros.
Some wonderful coins in this thread. Those countermarks posted by @Factor really got me excited. But everything else too. Wow. Taking things down a notch, yesterday's mail brought me five coins from five separate eBay auctions. The Gordy is a duplicate, but $15 Gordies are like catnip to me; I have no willpower. That Neapolis Mt. Gerizim is way, way nicer than I expected, and it is countermarked - something I couldn't tell from the very dark auction photos. The harshly cleaned antoninianus top right is a DIVO CARO PARTHICO, a rather scarce type, from what I can tell. And a couple of eagle tets from Roman Alexandria, Aurelian and some other guy I haven't figured out yet. Anyway, bottom-feeder's delight:
