Having trouble identifying these

This is a coin of Commodus FOR SURE. It is a Roman Provincial coin from the city of Pautalia in Thrace FOR SURE.

My best guess is that is was issued by the moneyer Julius Castus, AD 184-185, based upon the fragmentary reverse inscription. I believe the coin is Ruzicka 184, which he notes has a diameter of 29 mm.

This coin is not listed at Wildwinds or in Moushmov. I don't have access to Varbanov, so I don't know if it's in there, nor do I have access to Strack.

Ruzicka describes this obverse as: [ΑΥΓ ΚΑΙ ΜΑΡ] ΑΥΡ ΚΟΜ[Ο]Δ[ΟC], Kopf mit L. r. (langer Hals), which I, a non-German person, translate as "Laureate head, right (long neck)."

And the reverse: ΗΓΕ ΙΟΥ ΚΑCΤΟΥ|ΟΥΛ (so) ΠΑΥΤΑΛΙ u. i. Feld r. unten ΑC, Hera l. stehend, im Chiton und Himation, mit Mantelüberwurf um die Hüften und über den arm, in der vorgestreckten R. Schale; die erhobene L. mit Mantelzipfel am Szepter.

On this particular die, the name of the city is broken after ΠΑΥΤΑΛΙ and it continues with AC in the "exergue." Therefore, I am fairly confident of the attribution.

Ruzicka's reverse description I, a non-German person, translate as "Hera standing left, in Chiton and Himation, with drapery thrown over hips and arm, in the outstretched r. hand, patera; the raised l. hand with drapery on scepter."

I'd appreciate if one of our German members could double-check this translation.

 

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@MerlinAurelius -- when you post an unknown coin, it helps if you report the weight and diameter of the coin. Is this approximately 29 mm in diameter?

 

Among all the links that you would find helpful, I believe these two might be of considerable help in your 'detective work' of identification......

http://www.tesorillo.com/aes/home.htm

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/

Overall market values can be freely determined by accessing the archives of numerous auction houses (i.e. CNG) and by this acsearch link (if you are willing to pay the membership fee).

https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...e=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&images=1&currency=usd

 

Sorry, yes I see that would help. No it isn't, it's around 20 mm. The flan is irregular and not perfectly round so I'm not sure what the normal diameter would be and I don't have a ruler on hand at the moment. It is definitely~20mm

 

Another site invaluable for researching LRBs is
http://www.catbikes.ch/coinstuff/coins-ric.htm

 

Bookmarket!!~~

Thank you very much sir.

I absolutely love deepening my knowledge of history through ancient coins.

Now it's time to start learning Latin~~~

 

I want to say thank you to everyone who posted here and want to say it is so wonderful to have other people to talk to about coins and ancient history. You people are awesome.

I've never heard of Salus before today, anybody else have info on her? The snake has to do with the snake of Aesclepius and she is not the Roman version of Hygieia but similar. That's what I have so far.

 

Ruzicka 226, perhaps?
http://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4/8914/

 

Hey, maybe you'll become our new Salus expert? (maybe the ancient seed is germinating?)

cheers, either way

 

@MerlinAurelius

You don't need a ruler, what you need is a coin caliper and coin scale, and perhaps a few books in ancient coinage, and some catalog books. I recommend plastic calipers. Maybe slightly less precise than digital metal calipers, but at least they won't damage the coins accidentally.



I say slow down. As a dealer you should be able to offer a guarantee for life on your ancient sales. Any dealer worth their salt does. In order to get there, you'll need the right tools, lots of study, and plenty of experience with coins and coin catalogs.

I've been Collection ancients for the last 2 years, and even I would not dare to offer a guarantee on a coin yet. It's a lot of hard work. And authenticity aside, you also have to be able able to properly atribution your coins in order to know their price/rarity, and as a service to the buyer.

My advise is not to get upset and listen to our advise. I'm a collector, not a seller, so I'm not telling you this because of some fear of competition or whatever, as you accused a lot of us last time. I'm telling you this because I'd like you to learn and become sn educated collectors and eventually see you succeed as a dealer if that's what you'd like to do.

 

Thanks, @zumbly ! At 20 mm, that's gotta be it. Ruzicka 226 is described as being a 1.5-unit denomination and 20 mm in diameter and with the following characteristics:

ΑΥ Κ Μ ΑΥΡ ΚΟΜΟΔΟC, Bärtiges Brustbild mit L. P. M. r. (bearded bust with LPM right)--I have no idea what "L. P. M." might mean; the L probably for Lorbeerkranz (laurel crown) but I don't know what PM means.

ΟΥΛΠΙΑC ΠΑΥΤΑΛΙΑC, Hera nach vorn stehend, Kopf mit Diadem und Schleier l., in der vorgestreckten R. Schale, die erhobene L. am Szepter. (Hera standing facing, diademed and veiled head left; in the outstretched right arm, patera; the raised left arm on scepter).

 

The reverse inscription seems to match as does the size. Thank you. Sorry I could not do it myself.

 

I love ancient mythology. I will do my best to learn all I can. I am fairly familiar with Greek Mythology but Roman not so much. It is actually one of the reasons I love LRBs. Because of all of the different representations of gods and goddesses on the reverses. I like the actual history as well, but really after the Roman Republic my interest drops off steeply.

 

I appreciate the advice. Right now, I just sell on Ebay. I am dipping my toe in the water before investing massive amounts of capital. I took everyone's advice btw and did not order a bunch of those LRB's even though I got confirmation the seller was 100% legitimate. These coins I ordered for my personal collection last year and when I lost my job I decided to sell them. Is all of that kosher so far? I also want to sell some coins so that I can earn free coins for my collection so I can build up my collection without angering my wife. I research and vet the places I order from and am not as uneducated as people here seem to think. I have been collecting coins my whole life. But I don't have time to argue or explain things like this all the time here. I would much rather spend my time watching auctions and listing coins on ebay.

 

I'm with TIF on this one and go further. I have quite simply had it with people who decide they want to make a fortune in coins so they set themselves up as a dealer on eBay when they know nothing about coins other than where to buy junk lots. When your first question is 'How much is it worth', it is increasingly hard to consider you someone who shares our love for the coins and easy to write you off as a user. As Sallent mentioned, a dealer needs to know at least enough to be sure they are not selling fakes or cheating people. Study first, set up shop later. Pishpash pointed out the real truth of these coins and, as far as I know, most coins. Condition is everything. Your Probus / lion is a popular and desirable type and would be worth a decent price if it were in even half decent shape. It is not. Many of us show coins here that we consider rare and interesting but that does not mean that we think we should sell the things for several times what we paid for them.

 

See above post. Appreciate your post, but that ship has sailed already...BTW most of the coins I have sold on Ebay came from Forum Ancient Coins...

 

P is for panzer (cuirass) and M is mantle (paludamentum). This page is really useful for those German descriptive terms:
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=numismatic german

 

You obviously enjoy ancient Roman coins. May I suggest you assemble a modest library of books and pamphlets which would enable you to identify most Roman coins yourself. If you don't mind books in a lower grade of preservation (generally listed as 'good' by the sellers) you can assemble a respectable library for a surprisingly low price. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Roman Coins and their Values, David R. Sear. Buy and early edition (1964 or later) as the information is generally the same with only the values outdated. Less than $10.00
2. Handbook of Ancient Greek and Roman Coins, Zander H. Klawans, Whitman. Less than $10.00
3. Identifying Roman Coins, Richard Reese and Simon James. Less than $10.00

 

Fantastic! Thanks! So "Bearded, laureate, cuirassed and draped bust right."

 

It seems to me that some of the resistance and wariness being expressed by the other collectors on this site comes from their concern that you may be simply a middleman, buying and selling ancient coins, who poses as a knowledgeable dealer, rather than someone who has a genuine interest in ancient coins and also wants to make a business out of it as well.

As collectors, most people who frequent this site don't want to be "used" for their knowledge, or be enablers of someone posing as an ancient coin dealer but who really isn't. It seems clear that your interest in ancient coins is genuine, as is your desire to know more about the coins, but it's also apparent that your eagerness to engage in buying and selling ancient coins has gotten ahead of your knowledge about the coins.

You've discovered that this is a great site to find information about ancients, but it's not a substitute for really learning about ancient coins and being able to research and classify ancient coins by yourself, which is something you'll need to do if you want to be regarded as an honest dealer of ancient coins.

It's not my intention to discourage you from either collecting or reselling ancient coins, but rather to encourage you to learn more about them on your own (the resources suggested in this thread are a great start in this regard) and use this site as a source only when you've truly exhausted all the other resources at your disposal and are still stumped.