Huh? (Bizarre LRB)

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by gsimonel, Dec 8, 2018.

  1. gsimonel

    gsimonel Well-Known Member

    Okay. This one has me totally flummoxed. The coin is about 15 mm and weighs 1.9g.

    I don't even know which side to call the obverse. I'll start with this side:
    HuhSideA.jpg
    Looks to be a very crude portrait, but rotated about 100 degrees clockwise I can see traces of a FEL TEMP fallen horseman reverse at 1:00-2:00. I can see traces of the letters MP at around 11:00 on the second photo, so I'm thinking it's one of the later FH types from between 355-361 C.E., because the inscription appears to break FEL TEMP - REPARATIO rather than FEL TEMP RE-PARATIO.

    Now things get really weird. Here's the other side: HuhSideB.jpg
    Looks like an mid 5th century VICTORIA AVG(G) reverse. Rotate it about 90 degrees though, and it looks like part on an off-centered URBS ROMA wolf and twins reverse with the two stars off the flan (and the poor twins totally destroyed). But wait! Rotate it another120 degrees or so and you can see the ghost of Constantius II at the top of the coin, with the letters CONSTAN on the left and the bottoms of the letters TIVS on the right.

    Okay, over-strikes like that happen sometimes, but how can a late FEL TEMP be over-struck by an URBS ROMA? Could it be a barbarous, Vandalic-era Urbs Roma imitation over-struck on a 5th century Victoria type, which was in turn over-stuck on the obverse of a later Fel Temp? But if that's the case, why isn't there any trace of helmeted Roma on the other side? And what are the letters of Constantius' name doing on top of the wolf's head if the barbarous imitation was struck last?

    None of this makes any sense to me. Anybody have any ideas?
     
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  3. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Waaaaaaay out of my league but my first thought was Chach or something from the eastern reaches of the ancient world.
     
    Ardatirion likes this.
  4. Orange Julius

    Orange Julius Well-Known Member

    That’s a great coin... whatever it is!
     
  5. dadams

    dadams Well-Known Member

    I'll be no use here - I saw Pinocchio on the obv and two guys leap frogging on the rev and I ain't even been drinking :facepalm:
     
  6. gsimonel

    gsimonel Well-Known Member

    Aah. You see, there's your problem . . .
     
  7. Plumbata

    Plumbata Well-Known Member

    I have no expertise but it looks like an Indian imitation of a LRB. No idea about being an overstrike.
     
  8. Ed Snible

    Ed Snible Well-Known Member

    Christmastown?

    xmastown.png
     
  9. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    It's not Chach, there isn't anything like it in the lexicon. Honestly to me it appears at first to be engraved by hand, but I'm not sure. The undertype seems too thin and the main devices too thick and robust. So, was it engraved by hand or struck? Being struck doesnt seem likely, but who knows? I dont know what to think exactly other than it looks very cool.
     
  10. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    Pretty cool coin but I am of no help in attribution. Mystery to me.
     
  11. Orfew

    Orfew Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

  12. randygeki

    randygeki Coin Collector

    I definitely see the Falling Horseman under type.

    Neat coin
     
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