ID this ancient.

Found this behind my dresser while cleaning my room.

 

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Constantius II from Antioch (SMANA in ex.) minted between 337-347 AD. RIC 49.

 

Too fast for me Batman

Detecto: That's a very nice looking coin.:thumb:

 

RIC 49 and Constantius II is not matching up in wildwinds.

 

Click...

 

The numbering restarts with each mint. RIC 49 from Alexandria ≠ RIC 49 from Antioch. Also, be aware that Constantius II appears in both RIC VII and VIII.

 

Here is the photo from wildwinds for RIC VIII 49 from antioch.


The neck does not match.

 

I think it is RIC VIII Antioch 56

Constantius II AE3.

OBV: CONSTAN-TIVS AVG, Pearl diademed head right.

REV: GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS, two soldiers holding spears and shields with one standard between them, SMAN delta in ex.

REF: RIC VIII Antioch 56

 

You must have quite an ancient house.

 

I retook the photo and used some post processing to bring out more detail. My point and shoot doesn't fare well with smaller coins.


BTW, the "In ex" letters Are SMAN?

 

Ummm? ... hey, I've never claimed to be an expert, but doesn't this kinda look like Mosquito-Boy?

 

SMAN delta. It could be an "A", but it looks like a poorly engraved or preserved delta to me.

 

Yup, you're right, naked bust that is :thumb:

On the 1st pic I saw SMANA... but not that sure now with the second pic :scratch:

 

This is making me pull my hair out. None of the necks match.

 

Here is another photo with a different officina (workshop) of the same RIC catalog ID.



One thing you might want to realize is that all ancient coins were handmade and engraved. That being said, most coins look all look slightly different because the dies were engraved by various workshops from different people.

Just a few workshops from this mint, during this time are.

Delta
Gamma
Theta
AI
BI
H

So, that's just 6 die variations alone (could be lots more). So, the neck having a slightly different shape is hardly unusual. I believe it's still the same attribution.

 

That coin is "BI", btw.

 

Thanks for the education. I guess with collecting US coins, I didn't realize the major differences there were in the coining process. Most us coin designs pretty much turn out the same, with minute variations that can be hard to spot.

I think the issue with this particular coin is that the reverse (two soldiers standing) was used on quite a few coins.

your pic shows SMANBI mine is SMANA or SMANΔ

 

Yes, I'm aware. Was using that as an example of die variations.

Trust me. Your attribution is;

Constantius II AE3.

OBV: CONSTAN-TIVS AVG, Pearl diademed head right.

REV: GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS, two soldiers holding spears and shields with one standard between them, SMAN delta in ex.

REF: RIC VIII Antioch 56

 

Thanks.

BTW, what's an affordable ancient coin made from silver?

 

Around $20-$30. You can find them by looking around. Mostly Roman Imperial Denarii or Antonini.