In Thursday's Mail -- an Antoninus Pius sestertius

My most recent acquisition. Post the most recent additions to your collection!


Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 23.46 g, 32.3 mm, 12 h.
Rome, December 159 - December 160.
Obv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XXIII, laureate head, right.
Rev: PIETATI AVG COS IIII, Pietas, standing facing, head left, holding globe in extended right hand and child on left arm; on either side of her, small girl standing, raising one hand.
Refs: RIC 1031; BMCRE 2088-90; Cohen 621; Strack 1192; RCV 4205.
Notes: Likely commemorates the birth of Fadilla to Faustina II; the children at the goddess' feet are thought to represent Faustina III and Lucilla. RIC 1002 and BMCRE 2062 are misdescribed by Mattingly in both RIC3 and BMCRE4. It is extremely doubtful that any specimens read TR P XXII on obv., but actually read TR P XXIII with the final "I" being merged with the neck truncation.

 

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Wonderful Pius portrait I wonder what the significance of the little girl on the reverse?
Speaking of interesting reverses, though this coin may as well be from a different planetas the op coin, you did ask for latest acquisitions.
This coin is a rarity, I've only seen once other (don't worry it too is in my collection), it's a tiny half unit Macedonian shield. With the very odd characteristic of having grain ears on the sides of the helmet as opposed to the normal bushels we are so used to seeing. What did these grain ears on a helmet signify? And which Antigonos was this minted under???


Antigonos II Gonatas/Antigonus III Doson
Æ (13mm, 1.8 g,1/2 unit). Uncertain Macedonian mint. Macedonian shield with monogram of Antigonos in central boss / Macedonian helmet sans bushel flanked by grain ears ; kerykeion to left, green patina.
Possibly singular for the type

 

I too got an Antoninus Pius sestertius in Thursday's mail. Salus reverse - I haven't attributed it yet:

 

Cool! Does the reverse say SALVS AVG or DES IIII?

 

I have the DES IIII version, and I thought this was a duplicate (a nicer one). But I think I see an "L" next to the snake, which would make it SALVS type.

The flip came with attribution, which at a quick glance looks correct, but I plan on staring at it some more:



That is not what I paid for it, by the way.

 

Here's my most recent addition - from a CoinTalker, too.

Anonymous - Corn-ear Denarius (but with the corn-ear)
Obv. X - Helmeted head of Roma right
Rev. Dioscuri right
Exergue: ROMA
Mint: Sicily (ca. 211-208 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 3.36g / - / 5h
References:

• Sydenham 191
• Crawford 68/1b
• BMCRR Rome 191

More coming - some expected on Monday

ATB,
Aidan.

 

Won 29 coins (nothing spectacular) last weekend - 16 individual purchases and a lot of 13 coins in worse conservation (but it was great fun identifying them).
Mail arrived on Friday morning.
Mr. Pius was well represented in these lots, we have a Dupondius (RIC III Antoninus Pius 1020):

... and an As, from the cheaper lot, bad conservation, unable to identify if it's RIC 957 or 973 but it has a nice patina (I can't take a better pic, it seems)


And because my only Sestertius (Titus) was very lonely, there's a new one from Severus Alexander, they get along fine (RIC IV Severus Alexander 618.)

 

@Roman Collector...Very nice example!..Really like the colouring and deail!

...
That I've received in hand...This one...Hermes...
My first Griffin...
Ionia, Phokaia, c. 350-300 BC. Æ (15mm, 4.36g, 11h). Phokleon, magistrate.
Obverse..Head of Hermes facing left wearing a Petasos hat tied at the back.
Reverse..Forepart of a griffin springing left. ΦΩKAEΩN (PHOKAEON), name of the magistrate below.
SNG Copenhagen 1039ff (magistrate); BMC 101.

 

My most recent acquisition is also a Roman Sestertius. It is still in the mail, but should arrive next week. I like the brighter color, and a clear hairstyle.

Faustina Junior AE Sestertius.
23.96g, 30mm
Rome Mint, 154-157AD
Obv: Draped bust right
Rev: Spes standing left, holding flower and hem of skirt
RIC III 1371 (Pius); Sear 4711

 

I've about gone blind trying to attribute this one! I keep telling myself this is what makes collecting low grade material fun.

Well, the seller attribution is wrong - RIC 784 has COS IIII obverse, and mine is clearly COS III.

The mostly-missing reverse legend is frustrating, but I think it must be DES IIII type (RIC 749). My main reason for saying this is that there is a letter directly behind the snake head and this only seems to happen on some DES IIII types, never, so that I can find, SALVS AVG types (RIC 636).

Also, I think I found an obverse die match from an acsearch for RIC 749? Peculiarities of the lettering and the bust seem to align, though mine has more wear (mine on the right):



Note the letter E behind the snake (though the reverse die does not match mine, it is close, maybe):




https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=2594917

The auction photo is poor because I don't have an acsearch membership for the full-sized version.

Mine again:



I have another example of RIC 749 I bought last year - the DES is clear (somewhat) on the reverse. Note there is no letter behind the snake's head - some of the others I looked at were like this, but not all.

 

It just occurred to me I have a sestertius similar to the OP. This is one of those Antoninus Pius sestertii that is on a broad, thin flan. Not sure what is up with this, but I have a couple of them - they run kind of light weight too:



Antoninus Pius Æ Sestertius
(c. 158-159 A.D.)
Rome Mint
ANTONINVS AVG [PIVS PP T]R P XXII (?), laureate head right / [PI]ETATI AVG COS IIII S-C, Pietas draped standing left hold ing globe and child, to left and right two small girls standing.
RIC 1002; BMC 2062.
(17.34 grams / 34 mm)

An earlier RC post had this information, which I had in my notes for this, since the XXII might be in error (also noted in the OP) - I hadn't gotten around to editing my attribution, so maybe that would be a good project today:

"Now, in terms of the inscription, Paul Dinsdale (@paulus_dinius), p. 545, writes:
It is extremely doubtful that any specimens read TR P XXII on obv., but actually read TR P XXIII with either the final ‘I’ being merged with the neck truncation, or, owing to a die flaw, the final two numerals being obscured (see illustrated details). British Museum (1867,0101.2068) = BMCRE 2061 has been tooled to read TR P XXI on obv., whilst British Museum (1872,0709.653)= BMCRE 2062 clearly reads TR P XXIII. Strack lists three specimens, including one of those from the B.M., but cites as a source of illustration a specimen in Dr Jacob Hirsch, Munich (Auction 34, Gutekunst), 5.5.1914, pl.34, 1125, which again clearly reads TR P XXIII.Cohen cites a specimen from Copenhagen–unsubstantiated by Strack. "

Roman Collector on CT Aug. 2020

Just fixed my attribution - with thanks RC for all the research I copied!

Antoninus Pius Æ Sestertius
(Dec. 159-Dec. 160 A.D.)
Rome Mint
ANTONINVS AVG [PIVS PP T]R P XXIII, laureate head right / [PI]ETATI AVG COS IIII S-C, Pietas draped standing left holding globe and child, to left and
right two small girls standing.
RIC 1031; BMCRE 2088-90.
(17.34 grams / 34 mm)

Notes: "Likely commemorates the birth of Fadilla to Faustina II; the children...are thought to represent Faustina III and Lucilla.
RIC 1002 and BMCRE 2062 are misdescribed by Mattingly in both RIC3 and BMCRE4. It is extremely doubtful that any specimens read TR P XXII on obv., but actually read TR P XXIII with the final "I" being merged with the neck"
Roman Collector - Coin Talk Nov 2020