Inexpensive beauties

I was just going through my collection of Gallic Empire coins. With two or three exceptions I only have common types. Nevertheless, the dies for these low-value inflation coins were well-made and there are many real and inexpensive beauties to be found in this area. Like this common Tetricus II - SPES AVGG. I would be interested to see other coins that may be classified as "inexpensive beauties".

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Here is a Tetricus I FIDES MILITVM. I think the portrait is splendid.

 

Here is another common Tetricus II - SPES AVGG. I remember that I bought this coin some 20 years ago for 8 British Pounds from Baldwin's in London. Really nothing special, but on closer inspection it is an inexpensive beauty.

 

And another Tetricus I - SPES PVBLICA. Again, a common coin, but the portrait of Tetricus I is really nice.

 

On this one, Tetricus II seems to be smiling. Again a common SPES AVGG.

 

Nice examples of the type - especially the Tetricus II coins.

 

The flans of these coins are often very rough and obviously not much effort had gone into minting this Tetricus - SPES PVBLICA below. However, the die sinker was still working to the highest standards.

 

I agree, they all have excellent expressive portraits. It's remarkable the quality you can get for smaller prices with patience and luck.

 

I'm literally just rediscovering some of my earlier purchases, many of them have not been out of their holders in 10 or more years. I have some 70 coins of Tetricus I and II, which I'm currently going through. I'm taking pictures, before they go back to the bank vault. This one is nice too: Tetricus I - SALVS AVGG (apparently I paid 18 DM about 10 dollars in 1997)

 

True. I often wonder at several examples over the centuries where the dies were great and the striking hit and miss. There was a good cutter in Gaul at that time.

I am more a fan of the slightly earlier Postumus.

 

That is exactly the thing that I look for in an ancient coin, not its rarity, but its beauty. Even a most humble, common coin can become a treasured acquisition when they look like these do. Lucky you. The kind of double denarii that I have in my collection from this time period look like they were captured by the Goths who then did a double damnatio on them.

 

Sometimes they were made to high standards, and sometimes you get coins like mine that had no quality control whatsoever. Almost looks like it was struck on a raw piece of metal that was roughly round in shape.

 

These were high-inflation-coins. They have been turned out in very large numbers during a short period of time. Nonetheless, the dies were usually well engraved, but overused. In short, a decent strike from relatively fresh dies is a rarity, even if the type is otherwise very common.
Minting at the time was probably somewhat chaotic. This Tetricus II is not a beauty, but it has a strange reverse. The coin may be from an unofficial mint.

 

Here is another oddity I found in my collection. I have this Ant under Tetricus I, but I read .... IIVVS (VICTORINVS?). The reverse legend reads SAVC ... VS AVG. The AVG instead of AVGG points to Victorinus. The figure should come with a VIRTVS AVG reverse. The flan is very rugged and thin, but I think the dies are official.
Does anybody have an idea?

 

Another inexpensive beauty: Tetricus I PRINC IVVENT. I love the portrait. The reverse die has been overused.

 

Or this one here with this very dynamic portrait (but very weak reverse)...

View attachment 1034070

 

This one is a bit odd as well. Tetricus I - LAETITIA AVGG with a very small flan, but the flan is twice as thick as usual.

 

Two more nice portraits of Tetricus

 

Even some of the unofficial issues look quite appealing. I guess this is a Tetricus I - PAX AVGG

 

... two more