is this 'Scantilla' really Domna?

I recently purchased an inexpensive (very inexpensive as Scantillas would go) worn sestertius. However, after some counter-opinions, I think it is really Domna.

It was a very quick purchase on my part, made on my phone, and I quickly acted because I thought that it'd be gone by the time I got home. The women of Rome also were never really my specialty, so I'd be less likely to notice a subtle difference.

I believe it was an honest attribution mistake. The dealer is very reputable, and I have 15+ years of happy purchases. There's a cross-section of people here who aren't on Numisforums, and I wanted to get some final opinons before reaching out to the dealer.

Of the acsearch.info examples which I considered to be relatively bulletproof Scantillas (CNG, NFA, etc.), I found some differences. The bona fide Scantillas have a straighter nose. Domna of this type has more of a curved button nose (of vcoins and acsearch examples with this same hairdo). Scantilla has kind of a Balbinus jowl line going on. Domna's chinline is straight.

I didn't consider the very worn acsearch Scantillas, as some were probably misattributed Domnas.


27mm, 18.2g.

Here's an HJB example of the Domna type:
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=6700499

 

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I almost bought it when it was newly listed, but I had reservations about it being Domna too.

 

I took a look at the obverse to see if I could make anything out of the legends and was not able to.

Some Domna (of the Juno type) have straighter noses than others on acsearch results but all seem to have the straighter chinline.

No one's perfect. If it is indeed an attribution mistake I am quite sure that it was unintentional. I've heard nothing but good things about said dealer and I've had 15+ years of happy transactions.

I will get around to writing the email this weekend.

 

I am 80% sure this empress is Julia Domna. With a coin that is so worn, the only visible difference with Manlia Scantilla's profile is the angle between the chin and the neck. For Julia Domna it's a little more than 90°, for Manlia Scantilla it's a wider angle, c. 130°. On this coin it's almost a right angle, therefore it must be Julia Domna.

 

Yes, that's the same conclusion I came to. I am admittedly inexperienced with Domna coins, but I noticed that the more bona fide Scantillas had kind of Balbinus jowls going on. Domna had a straighter chinline.

The early Domna nose on acsearch examples ranged from a button nose to more of a straighter nose. I suppose this can be explained by different engravers and the cleaning/tooling process. This Juno Domna issue seems to be scarcer, but many/most of the acsearch examples had at least some heavy smoothing going on.

Aaron Berk says something like, know your coin or know your dealer. I don't think I'll have too much trouble coming to some agreement.

 

I've procrastinated writing the email. Might as well get it over with.

I looked at the coin closely this morning, and I can't make heads nor tails of any legend left. I agree with GinoLR. There's an 80% chance this is a Domna.

The men of Rome are my expertise. I would have been more likely to notice something off. However, it's pretty tough on the phone. I've also generally been avoiding decrepit coins.

 

Your Caligula with Bronze Disease came from him too.

I think you bought a second Caligula that also got BD from him too.

 

I've been pretty good about avoiding coins with BD, ever since the Great BD Outbreak of 2000. None of my coins from him have gone sour. I generally avoid stripped coins, and I've learned something that 1998 me didn't understand; I also avoid coins with purplish spots. It's also rare that I handle my coins. In the flip they go and that's generally the last I touch them.

There's two main suspects for that outbreak, and both had fried, dry surfaces. The Trajan also had purple patches.

He and Marc B were my main go-to dealers from about 2009-2012 (I didn't collect much from 2012-22).

I'm fairly sure the outcome of this won't be too scary. Worse comes to worse, I'll have to send it. A partial refund is my preferred outcome. The coin would likely just come back from the next person, as well.

My minor lesson is learned; try not to buy on the phone, and if I do, make it something that I have expertise in. I never cared much about the women of Rome until recently so I never studied them. I wouldn't notice a subtle difference.

That was a pretty extraordinary circumstance for me, though. There wasn't too much time to react. If the price had been higher, I would have waited until I got home.

It's also much easier to get a quick response from him. I wasn't at all surprised when I got an unhelpful response (from a different dealer) when the Nero broke. The rare times I had needed communication, it was like pulling teeth and service had usually been pretty slow. I never did get any satisfaction from that and ate $80. Lovely coins there, but it wasn't worth it for me to order any more. I did order only once more, no problems, but it was something for which I was fairly desperate for. The inexplicable change to the floppy mailer and no real bracing is what got me. Like Nancy Kerrigan said, "Why????" Before that the coins were sent properly.

Speaking of BD, I had purchased a plague face Justinian with a really nice patina, from the Nero dealer. Some stuff on the edge gave me pause whether it's BD or not. I've kept it separate and there haven't been any changes since I bought it. The green also isn't neon green, there's just some green patches lighter than the dark green patina, where the main patina has chipped off.

I'm still very happy with the lovely Magnus Maximus siliqua and the Otho tet, respectively, from the Scantilla dealer.

It wouldn't be worth the reputational risk over an el-cheapo $127 coin, especially with the great likelihood of it being called out on a coin board. I'm sure that the misattribution wasn't nefarious. There's still a reservoir of 15+ years of good will.

 

I've wrote up a rough draft of the email, but it's been a busy week, I didn't feel like dealing with anything stressful, and I haven't gotten around to finishing it.

This is the first time in 30+ years that I can recall encountering this type of situation.

 

I would keep trying to find a match - maybe the British Museum has more examples - I assume you tried matching up the bust details and the placement of the figures on the reverse. Jeez now I am curious enough about it to do it as well!

.....jeez not so easy.

 

No one on three forums thought it was a Scantilla. Mauseus on Forum had a good, not-messed-with budget example (better than mine) of a Scantilla. The Balbinus-type chin really stood out.

I concur with GinoLR, there's an 80%+ chance this is a Domna.