Isis Riding a Dog Drachm, or Not? Adventures in Low-Grade Ancients

There hasn't been many trashy threads lately, so I thought I'd bring down the Coin Talk neighborhood real estate values with some uglies. Say what you want about low-grade lots of unattributed ancients off eBay (uncollectable junk, waste of money) they can really make you work hard for attributions.

Here's my latest, four big AEs snagged for $11.50. Yikes!



Number 1: First off, here is an Alexandria, Egypt AE drachm of Antoninus Pius. The obverse is not too horrid, with some of the legend even being visible.

However, the reverse is bronze hamburger, but I was determined to figure it out. So I pulled up everything issued Alexandria for Antoninus Pius and got 114 pages (!) on RPC Online. My coin doesn't have enough visible to narrow the search, so I started scrolling. On page 107 (!!) I found Isis riding a dog and I think I got a match. Page 107, I said. Of course it was page 107.



Or am I fooling myself? Below are three versions of the reverse, one enhanced (dog in red, Isis in blue, cornucopiae in green), the third from RPC, showing what a nice one looks like:

Antoninus Pius Æ Drachm
Year LKA=21 (157-158 A.D.)
Alexandria Mint
[ΑVΤ Κ]ΑΙ Τ ΑΙΛ Α[ΔΡ ΑΝΤƱΝΙΝΟϹ ϹƐΒ (ƐVϹ)], laureate draped bust right / Isis Sothis, holding cornucopia and sceptre, riding right on dog running right, [LKA below].
RPC IV.4, 15227 (temporary)
(15.45 grams / 32 x 29 mm)
Attribution Note:
Reverse is very worn and pitted, but dog's tail, along with face and cornucopiae of Isis are visible, barely. Unsure attribution.
Köln 1804 var. (obv. bust type); Dattari (Savio) 8580; K&G 35.752 var. (same); RPC IV.4 Online 15227; Emmett 1593.21.

Number 2: This next one got me really excited - a Scorpion from Commagene, with what might be a countermark. At first I thought it was Antiochus IV, but it is is wife Iotape - you can see the bun low down at her neck. It is too bad this is so pitted - the bust of Iotape is lovely, beneath the damage.

Kingdom of Commagene Æ 25
Iotape (Antiochus IV consort)
(c. 66-72 A.D. - Straight Edge)
Samosata Mint
BA[ΣIΛIΣΣA IΩTAΠH ΦIΛAΔEΛΦOΣ], diademed and draped bust right / KOMMAΓ−
HNΩN, around scorpion, all within laurel wreath.
RPC I 3858; BMC Iotape 4.
(15.72 grams / 25 x 24 mm)
Countermark: Countermark anchor (?), in 5-6 mm irregular circle or square. Howgego 372
Countermark is not entirely clear on this specimen. This issue often found countermarked with these:
Cornucopiae: Howgego 403
Anchor: Howgego 372

@Roman Collector has a nice one of these here: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/keeping-it-in-the-family-iotape-and-antiochus-iv.312205/

Number 3: I've given up on this one - a big Provincial (30 mm) of Antoninus Pius, with Zeus or somebody seated left. If anybody wants to give me a guess, I'd be delighted:

Antoninus Pius Æ 30
(c. 138-161 A.D.)
Unknown Provincial
[?}..AV...[?], laureate head right / [...?...], Zeus (?) seated on throne left, holding eagle or patera (?)
(16.74 grams / 30 mm)
Attribution Note: Searched RPC Online for seated Zeus reverse types, of which
there are many. Not enough details preserved on this specimen to make a match.
Synnada Phrygia is possible; large size, similar style. See RPC 2206.

Number 4: Finally, here is the reason I bid on this lot - an as of Lucius Verus on a small flan, well-worn, but the most respectable of the lot. The three trophies reverse is a bit scarce, and has an interesting military background:


Lucius Verus Æ As
(167-168 A.D.)
Rome Mint
[L VERVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX], laureate head right / [TR POT VII] IMP IIII CO[S III S C], Three trophies
RIC 1464.
(8.12 grams / 22 mm)
Type Note: "The type commemorates Verus' three Eastern victories, over the Armenians, Parthians, and Medes."
Harlan J. Berk Buy or Bid Sale 198, Lot 361, 07.07.2016

The portrait on this kept nagging at me, until I figured it was because Lucius Verus here looks a lot like poet Ezra Pound:



Well, it was quite a coin-workout to figure these out, but it was fun. Share your uglies, poet-emperor portraits, or nicer versions of the above (I know there are some nice Isis-on-a-dog drachms out there) or whatever else you feel like.

 

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I think you nailed it with the first coin. Congratulations for the patience to go through 107 pages.

I am also expecting tomorrow my latest wins, among others I won a lot of 12 very worn coins spending a full 30 EUR. Some of them might be a completely lost cause but at least I will work a little on attribution.

 

Post them when you get them, please! I like those kind of "discovery" threads.