My last coin of the year was a significant one for my collection: I haven't owned a Pescennius Niger coin before. I got this one for about half the price of what aVF ones sell for these days. It sure is beaten up, but I find it interesting. The scars look old, and they look like they have been inflicted with purpose. (Right?) This makes me believe it could be the result of the "damnatio memoriae" that was cast on Pescennius Niger. What do you think? Pescennius Niger, 193–194 AD Denarius, Antiochia 193 AD. Damnatio Memoriae? Obverse; IMP CAES C PESCE NIGER IVST, Laureate head right. Reverse: MINER VICTRIS, Minerva standing facing, headleft, holding Victory and spear. Reference: RIC 60, RCV 6117, BMCRE 309 Size: 18 mm. Weight: 3.57 g. Conservation: Scratches, flan damage: cleaned - Rare. "The battle of Issus took place on 31 March 194, and Pescennius Niger was defeated. According to the historian Cassius Dio, 20,000 people were massacred. Pescennius tried to flee to his ally, the Parthian king Vologases V, but he was intercepted by the soldiers of Severus before he could cross the Euphrates. His reign had lasted less than one year. He was killed and his head was sent to Byzantium in order to induce the defenders to surrender. Severus punished Pescennius' adherents and sent his family into exile. The Senate convened and pronounced a damnatio memoriae." https://www.livius.org/articles/person/pescennius-niger/ Post your coins from the turbulent times of 193 and 194 AD here.
Nice catch @svessien! Hard to see and perhaps its because of the photo, but it looks like a copper core underneath the deeper scratches, and at three o clock? Here's my PN, horrible quality (as it should be ):
That was my initial thought too, but the weight (3.57g) seems pretty heavy even for a solid silver issue this late in the empire.
