LRB, What is it

I am a noob with ancients, but am slowly learning. What can members say about this one regarding ruler and authenticity?



19 mm, 2.92 g

 

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The last savior of paganism, Julian II!

 

Julian the Apostate!

 

This is from wildwinds:

Julian II AE3 20mm. DN FL CL IVLI-ANVS PF AVG, helmeted, cuirassed bust left, holding spear and shield / VOT X MVLT XX, legend in four lines within wreath, mintmark HERACL

https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/julian_II/t.html

I can't make out the exact last part of your mintmark.

 

Good job, the long form mintmark is a special one.

 

Julian is the only guy with such a dang fancy beard

 

Yup. That’s what always keys me in before I even read the legend.
The man’s beard game was on point!

 

It's always struck me as funny that Julian as caesar had a weird bare head freshly shaved. And then he suddenly rocks the ancient world with a beard for the ages.

 

I've been on leave almost a month and have been trying my best to imitate his beard but it is not nearly impressive.

 

OK, now that I have your attention........................this puppy is magnetic!!!!!

 

I've never checked any of my LRBs to see if they are magnetic or not. Can anyone else speak to that?

 

Just passed a magnet over about 40 LRB, and none stuck.

 

"Shaved" was his christian look, while "bearded" was pagan, a good old way to show his shift back to paganism.

 

lots of LRBs have trace amounts of iron.

here's a page with an analysis of the composition of alloys-

http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/metallurgy/

 

Yes he had an interesting beard. Supposedly his last words as he lay dying from a spear wound in his spleen were:

"Thou hast conquered, Galilean." referring to Jesus' triumph over paganism.

Like a lot of quotes invented by historians in antiquity it is probably embellishment. One of the favorite literary techniques of these writers is to add quotes and speeches attributed to historical characters of importance.

The account of his death in Ammianus Marcellinus, Liber XXV, passage 21:

"Meanwhile, all who were present wept, whereupon even then maintaining his authority, he chided them, saying that it was unworthy to mourn for a prince who was called to union with heaven and the stars. Then he himself engaged with the philosophers Maximus and Priscus in an intricate discussion about the nobility of the soul. Suddenly the wound in his pierced side opened wide, the pressure of the blood checked his breath, and after a draught of cold water for which he had asked, in the gloom of midnight he passed quietly away in the thirty-second year of his age."

 

There was recently a push toward calling the silver infused copper-lead-iron alloy of these later coins: Argentiferous Bronze. However, it doesn't appear to be catching on yet. The coin in question does indeed appear to be genuine, either authentic mint or a well-made contemporary copy.

Is there more to the story? Did you clean it yourself or purchase it in this condition?

 

Great question with the right answers. Enjoyed the lesson thanks.

 

I don't know about a recent push, but there is an article from 1968 on this subject-- Cope, L. H. “The Argentiferous Bronze Alloys of the Large Tetrarchic Folles of A.D. 294-307.” The Numismatic Chronicle 8 (1968) : 115-149.

 

LOL.
I stand corrected. I didn't realize the article was 50 odd years old, but on the other hand, 50 years might be considered "recently" when the coins themselves are around 16-1700 yrs old. j/k. good research.

 

That makes sense, but I think most people would be too lazy to say that mouthful. The most common term I've seen is simply "silvered" or "silver washed" for those coins with small (>5%) silver content, much of it deposited on the surface of the coin.