Macrinus - YES or NO

I bought this coin as 'Macrinus' but as I try to 'attribute' it I am having doubts. Can anyone help, please?

 

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The gang will be here shortly......

 

I'm hammered, but perhaps I can help?

Topcat => it has great eye-appeal ...

Oh, and this is what my example looks like ...

 

Well, obviously 'Provincial' as indicated by the Greek lettering...and many of the 'Gang' are far more adept at those types than i am...and they WILL be here shortly......

Hmmm, 'hammered' Steve just helped a bit.

OK Steve, you're CUT-OFF!!!

 

I think it is. Do you want me to post the full attribution, or do you want to try to find it yourself?

 

Oh, TIF, I would be very grateful with the FULL attribution, if you can, please.
I have been round and round in circles so much i am 'dizzy'.

 

And to think.....on a school night.

 

Here's my 'Imperial' version:

 

MOESIA INFERIOR, Nicopolis ad Istrum. Macrinus
AD 217-218, Statius Longinus, consular legate
Obv: Laureate bust right, slight drapery on left shoulder
Rev: VPCTATI LONGINO-V NI-KOPOLITWN PRO-C ICTPW, Hermes standing left, holding purse and caduceus; cock at feet left
Ref: AMNG I 1747; SNG Copenhagen -; SNG Budapest -; Varbanov 3546

Sorry, I haven't found the full obverse legend typed out.

Looks like CNG had one from the same dies, both sides:

 

On my knees, again.
Thank-you T.I.F. You have done well. I.O.U.

 

These guys (unlike this old sod) are good......

 

Nice coins, Steve, M.Z.
I find that the Imperial coinage is far easier to attribute.

 

I think that I read your 'Birth Notice' in the newspaper, that day.

 

Me too....but 'practice makes perfect' they say...and since I'm starting to get more and more into 'provincials' I'd better improve and real soon. LOL

 

You did? Could you read it to me? I forget.......

 

Then again, I couldn't have known about it.......

 

About all I can remember now, (after all, it was more than six and a half decades ago), is that it did say that you were very young. (Lol)

 

Definitely!

In general, I prefer Provincials because of their variety. The reverses are usually something specific or meaningful to the city or place of issue. After browsing thousands and thousands of Provincials, it becomes easier to read the Greek and to understand their spelling and typical abbreviations.

There aren't any comprehensive Provincial references so digging for information is a bit harder. There are many old catalogs and texts available in their entirety online, although often in other languages. Even if written in a language you don't read, it is possible (but tedious) to use them. My first stops are always CNG's archives and Wildwinds. CNG's database is particularly easy to search. For instance, for your coin I just typed "Macrinus, AE, Hermes" and found it quickly. If you didn't know who the reverse figure was, you'd probably find it just as easily with "Macrinus, AE, caduceus". Wildwinds' search function is much harder to use with so I always try CNG first.

If I get close, sometimes the cited references for similar coins can help. For public domain books/catalogs (old ones), you can find many of them in various archives. Flipping through .pdf books is a pain but it beats spending many thousands of dollars on books that you may only occasionally need.

 

Yes, Green was indeed born at a very young age.

 

@ T.I.F.
Your comments are much appreciated.
Thank-you.
I will apply them to some other 'Provincials' that I have.
Dane already has me learning the Greek alphabet, to help me attribute the coins.
Patience, (or lack of it), is a problem.
I will get there.