Hey friends, what do y'all think about this little mystery, a bronze I found in a mixed lot of provincials... I attribute it to Olba under Marcus Aurelius, which would make the coin the second known example of the type (possibly). The other example was Levante's plate coin, which CNG sold in 2011, Auction 269 Lot 263... Despite the fact that the busts on these coins look very different, I believe they are struck from the same dies. My coin got a weaker strike which didn't allow the beard detail to show, or any of the reverse lettering, but the rest of the details in both coins evince many point-to-point similarities. My full attribution is as follows... Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-180 AE28, 11.5g, 12h. CILICIA, Olba. Obv.: AYT KAI M AYPH ANTONINOC; Draped bust right. Rev.: OLBEΩN; Dionysus standing left, holding thrysos and kantharos over panther. Reference: Staffieri, Olba 49 = SNG Levante 654. Extremely rare - the only example known to Staffieri was the Levante plate coin. Here are some side-by-side images. What say you? Die match or John Anthony is seeing things again?
One is an old bust, one is young. One is draped, other is not. The reverse could be same dies though.
I see them both as draped, and the bust on my coin looks younger because of the weak strike that eliminated much of the beard. Look at the lettering to the left of the bust - it looks identical on both coins.
Yup, definitely more neck on the right, but that would also be due to a weakly-struck beard. I can't get over how similar the lettering is on both coins, so it makes me look for reasons why other points don't quite match, like the necks.
It is with great pain that I must pass on the opportunity on saying JA is seeing things but I agree that they are the same dies.
That's a cool coin! I say same dies as well. RPC Online lists a 4th example, from the SNG Levante supplement, but it's unpictured.
