New to Ancients

I bought 200 of these most with almost complete silvering intact a year or so ago...still have them and havent got round to selling. I paid £8 each, noone else at the auction was interested which suprised me..but I thought they had potential. I'll post a group pic later.

 

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depending on the condition, there are those here who might be interested YOC.

 

As Doug mentions, there appears to be less interest in the coins of Licinius, for whatever reasons. They seem undervalued to me. There are plenty of marvelous coins to collect there, however. Here is a coin of his son's, Licinius II, with an unusual, apple-green patina...

 

I suppose no one wants coins of a loser and his kid. There are coins of Licinius that do sell for big money (the facing portrait types are not cheap) but most of the common types that overlap Constantine are cheaper. I suppose that there is a lot of added Christian demand for Constantine while Licinius is just another guy. There may be no one on coins less consequential than Licinius II who lived and died before he was elementary school age. He did have some cute little outfits.

 

"Cute little outfits" - lol, Doug. Yes indeed: let's play dress-up!

 

However, coins from London seem to be highly desired for whatever reason:

LICINIUS I AE2 Follis
OBVERSE: IMP LICINIVS P F AVG, laureate, cuirassed bust right
REVERSE: GENIO POP ROM S-F, Genius standing left, modius on head, loins draped, holding patera & cornucopia, PLN in ex.
Struck at London 313-4 AD
3.2g, 22mm
RIC VII 3

 

And another nice Licinius I, this being from Heraclea:

LICINIUS I AE3 Follis
OBVERSE: IMP LICI-NIVS AVG, laureate bust right, wearing imperial mantle, holding globe, sceptre & mappa
REVERSE: PROVIDEN-TIAE AVGG, campgate with three turrets, no door, delta in right field SMHA in ex.
Struck at Heraclea 318-320 AD
3.0g, 18mm
RIC VII 48

 

And a Licinius II:

LICINIUS II AE Follis
OBVERSE: DN VAL LICIN LICINIVS NOB C, helmeted & cuirassed bust left, holding spear & shield
REVERSE: IOVI CONS-ERVATORI, Jupiter standing left, chlamys across left shoulder, holding Victory on globe & leaning on sceptre, eagle with wreath left, captive right; X over II Mu in right field; SMNB in ex.
Struck at Nicomedia 321-324 AD
3.0g, 19mm
RIC VII 49

 

Possibly because coins of the Western mints were only produced early in Licinius' career, during the uneasy truce between himself and Constantine? They aren't nearly as plentiful as coins from the Eastern mints.

 

Of course you are right JA, but I was speaking in general terms as well. Just about any coins minted in Britain are highly sought after by many.

 

We who read English are more likely to be competing for coins with UK collectors who might be expected to favor the mint located on their soil. Perhaps if you looked for buys from Continental dealers you might find more emphasis on Trier or Lyon coins. I'm not sure how many people in the Antioch/Alexandria are collecting coins of that region and those mints were very productive so prices might be expected to be lower. While London was part of the Empire, it was still a bit on the periphery so fewer coins now need to be divided among more UK specialists. I don't usually pay extra for London coins which means I don't get those that are desired by UK collectors.

 

Here is the other one I picked up yesterday

I'm having a hard time attributing this one due to the worn obv legend. At first I thought it was Licinius, however, after reading up on the Tetrarchy I discovered that the coinage for each emperor in the Tetrarchy used the same bust features to present somewhat of a unified rulership.

The reverse is a little more legible and I'm pretty sure it reads GENIO POPVI ROMANI

The mint mark under exurge reads HTE which is Heraclea.

28mm
8.5g

I'm between Diocletian, Galerius, and Maximinanus.... Anyone I'm missing?

It looks smoother in hand.. I need to work on photography next. One thing at a time.

One other question, there is some dirt/crud around the letters. Can I safely remove it with olive oil and a thorn? (Ill do a search on cleaning)

 

Severus II FL VAL SEVERVS NOBIL CAES Heraclea HTE

 

Doug, were you able to read the legend or did you use something else to attribute? Severus II was not even on my radar.

 

The legend is a bit mushy, but pretty clear. It takes some practice to read Roman lettering on coins, and Doug's had a lot of practice.

 

they are clearly a hoard or part thereof...sold by an auction house.
condition is 'as struck' for most.