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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;red_spork, post: 3365763, member: 74282&quot;]As you guys know I almost never buy slabbed coins but I had to make an exception for my most recent purchase(of course it didn&#039;t stay in the slab for long). A large hoard of beautiful uncirculated victoriati has been hitting the market for the past year. The best coins from this hoard were sold at big name auctions but an absolutely astounding number of uncirculated victoriati of similar types and all with gleaming surfaces and cleaning techniques similar to the auction coins have been coming to market via other sources, mostly dealers who are more well known for selling modern coins and bullion. Most of these coins are slabbed and terribly overpriced, especially in light of the sheer number on the market but this one was at a price that was more in line with what I&#039;d expect to pay at auction so I snatched it up.</p><p><br /></p><p>This victoriatus is from the &quot;L&quot; mintmark series attributed to the mint of Luceria in Apulia. Luceria was one of the most prolific Roman mints of the Second Punic War and produced a staggering amount of coinage with multiple styles and weight standards and multiple mintmarks along with occasional odball denominations like the silver half victoriatus and the bronze dextans(10 asses). The coinage suggests Luceria had multiple workshops and produced coinage over a long period of time, perhaps continuing even after the cessation of hostilities though the victoriatus I&#039;m sharing today was likely struck during the war in the years immediately following the introduction of the denarius coinage circa 212 BC. This type doesn&#039;t show up in some of the earliest hoards but begins to appear in the slightly later ones and so likely was struck circa 210-208 B.C..</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m still not terribly happy with my photos of this coin but for now I&#039;m giving up until it tones down just a little bit. It seems like no matter how little light I use it&#039;s too much light and too harsh or I&#039;m shooting almost in the dark and the coin looks far darker than it actually is.&nbsp; I&#039;ll share a couple of pictures in an attempt to give a better idea of how this coin looks:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]892654[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]892651[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic AR Victoriatus(3.40g, 18.5mm, 5h). Anonymous(Second &quot;L&quot; series). ca. 211-208 B.C., Luceria mint. Laureate head of Jupiter right. Bead-and-reel border / Victory standing right, crowning trophy with wreath; L between. ROMA in exergue. Line border. Crawford 97/1b</p><p>Previously encapsulated by NGC, 4374418-122</p><p><br /></p><p>As always, feel free to share anything relevant[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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