Not another Nemausus Crocodile coin!!

I usually only post my coins after they've arrived, but I'll go ahead and post this CNG Wednesday win as a tip of the hat to @stevex6 . I already have a fairly nice Nemausus croc, but one is seldom enough with these coins, and Steve by stepping back from a coin he also had his eye on, allowed me to score it for a modest hammer of $140. Thanks to @TIF as well for keeping two dogs from fighting over one bone .

The coin shows a fair amount of wear and surface roughness, but is almost perfectly centered on one side and about 80% on the other, so just about all the devices are intact. If that were not enough to make it a keeper, this rare variant has the abbreviated city name spelled COL-NIM rather than COL-NEM!

If you aren't by now completely and totally bored with these coins, feel free to comment or throw in your own croc coins!



AUGUSTUS, WITH AGRIPPA
AE As
11.98g, 25mm
GAUL, Nemasus, circa 20-10 BC
RIC I 156 (R)
O: IMP/DIVI.F., head of Agrippa left, wearing combined rostral crown and laurel wreath, bare head of Augustus right.
R: COL-NIM, crocodile right chained to palm frond with its tip to right; two wreaths above, palm fronds below.

 

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I didn't even know a COL NIM variant existed. What'll they think of next?

 

I love this type! You got a really nice example. Congrats!

 

That is a great croc.

 

another nice croc Z! these have been near the top of my least for overa year. i was shopping for one of these recently and just could find one that was right for the amount i had to spend. i was even looking for a nice half of one.

 

That's a wonderful, well detailed coin Z. I wonder about the horn on the snout?

 

Just jokes, Z-Bro ... it was my pleasure to step-aside and let you swipe this croc without an ugly auction dog-fight (you're a great guy, so I'm sure that you'll stay clear the next time we clash, eh?)

It is a great coin and super-interesting with the ancient typo (very cool)

Oh, and it has an "extra" portion of snout!! (sadly, my coin is snout-less)

 

Thanks for the compliments, guys.

Yes, I really like the 'horn'! Some examples of the earlier issues display this feature quite prominently, or have several high ridges along the length of the upper jaw. I put it down to artistic license. Doug showed one of these latter ones recently in this thread:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/return-of-the-croc-another-nemausis-dupondius.274893/#post-2350741

 

I would post mine...but I don't have one.

 

Someone needs to buy a coin .

 

Haha! Ya.

 

WOW NIM!!!

 

Excellent score, Zumbly!! The blundered legend makes it even better.

Hallelujah, I finally found the "right" upgrade for my COL-NEM

It arrived yesterday after a somewhat shorter than usual trek from Europe.

Not wanting to spend four figures on a fantastic example-- which are few and far between anyway-- like most of us I had to set priorities. My priorities: well-centered reverse with all elements present and prominently visible chain. Except for slight loss of the croc's snout, this coin fit the bill nicely and I was very happy with the price.


Augustus & Agrippa
Gaul, Nemausus, c. 10 BCE - CE 10
AE dupondius
Obv: IMP/DIVI; heads of Agrippa to left, wearing combined rostral crown and laurel wreath, and of Augustus to right, wearing oak wreath, back to back
Rev: COL-NEM; long, vertical palm with crocodile chained below, wreath to left of palm tip with ties trailing to right; two palm fronds below
Ref: RIC 158; AMC 425; Cohen 10; RPC 524

The auction listed the provenance as "From the collection of a Man of the Cloth, now giving up the pursuit; acquired in the 1990s." Hmm. Is the man giving up priesthood or is he giving up coin collecting?

As for date of issue, I copied the auction attribution. It's not the earliest type-- Zumbly's example with the more cartoonish crocodile is the earliest type. It's not the lastest type-- those have P P on the obverse. Coins similar to mine in CNG's archives show various dates: "9/8 - 3 BCE", "9 - 3 BCE", and " 10 BCE - CE 10". I can't discern a pattern of differences and don't know the source of dating.

There is some pitting but no powdery green. I have it soaking in Verdicare and will check it frequently for development of bronze disease.

 

great crocs gang, ya' did good Z!

 

Those are some awesome crocs! Way to go!

I'll never get tired of seeing them.

Erin

 

Wow, @TIF , much nicer than the auction pictures! Great pick up... a Man of the Cloth's loss is your gain .

I think Doug has pointed out before, but it's worth illustrating the fact that on some of these later issues, the loss of the croc's snout is not for lack of centering... the crocs simply did not have a snout when the engraver ran out of space, as some actually off-center examples like the one below (not mine) show:

 

<- The only guy without one of these.

 

I need to reshoot mine. Looking at it again in-hand, it is brown. I'm having trouble getting colors correct. Everything ends up greenish. Time for some camera settings tests!

 

BTW- Its over the top. Love it.

 

I have a fondness for the early period style with the scrawny croc. The unicorn snout and NIM certainly make this one interesting. Zumbly mentioned my latest which I bought for the ligate NE and the appearance that the croc teeth go up from the top jaw (strange).


Early coins with th scrawny croc have the bare headed portrait of Augustus who is laureate on later coins. Agrippa always wears the Rostral crown but strike and centering do not always show it well. TIF's coin is particularly nice in this regard. Zumbly's new coin is also a bit unusual to my eye in that it is an early with decent chain. I only own one other early whole coin and it lacks chain just like my new one but my early half does show it.

If a person wanted to be compulsive, I suppose one might feel the need to have a large number of these varieties. Its time for me to quit buying them lest someone accused me of a dysfunction. The fact is that these developed gradually despite the efforts of people like me to force them into distinct groups (early, middle, late).