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It's a very interesting and informative discussion!

 

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True, these coins are exceedingly rare and almost unobtainable in the west. Nevertheless, I managed to get two of them:

 

, no words...

 

So what do you think, @Roman Collector?

 

I don't have a strong opinion either way; after all, if Cohen, Mattingly, Sydenham, Szaivert and Sear can't agree among themselves, I certainly am not one to argue.

 

I won these two coins on Ebay yesterday. Both are very common, but they were cheap, just 55 euros for both coins together (+ 5.50 euros postage):


Probus
Obv.: IMP C PROBVS PF AVG
Rev.: SALVS AVG
In exergue: gamma XXI
Mint: Ticinum

EUR 34





Valerian I
Obv.: IMP CP LIC VALERIANVS PF AVG
Rev.: PIETAS AVGG
Mint: Antioch or Samosata

EUR 21

 

Here is another recent Ebay win.
I have all sorts of die combination of Gallienus' Victoria Germanica series, but this one was still missing, i.e. heroic bust // walking Victoria.
The seller may have made a loss on this coin. The ticket from CGB shows that the coin may once have been sold for EUR 80, but I won it for EUR 50 (+7 postage).


Obv.: GALLIENVS PF AVG
Rev.: VICT GERMANICA

The obverse seems to be in condition from relatively fresh dies, the reverse was minted with worn out dies, as is quite common for these coins.

 

Here's a recent purchase that I just wrote up:

Faustina II [Junior] (wife of Marcus Aurelius & daughter of Antoninus Pius), AE Obol, Alexandria, Egypt Mint, Year 12 of Antoninus Pius (AD 148/149). Obv. Draped bust right, hair in chignon at back of head, ΦΑVϹΤΙΝΑ ϹƐΒ(Α)ϹΤΗ / Rev. Crowned uraeus serpent [sacred cobra, worn by deities and pharaohs] standing erect to right, L beneath I – B across fields (L IB = Year 12). 18 mm., 4.18 g., 12 h. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Online Vol. IV.4 15420 (temp.) (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4/15420); Emmett 2037.12; Dattari Savio 9144; SNG France 4, Alexandrie II 2810 [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, France Vol. 4, Alexandrie II, Hadrien – Antonin le Pieux – Nomes (Zurich 2018)]. [Not listed in Milne, K & G, or BMC 16 Alexandria.] Purchased at Nomos Obolos Auction 22, 6 March 2022, Lot 578.



(The coin is actually a dark greenish-brown, but the Nomos photo is either in black and white or very destaturated, and I haven't taken my own yet.)

I already had a couple of Roman Alexandrian coins I've posted that depict the serpent Agathodaemon, but this is my first depicting the Uraeus serpent. Now I need one of the type that shows them together, facing each other!

 

Did anyone else bid at the CNG auction today? I placed four bids and won three, one from Antioch and the other two from Roman Alexandria like the Faustina II/Uraeus obol posted above. No write-ups yet because of course I haven't received them, but here are CNG's photos as a sneak preview. Anyone reasonably familiar with Roman Provincial coins could probably identify them pretty easily!

 

Very nice! I like the reverse on the middle coin.

I bid on a couple items. Mainly I was interested in the two Caligula asses, but both went higher than what I wanted to pay. Also bid on a Philip III drachm but lost that too.
That's okay though, I probably should slow down anyway. I have a number of coins in the mail already.

 

Antoninus Pius as

 

I just figured out how to download higher-resolution photos and substituted them.

That's certainly a very unusual-looking face on Roma. But a face on Nerva [Edited: Actually Galba, not Nerva, despite the resemblance to the latter!] that resembles his Imperial portraits more than Alexandrian coins usually do.

 

Nice! - I won a victoriatus today - expensive, but a slightly different variety to what I already have and a nice coin.

This is a CNG pic:


I had a bit of a scare in the last few days with the arrival of a coin from CNG from a January sale. I got an email from them a week or so ago looking for payment, which I'd made within a day of it originally being requested. It seems the bank transfer had lost my message saying what it was for (I had emailed CNG at the same time to say I'd transferred the money). Anyway, the money had indeed arrived, so I arranged to have the coin sent to my company's San Diego office as I was due to be there from 16th March for 3 weeks and didn't want it potentially lying around here for that time. My trip was delayed at the last minute - it will probably go ahead around Easter now - and the postal people tried to deliver the coin last week. Unfortunately, due to a combination of Covid meaning that very few people actually go to the office these days and the fact that the building was sold and the company moved down two floors since I was last there and my using the old address, they were unable to deliver it. There is some tracking note about "Forwarded". Luckily, I was able to get in touch with one of the two guys who goes in most days now and he kindly agreed to contact the post office and get it redirected. Then, yesterday morning, I heard that the office had burgled on Monday night and some computers taken. I was getting somewhat nervous, but Daroosh has come good - the coin hasn't yet been delivered and he's contacted the post office and is having it delivered to himself, so I expect to see it in about 3 weeks. I won't tempt fate by posting a pic. It's pretty expensive, so I don't want to lose it

A few coins arrived on Saturday from Artemide 58E.

Cr. 167/1:



Cr. 53/1:



Cr. 76/1a:




ATB,
Aidan.

 

From the CNG auction?

 

JAZ had it up in the past two weeks just love the patina on this one. Unusual but pleasant.

 

A recent pickup. It has one of the most complete legends on this coin. Far more that what is published in Lianta. Furthermore, this particular sub-variety does not have the lily above the cushion...

Empire of Nicaea: John III Ducas-Vatazes (1222-1254) Æ Trachy, Thessalonica (Sear 2128; DOC IV, Type F 8; Lianta 453-54)
Obv: MP - ΘV; Virgin nimbate, seated upon throne without back; holds beardless, nimbate head of Christ on breast. Lily above cushion of throne, to either side
Rev: IШ/Δ/Π/T to left, Ο/Δ/M/Τ to right; Full-length figure of emperor on left, and of St. Demetrius, beardless and nimbate; between them patriarchal cross. Emperor's right hand half-raised before chest in supplication; wears stemma, divitision, jeweled loros of simplified type. Saint's left hand lifted before chest; wears short military tunic, breastplate and sagion
Dim: 25 mm, 2.07 g

 

Ah, I thought that looked like Nerva. There's no hiding that Roman nose.

 

You have a nice Alexandrian coin with Faustina II and Uraeus serpent, Donna.

I guess this one fits your upcoming "coin criteria".
I like the design of the two serpents "talking" to each other.

Hadrian. 117-138 AD.
BI Tetradrachm. 13.23g

 

I would love one of those!

 

I'm embarrassed to have to admit that I misspoke: I knew the coin was Galba when I bought it, but it looks so much like Nerva that afterwards my brain somehow decided that that's who it was! It isn't.