Prizes from Guess the CTer 2021 - courtesy of Curtisimo!

I've just received this morning the coins which were generously offered by @Curtisimo as part of the prices of this year's edition of the "Guess the Cointalker" contest; it was a very kind gesture and I'm really glad to have received them, though I find it a little bit amusing that the package missed my birthday by just one day !

Anyway, the description of "Mystery Prize #4" was "Neck beards, satellites on buildings and proof that aliens visited the 4th century", so here's the coins, presented in the same order as the description; they are actually four instead of three, though, as @Curtisimo was kind enough to throw in a fourth one as an extra.

The first one is an antoninianus of none other than Gallienus; after all, who else could it have been, with that description?

Gallienus (253-268), Antoninianus, Rome mint, 5th officina.
Obverse: GALLIENVS AVG, radiate head right;
Reverse: PAX AVG, Pax standing left, holding olive branch and sceptre, V in left field;
RIC V 256

The second one is this follis of Constantius II as Caesar, where the wear is making the turrets on the top noticeably stand out from the rest:

Constantius II as Caesar (324-337), Follis, Thessalonica mint, 5th officina.
Obverse: FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust left, seen from the front;
Reverse: PROIVDEN-TIAE CAESS, campgate with six layers, two turrets, star between, no door, SMTSЄ in exergue;
RIC VII 158

The third one is this Valentinian I with an excellent obverse but also with a Victory on the reverse with a damaged face, that makes her look like a little bit alien:

Valentinian I (364-375), AE3, Siscia mint, 4th officina.
Obverse: D N VALENTINI-ANVS P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from the front;
Reverse: SECVRITAS REI PVBLICAE, Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm branch, (palm branch)ΔSISC in exergue;
RIC IX 7

Finally, here's the additional coin, which is also my favourite of the group, as this antoninianus of Postumus has an excellent dark patina that makes it look great in hand:

Postumus (260-269), Antoninianus, Trier mint, 1st officina.
Obverse: IMP C POSTVMVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from the front;
Reverse: PA-X AVG, Pax standing left, holding olive branch and sceptre, P in left field;
RIC V 318

Post anything you feel like might be relevant .

 

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Happy Birthday CG!! A nice prize, richly deserved. That Postumus is indeed very nice, and the other coins are lots of fun for the reasons @Curtisimo alluded to. Thanks again to him for a great contest!

Since there's a bit of a Pax theme in your winnings, here's a Claudius II Pax:

 

Do you have a favorite of these? Just curious.
The Postumus stands out to me. I think I had one of these but gifted to a friend.

Nice additions and congrats on your win.

 

..congrats on your win CG and kudos to CT kindness of Curtisimo & friends!

 

Thanks so much for sharing! I always love seeing the friendly gestures on this forum manifesting themselves in unique bits of ancient currency.
Excellent detail on that Valentinian. But the drop dead favorite is Postumus. Wonderful detail on yours and such a fascinating character:

 

Congrats (again) on the win @Claudius_Gothicus and happy B'day with many returns. I agree with others on the Postumus standing out

Q

 

Your second coin is from Aureolus.

 

Good eye! But actually, it's from @Bing
I was giving a couple examples to show just how cherry that portrait of Post u must Claud Goth won was.

 

Hopefully the board will not mind me resurrecting this thread. I haven’t been able to get on the board as much recently so I missed this the first go around.

I’m glad you finally got your coins @Claudius_Gothicus . I was beginning to worry because my tracking was just showing “moving within the system” for several weeks without any further detail.

Your photos are all very good but you are also welcome to use mine if you wish as well.

I figured this one might be your favorite. I thought this Postumus photographed well and has a nice patina and detail. Does this guy look like Santa Clause to anyone else?


E.T. Phone Home


The original neck beard.


I like the campgate types and I always thought the “towers” looked like Sputnik.