Saturday Night Free For All

I don't have a great Procopius coin but I can imagine a good movie made from his story... with some improvements to his reputation.

"So guys... there're after me. Go big or I'm a dead man huh? Let's be emperor." I think there are some stories of him being ripped apart by the trees he was tied to.... ouch.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Best bronze coin ever minted... change my mind:

 

That's a nice coin! I have something similar, uglier and just as interesting:

It's an ancient Gallic (I believe) imitation of the common Victory and shield coins.
It would have the legend:

IMP NERO CAESAR AVG P MAX T P P

(I think It's there but written backwards and by someone copying but maybe not literate... you can see the ...ESAR AVG P MA...)

 

This is the finest Roman bronze coin ever minted , a sestertius of Hadrian, circa AD 135-136.

 

O.J. A biographical movie on Procopius would be a long & challenging undertaking . Few people in ancient history have treaded the waters of political intrigue as Procopius did . In his case, truth is stranger than fiction....

 

Good luck. I can truly empathize, and feel the physical pain, stress, and a little anxiety. I have had so many career moves, cross-country, and cross-oceans. Not fun. A great feeling is a couple of months from now, that you are settled into your new place and life. Enjoy being with your mom and TX again! Kindest of luck in the transitions...

 

I have not posted this guy very much...


RI Procopius 365-366 AE3

 

Here's my own early Trajan coin that I think contains a fair amount of Nerva's image, combined with the strange choice of the mints to include the reverse type of the Nero coin shown above.

It's also curious to me just how many of this type must have been produced. It seems they are constantly available and I regularly come across new examples for sale.

 

That Gordian as is lovely, @Orange Julius , with a patina that can only be described as jaw-dropping!

Thanks for starting this thread so I can show of some coins I've been cataloging and storing but are too mundane to post as separate threads. So, here they are making their debut here at CT. Please welcome, in all their soporific, quotidian glory ...


Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161.
Roman AR denarius, 2.88 g, 18.0 mm, 6 h.
Rome, AD 149.
Obv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XII, laureate head, right.
Rev: COS IIII, Annona standing left, holding two corn-ears in right hand over modius and resting left hand on anchor.
Refs: RIC 175; BMCRE 657-60; Cohen 284; RCV --; Strack 191.


Gordian III, AD 238-244.
Roman AR antoninianus, 3.62 g, 21.6 mm, 5 h.
Rome, 2nd officina, 3rd emission, AD 241-243.
Obv: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: IOVI STATORI, Jupiter standing facing, head right, holding scepter and thunderbolt.
Refs: RIC 84; Cohen 109; RCV 8615; Hunter 51.


Valerian I, AD 253-260,
Roman provincial AE 19 mm, 4.83 g, 7 h.
Troas, Alexandria Troas, AD 253-260.
Obv: IMP LICINI VALERIANV, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: COL AVG TRO, horse feeding, right.
Refs: BMC 17.29, 159; cf: Bellinger A 436, SNG von Aulock 7573, SNG Copenhagen 191, Mionnet Suppl. V 313-314 (variations of inscriptions).


Constantius I, as Caesar, AD 293-305.
Roman billion antoninianus, 3.06 g, 22.4 mm, 1 h.
Antioch, AD 293-294.
Obv: FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES,
radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: IOVI ET HERCVLI CONS CAES, Jupiter standing right, holding globe and scepter, facing Hercules standing left, holding Victory, club and lion's skin; S//XXI•.
Refs: RIC V, ii, p. 302, 673; RCV 13985; Cohen 164.

 

What a bunch of nice coins. Over the weekend I was giving thanks for a couple of Imperial AE's I'd just received.

This one in particular made me work. A Trajan dupondius with a variation in the reverse legend that I could only find on Wildwinds (from a 2010 Roma Numis. auction, with a 1922 Chester Museum note). The Wildwinds example might be a die-match to mine, which made me pretty happy (but feel free to disabuse me) - note the squashed globe on the reverse:

My coin:



Roma Numismatics/Wildwinds:



My attribution notes:

Trajan Æ Dupondius
(114-117 A.D.) Rome Mint
IMP CAES N[ER TRAIAN]OOPTIMO AVG GER DAC PARTHICO PM TR[P COS VI P P], radiate draped bust right / PROVIDENTIAE AVGVSTI SPQR SC, Providentia std. left, elbow on column, globe at feet.
RIC 665 var.; Cohen 322 var.
(13.13 grams / 27 mm)

Attribution Note:

"Roma Numismatics, May, 2010 Note: This coin is not in RIC and not in any other catalogues. However, there is a mention of one with the same rev. legend PROVIDENTIAE...was donated to Chester Museum (Chester, England) in 1922 as part of a small find of coins. I am currently trying to find out whether the coin is still in Cheshire and whether the reverse legend of that coin was read
correctly." (Wildwinds)

 

Maybe I missed some news. Moving to where @TIF ?

 

Texas. Various reasons, but mainly because my 87 year old mom is having increasing difficulty living alone. Having her move to the Caribbean would have been terrible-- she'd have been complete dependent on me to get around.

 

Since this is a free for all, how about I post some Late Roman Silver (LRS)?


An Argenteus of Galerius


Siliqua of Gratian


Siliqua of Valens

 

Cool! I'm fairly certain that yours is a reverse die-match to the Roma/Wildwinds coin, which isn't surprising for an inscription variant.

Be that as it may, the ANS has one in their collection that is not a reverse die-match to yours or the Roma specimen.

 

TIF, My best wishes adjusting to your predicament & high praise for doing the right thing. I moved in with Mom when she turned 82 & was showing signs of dementia that developed into Alzheimer's disease. I was working full time & had to hire help in the daytime until I retired. It was a big sacrifice that I didn't regret. She made it to 96 years old !

 

It's not much of a sacrifice. We get along well and I'm more than ready for reliable electricity (in the US Virgin Islands it costs $0.43/kWh and is going up yet power goes out almost daily ), affordable living, and friendly customer service .

 

I will miss the views and my condo though. Here's the view right now:

 

Beautiful. Did you ever have the chance to get over to that island and climb to the top of the hill? Looks like it would be a lovely climb.

 

I've hiked around that uninhabited island but to the top is not particularly fun, especially when there is excellent snorkeling awaiting in the cooler water .

 

Thanks, RC! I hadn't seen that ANS example.