Saturday Night Free For All

Nice one, RC. I have a similar one that is even "smoother" (this is not a self-compliment!). It is so smooth I couldn't really attribute it.



Marcus Aurelius Æ Sestertius
(c. 166-168 A.D.)
Rome Mint
M ANTONINVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX, Laureate head right. / [TR POT XXII (IMP
IIII or V) COS III] S-C, Victory walking left, holding wreath and palm.
RIC 952 (IIII) or RIC 858 (V) or ??.
(22.98 grams / 29 mm)

 

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I've been feeling like I've been buying up loads of sestertii for peeps I don't have (or dupes that are too good of a deal to pass up). For example, here are 6 coins that were delivered yesterday from Colorado: 5 sestertii and a Republican snack... (some of them came with original tag/envelope! I reached out to the seller to inquire about the previous collector/collection.)

I just got another Philip II sestertius not much more than a week ago (haven't photo's it yet), but this one was a bit nicer and about the same price as the other lesser one, and I think I had gotten a good deal on that lesser other one too, so I just couldn't pass this one up! He has so much of his hair left, and the reverse type is less common than the left facing Principi Juvent type.


I've been looking at filling up my Severan sestertii and recently got a Caracalla, so I had to get one of his unfortunate brother, Geta. Again, this one was underpriced with a very nice bust reminiscent of his father, especially his beard. The envelope discusses some historical timing of the issue, but I haven't corroborated yet. It also has a very interesting reverse type with a reclining river god and another mysterious mini figure...

• Reverse die match??https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=693562
• Obverse die match?? https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4592538

There are the later wives of the soldier emperors that I doing have. I recently added an Otacilia Severa, so this Herennia Etruscilla can keep her company. She has such a pleasant and pleasing bust of her, but the reverse is double struck making a very short Pudicitia.



And to further keep her company, here's an even later Salonina to join them (VENVS GENTRIX). I feel like I had previously mentioned that I had gotten a coin labeled as Gallienus (an honestly passed my checks from the photos) but upon doing some cleaning to remove some dirt to reveal more obverse legend turned up as Volusian sestertius. So I'm still looking for a deal on a sestertius of her husband. I also got a sestertius of her father-in-law that I need to photograph.


I already have a Crispina sestertius, but this one has a nice long neck and stunning detail on Salus on reverse! And it has an interesting obverse legend with IMP COMMODI AVG at the end.


And here's the Roman Republic snack (or desert?): a big semis from the staff & club series (cf: https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=240259) .



Which is your favorite? Which would you like in your collection?

 

Justin Lee, easily the Herennia Etruscilla. ...No, Just, Thank you, Easily.

 

The most interesting is the double struck Etruscilla, such that the reverse reads "DICITIA S C" and Pudicitia is squished in the midriff.

 

@Justin Lee , I only have one with her early coiffure and very rough surfaces:


Herennia Etruscilla, AD 249-253
Roman Æ sestertius; 10.53 g, 28.1 mm, 1 h
Rome, AD 250
Obv: HERENNIA ETRVSCILLA AVG, diademed and draped bust right, hair smooth and with a long plait carried up the back of the head (Sear type b; Temeryazev and Makarenko type 2)
Rev: PVDICITIA AVG SC, Pudicitia veiled, seated left, with scepter
Refs: RIC 136b; Cohen 22; RCV 9505; Hunter 16.

 

Very cool doo on her. I'm really enjoying collecting the various empresses.

 

Nice coins, I like them all. I've always had a thing for Crispina though. I only have one coin of hers, just an as... so that sestertius is cool. I like the Herennia Etruscilla too. I recently picked up a few too, I'll take some photos and post them.

 

This coin started a rather eventful week. Antoninus Pius Ae Sestertius RIC 774 Rv Emperor seated on platform right. Citizen standing before him receiving alms. 145 A.D. 28.79 grms 32 mm. Photo by W. Hansen. Okay. On Sunday I notice that my flip template for this coin is missing. Okay write up a new one and then decide to make a few corrections. Next start printer. Watch as printer attempts to eat over 10 pages at one time. Spend next hour attempting to un jam printer. No luck Decide to buy new printer. After second try discover that my machine cannot get back on the internet. Spend day trying to fix machine. Spend three day waiting for computer shop to fix computer. They failed. Had to buy new computer. Sunday get new computer. Monday finally hooked up printer and printed out new flip.

 

Beautiful coin! Lots of fun interesting details to look at. Sounds like a painful process to get back on track. Glad your technical problems are past!

Below is one new coin and one I've had for a few months. But as the new coin is Philip... I figured I'd post his somewhat new wife too.


Philip I - Rome - RIC IV 150c


Otacilia Severa - Rome - RIC IV 209a

 

Here's two more new coins too. I'd create a new post for them but we just had the New Years post for Alexandrian coins and that's passed now... so here they are!


Gordian III - Alexandria - Year 6 - Emmett 3416, Milne 3448


Salonina - Alexandria - Year 14 - Emmett 3852, Milne 4153

 

Hmm... can i pick two? The Philipp II for eye appeal. And that Geta is just too cool, that reverse is very interesting.

Very good looking coin. And every time that just happens. Thats life, and its annoying...!

 

...Who hasn't had a day like that? Condolences.

 

The early stages of Cyzicus as an Imperial mint after being a local Greek colonial mint throughout the reign of Gallienus.

Phase 1 for Claudius II, SPQR series, according to S. Estiot:

RIC Temp #909 mid 269




RIC temp #913 mid 269




RIC Temp #925 mid to late 269




RIC Temp #929 mid to late 269




RIC Temp #931 mid to late 269

 

My new acquisition from @John Anthony 's auction...

It came today, and looks GREAT. Nice.


TIBET. Anonymous.
AR Ga-den tangka; 3.9g, 30mm, 12h.
Obv.: Lotus flower in center circle surrounded by the eight auspicious symbols of Tibetan Buddhism: umbrella of sovereignty, two golden fish of good fortune, amphora of ambrosia, lotus, conch shell, emblem of endless rebirth, banner of victory and wheel of empire; all surrounded by another circle, surrounded by a circle of dots, surrounded by an outer circle.
Rev.: Eight-spoke wheel inside an eight-point star encircled by legend in Tibetan which reads dga'-ldan pho-brang-phyod-las-rnam-rgyal (The Palace of Ga-den is victorious in all directions); all surrounded by another circle, surrounded by a circle of dots, surrounded by an outer circle.
Reference: Y#13, L&M#627.

They are quite scarce, at least in the West, but generally speaking, all Tibetan coinage is scarce. The first local mint didn't open until 1791, only to close two years later. Tibet did not issue its own coins again until 1836, and continued to do so in small numbers until 1950, at which point the country was taken over by China. There is a good wiki article on all of these various types, and I quote the paragraph about the Tibetan issues...

“The Ga-den tangka date from c.1850 and these were struck till 1948. Thirteen major varieties in design have been catalogued. In all, there are at least 37 known minor varieties, but possibly 50 or more that could be noted. The obverse of the coins show the eight auspicious symbols (Tibetan: bkra shis rtags brgad) of Tibetan Buddhism: umbrella of sovereignty, two golden fish of good fortune, amphora of ambrosia, lotus, conch shell, emblem of endless rebirth, banner of victory and wheel of empire. These are usually arrayed around a central lotus. Their actual order and specific designs varied over time. The two sides of the coin have the same orientation. Starting from the top, the legend in Tibetan on the reverse says: dga'-ldan pho-brang-phyod-las-rnam-rgyal (The Palace of Ga-den is victorious in all directions). The legend is written in such a way as to fit into eight circles. These are actually derived from an earlier style in which the characters were inside lotus petals.”

 

Wow, @Alegandron, I had no idea Nepal ever issued coins. ...That's pretty great.

 

My week was a little like TC's. My highest end $1100 in 2006 camera lens stopped working. I went on You Tube and found a video describing the exact problem. I called my local camera store and found that the local camera repair man had died so all they did now was send repairs to Canon. Before Covid, they said repairs came back in over 2 months and this sort of thing was about $325 BUT that since Covid, they had not been getting repairs back at all so there would be no expectation by Christmas. I decided that $325 to get a 2006 quality lens repaired was less desirable than the $475 to get a 2020 one (lower grade than the top but better than the top in 2006) so I am expecting the lens Monday. I'll have to try it out on a coin but it really is not what I generally use for that. My 2008 'coin' lens still works.

 

Serious condolences, @dougsmit.
In the interests of unsolicited spouting, electronic stuff is a little like a flight simulator for cars and, Oh, No, children. The contingencies Rack Up.

 

The above post is a Tibet coin that I just got.

And, yes, I have a coin from Nepal also. I have it somewhere, but not in my database.

Lastly, here is an Ancient one from Shakya Janaprada, which would be about where present day Nepal is.


India - Shakya Janapada
AR 5-Shana
6th-5th Century BCE
25mm x 21mm, 7.05g
Obv: Central Pentagonal punch plus several banker's marks
Rev: Blank
Ref: Hirano Type I.8.29
This is one of 19 known.
Coinage from the Ghaghara Gandak River region.

At this time, any of the 16 "Janapada" was defined as a tribe, country, kingdom, or a republic in northern India. Shakya was a Republic (ah, I love the Republics!), in northern India near present day Nepal.

The best-known man from Shakya was Prince Siddhartha Shakya. He later gained enlightenment and became know as Buddha Gautama or Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.

This coin, being from the Janapada and the time, was quite likely produced during and under the authority of the Man, probably his Father, who became the Buddha

Namaste

 

Spending Saturday night cataloging this new addition to my collection, a denarius of Septimius Severus obtained from @John Anthony .

Septimius Severus, AD 193-211.
Roman AR denarius, 3.38 g, 19.5 mm, 6 h.
Rome, AD 208.
Obv: SEVERVS PIVS AVG, head of Septimius Severus, laureate, right.
Rev: P M TR P XVI COS III P P, Salus seated left, sacrificing from patera in right hand over lighted and garlanded altar and holding vertical scepter in left hand.
Refs: RIC 221; BMCRE 567; Cohen 517; RCV --; Hill 981.
Notes: Scarce; 20-30 examples among the 26 hoards listed in Hill, Appendix II.

 

@Alegandron, thanks, first for the geographical reality check, and then for the historical context.