Saturday Night Free For All

Waiting for this lifetime sestertius of Faustina I to arrive in the mail.


Faustina I, AD 138-140.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 29.31 g, 32.5 mm, 6 h.
Rome, AD 139.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVG AN-TONINI AVG PII P P, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: CONCORDIA AVG S C, Concordia, standing left, holding patera in right hand and double cornucopia in left hand, leaning on column.
Refs: RIC 1076; BMCRE 1115; Cohen 154; Strack 1215; RCV 4674; UCR 177.

 

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As always looking through the collection I found this guy. I have had him for a while and he has never made an appearance on CT (I think) Lykkeios Ar Tetradrachm 356-335 BC Obv Head of Zeus right laureate. Rv Herakles fighting Nemean lion Interesting that Herakles is missing one of his legs. 12.76 grms 22 mm Photo by W. Hansen

 

A wonderful coin. I guess it's a little-known fact that the lion ate one of Herakles's legs before Herakles strangled him. Also, Herakles seems to be strangling him with only one arm. Very impressive!

 

I’ve been trying to 1) Get done with photographing all my coins that are «stayers», and define which coins are going out next year, and 2) Keeping up with the process on some uncleaned coins (like Salonina and Domitian here) today. Looks like I’m almost done with 1), but coin cleaning demands a lot of patience. Perhaps they will be done by 2022...

 

Well, I guess reasonable people can disagree.

My wife and I both see a man with his torso seen almost from the front and slightly to the right. (With the man's right shoulder slightly further away from the viewer). He turns his head to his right, which makes "bust left.")

For the fibula to be on the right shoulder, as is always is, the body must be seen from the front.

 

Ah. Seljuks and Arab-Byzantine fals. Enjoying your evening, @Sulla80 ?

 

Yes, Seljuk dirham, the coin of interest today: Lion and Sun, გურჯი-ხათუნი.

 

This coin reminds me of a collection I saw at least 30 years ago that included at least a dozen squashed cups. The collector did not like them that way so he put them in a vise. I have also seen a few that were placed in a binder with a hundred larger coins and squished flat by accident. It is a hard life being a coin.

 

I went back and forth on this bust and the front vs rear views... eventually, I remembered I do have a text that may help, The London Mint of Constantius and Constantine by Cloke and Toone. So... I looked it up.

After scanning the different bust types for this coin, I saw 9.06.27 (pictured top below) which looks to be my coin (pictured bottom). The book describes this bust as C5 Left or Radiate, draped with trabea or mantle and ties 9.06.27 to RIC 255 corr (not sure what the correction is..). So... it's seen from front with somewhat different clothing than usual. Thanks all for the comments!



Oh! and looking back over the comments, @zumbly called it and @thejewk reminded me where to look. Thanks!

 

..perhaps the lion was real hungry and ate an arm also

 

Picking up from where I left off last Saturday with Seljuks, Rum and Kayḵosrow II, with the reign of 11-year-old, eldest son, Kay Ka'us II:

Seljuks, Rum, 'Izz al-Din Kay Ka'us II, first sole reign, AH 643-647 / AD 1245-1249, Dirham, Qunya mint, AH 646 = AD, 1248/9
Size: 3.0g, 22mm

and then joint reign of the three brothers
Seljuks Rum, Kay Ka'us II, Qilich Arslan IV & Kay Qubadh II (Joint rule, AH 647-655 / 1249-1257 AD), Dirham.
Ref: Album 1227; ICV 1349.
Size: 3.09 g, 22.5 mm

The story is nicely illustrated with coins in the David Collection and my coins with notes are here.

 

Very nice, @Sulla80 Congratulations!

I received some very nice budget coins from Savoca on Friday, so I’m busy with coins too.

Did anyone get lucky at the Leu?

 

Here's a couple of interesting Procopius AEs: one unlisted in RIC as a type and the other one for the mintmark and field markings. The coinage of Procopius began in the autumn of 365 with a smaller module AE, likely the SECVRITAS REIPVB:



The type did not appear in RIC but was published in 1977 in Money Trend (W. Weiser - SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE - Eine neue Bronze des Usurpators Procopius 10/1977 p. 8-12) and for a time it remained rather elusive until the internet brought more to the forefront. Now the type is no longer as rare as it was thought to be, but it is still considerably scarcer than the other bronze types for Procopius, possibly because it was a brief issue, likely suspended before the end of 365, minted apparently only from Constantinople.

366 saw the return to the larger AE3, close to the standard of the AE3 of Julian II at all the mints that were under the control of Procopius: Constantinople, Heraclea, Cyzicus and Nicomedia. The fact that there are more mints striking this new coinage points to its later date in the usurpation of Procopius, after his initial successes in Thracia and western Bithynia late in 365 to early 366.



The new type REPARATIO FEL TEMP is a reference to Procopius establishing himself as the legitimate heir of the earlier Constantinian dynasty and his kinship to Julian II.

 

Nice coins in that tray, @svessien!

I picked up this little provincial of Crispina at today's Leu Auction:


Crispina, AD 178-182.
Roman provincial Æ assarion, 4.48 g, 19 mm, 6 h)
Thrace, Philippopolis, AD 180-182.
Obv: ΚΡΙϹΠЄΙΝΑ ϹЄΒΑϹΤΗ, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΠΟΛΕ[ΙTΩN], Athena standing facing, head left, holding patera over altar in her right hand and spear in her left; to right, shield.
Refs: RPC IV.1 7627 (temporary); Varbanov 1132; Moushmov 5232; Mionnet --; BMC --; Wiczay --.

 

Years ago I bought this drachm of Augustus. It is from the Lycian League specifically from the mint of Masicytus. Unlike many silver coins minted in the east during the Roman Imperial period this one appears to be of local manufacture. Obv Head of Augustus right bareheaded Rv Two citharea. RPC 3309 Troxell 120.9 3.62 grms 19 mm Photo by W. Hansen

 

Some beautiful colours on that bracteate, Lordmarcovan. I could look at it for hours.

 

I'm slab neutral, with no strong feelings either way as long as it's not forced on everyone one way or the other. I can certainly understand slabbing bracteates and trachys for protection, or very small denominations like obol fractions to stop them being lost.