Saturday Night Free For All

Here is a Greek hemidrachm I bought last year but haven't shown yet. I very much like the portrait of Zeus on the obverse:


Achaean League (Arcadia, Pallantion), AR hemidrachm, early 1st century BC. Obv: head of Zeus r. Rev: AX (Achaian League) monogram; Π-A-Λ in fields, upright trident below; all within wreath. 16mm, 2.20g Ref: Clerk 217; BCD Peloponnesos 1592; Benner 1.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Beautiful coin @Orielensis

 

Awhile back (November) I asked if anyone would buy this group of coins for $15 ($9.99 with $2.00 shipping or so and some sales tax) and mentioned that I had two of them soaking in distilled water and would show the results later. Well now is later.

Anyway, they aren't perfect or high-value coins but out of the distilled water bath and as clean as they'll get with a soak and scrub. For $15 I think I made a good buy... if you like coins made in this low-quality period. ...How about you?

Gallienus
Obverse: GALLIENVS P F AVG, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right
Reverse: VIRT GALLIENI AVG (the courage of Emperor Gallienus), emperor advancing left, spear in right hand, shield in left, treading with left foot on reclining captive who is raising his right arm
Struck in Cologne AD 257/9
Scarce
Göbl MIR 890h, RIC V-1 J54 (Cologne), RSC IV 1206, Elmer 82, SRCV III 10400

Salonina
Obverse: SALONINA AVG, draped bust right, wearing stephane, hair in ridges and in plait looped below ear up the back of head, crescent behind shoulders
Reverse: VENVS FELIX (Venus who brings good fortune), Venus seated left, extending right hand reaching for child (or Cupid) standing at her feet with arms raised to her, transverse scepter in left hand
Struck in Cologne AD 257/9
Göbl MIR 898c, RIC V-1 J7 (Lugdunum), RSC IV 115 (Lugdunum), Hunter IV J24, Eauze 1513, Cunetio 733 (20 spec.), Elmer 60, SRCV III 10655

The other two... are in the junk tray for now, to be revisited some dark and stormy night when I have nothing else to do as they're rough and common.

 

That's a great deal! They cleaned up nicely!

 

Yeah, I kinda wish I could get rid of the Malachite... but I didn't go further than soaking and scrubbing. Anyway, it's always nice to have a very silver Gallienus and Salonina. Most coins from these two lean toward bronze.

 

Those are really nice, especially for the price @Orange Julius This is the way I like buying ancients, but I wish I had your cleaning skills!

That is a very interesting reverse type for Gallienus. Although I don't have one, I do have that Salonina with a child (in this case, a rather tubby one) reaching for Venus :


Salonina AR Antoninianus
(wife of Gallienus)
(c. 257-258 A.D.)
Lyons (RIC) or Cologne Mint
[SA]LONINA AVG, diademed bust right on crescent / VENVS FELIX, Venus seated left, holding sceptre & apple, reaching for child before her.
RIC 7; Göbl 898c; RSC 115.
(3.50 grams / 21 mm)
eBay March 2020

 

that was a dang good buy OJ...

 

I've just updated my list of RR coins and counted them - they come to a nice round 800:

http://coins.uggool.net/TopPageRRCoins.html

There are a few things I may add - currency bars plus Eraviscan and other imitations, so it could end up a bit more, but I'll stick with the round 800 for now

This was coin 800 - a Lepidus denarius with an interesting provenance that might be worth investigating.

Moneyer: M. Aemilius Lepidus
Obv.: ALEXANDREA - Female head right, wearing turreted diadem
Rev.: PONT•MAX / TVTOR REG / S C / M LEPIDVS - On the right, togate figure standing front, head to left, crowning with his right hand a smaller figure standing facing on the left, holding staff in his right hand
Mint: Rome (61 BC)
Wt./Size/Axis: 3.82g / 20mm / 4h
References:

• RSC 24 (Aemilia)
• Sydenham 832
• Crawford 419/2
• BMCRR Rome 3648, 3649
• RBW 1511

Provenances:

• Ex. Red Ox Collection
• Ex. Adolf Picek Collection

Acquisition: Leu Numismatik Online auction Web Auction 18 #2479 20-Dec-2021

Notes: Jan 22, 22 - From the sales description:
"From the Red Ox Collection and the collection of the Czech musician Adolf Picek (circa 1885-1978), and formerly in the possession of an Italian banker, whose life was saved by Mr. Picek in the Battles of the Piave River on the Italian Front in 1917-1918 and who presented his savior with 'four socks of old coins' in reward."




ATB,
Aidan.

 

They seem like they were found together somewhere in France or Germany.

 

800, wow! I'm at 67 myself. A mere piker.

 

Cheapest Poemenius ever, even after sale fee and shipping cost share, at around 15EUR:

 

Wowza, nice snag! The only ChiRho reverse coin I have is a very ugly Decentius. So ugly, I've never tried to photograph it. How long were these minted for Constantius?

 

More or less August 353, but there is some controversy. Check it here: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-revolt-of-poemenius.330364/

 

Holy smokes, you've been busy!

 

Congrats on #800 and apologies for trying to outbid you on that one That's an impressive collection of RRs, nicely organized - is there a way to browse the images without clicking one at a time?
Trajan, and Parthia keeping me entertained - my note on this coin "Trajan Aims for Parthia"

 

I hope you managed to get another from that Smelly Sock collection!

I will improve the website - right now it's mostly a list to remind me not to buy the same thing twice.

I intend to turn photos of the trays into imagemaps with links which bring up the Tantalus data. This is the only one I've done so far (and a couple of years out of date) - Augustus:

http://coins.uggool.net/trays/Augustus_tray.html

I've been talking about a proper database for well over a decade - someday!

Thanks,
Aidan.

 

Nice read on the blog! Man that legend is wild isn't it? ΒΑIΙΛEΛ ΒΑIΙΛEΛ BAIIΛNOY VIXVIO I•IIIIII BB•IIII• ΠPΦANOY

 

Amazing site... just spent a good hour perusing your fine collection.
Wonderful!

 

I most certainly admire such an organized presentation of 800 coins even if it is something in which I do not specialize (144 in my general collection).

I certainly agree it would be nice to have the images available for viewing more readily but I would prefer the existing individual images to the tray pictures which are not nearly as good as the images on Tantalus.

I would like to the the existing second column expanded to include the name of the moneyer perhaps below the family name making what is now 'Calpurnia' into 'C. Calpurnius Piso', for example. This could be the expanded name or even just the name as presented on that particular coin (e.g. C PISO LF FRV or whatever it is on that example).

I wish my coins of Septimius Severus were that well laid out for reference. I see your general collection outnumbers your RR 800 and it is all nicely organized as well. Thanks for all the effort and sharing it with us.

That leaves one obvious question: When you have 800 coins of a specialty it is likely that you would not mind having the ones that are missing. Of the RR coins that you do not have, is there one that stands out in your mind that you would really like to have or, even, perhaps one that you know to be common enough that you feel 'odd' that you do not have one? I envy you having a reference like Crawford that you consider complete enough that you can use is as a numerical guide to your collection. My Eastern Septimius/Domna assemblage has only RIC/BMCRE which have less coverage of the subject that the last few years of Coin Talk posts. Having a good reference in a language we can read is a real bonus to a collector.

 

And I'm at a grand total of 11, or 14 if you count imperatorial.....