Saturday Night Free For All

I was planning on spending my Saturday night/Sunday morning time using my new copy of London Mint of Constantius and Constantine to do a bit of research. Unfortunately the copy I received from Spink is missing all pages between 128 and 145, exactly where the information I want is!

I'm glad I noticed immediately though. I wonder how many incomplete copies are out there without the owner noticing? Hopefully I'll hear back from Spink about it on Monday.

 

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That's a great book. My copy has all of the pages. I don't get to use out of mine as I only have 20-ish London mint coins from the period. I guess I need to buy more coins.

I could look up a coin quickly if needed. The toddler is getting restless so I may be signing off soon though.

 

Here are the coin photos from your earlier Maximian coin post and the notes for that coin. The book dates the coins from November to December 307. The reference just gives the number, legend, reverse description, bust (B2), RIC (none), a ref coin (ANS), and rarity (RR)

 

Thanks @Orange Julius good to know mine's probably an anomaly if the other books out there are good. And thanks for the page, just what I wanted!

 

Thought I would post my first coin of 2020 here - why?
Well it's Saturday night ... why not???

I only own one other Republican coin so was very happy to add this one from a fellow CoinTalk member for a very fair price of $40.
While the coin is far from perfect I think it is a very nice example of this type (especially for the price paid).
While my preliminary research has really found very little information on the Moneyer M. Papirius Carbo (other than from a very old Patrician family .. with a member being Consul three times.. was that this Papirius Carbo?.. I am not sure. Any info from our members is appreciated).

From a historical perspective I was attracted to this coin simply by the date of strike: 122 BC ...

"Gaius Gracchus was elected to the office of Tribune in the years 123 BC and 122 BC and his reformative policies while in office prompted a constitutional crisis and his death at the hands of the Roman Senate in 121 BC."

I am very happy to own a coin struck while a Gracchi was in office.. nice bit of history to add to my collection.



M CARBO ROMAN REPUBLIC
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: Helmeted head of Roma right, laurel branch behind, X below chin
REVERSE: Jupiter driving quadriga right holding thunderbolt & eagle tipped scepter, M CARBO below horses, ROMA in ex.
Struck at Rome 122 BC
3.87g, 18.33mm

 

I spent much of Saturday evening photographing specimens from my Faustina I subcollection. For some reason, I had never bothered to photograph these denarii before. This is a shame because RIC 362 is actually the first coin of Faustina Senior I ever acquired for my collection! Ladies and gentlemen -- making her Coin Talk debut, please give a warm welcome to Ceres and her long torch!


Faustina I, AD 138-140/1.
Roman AR denarius, 2.69 g, 18.2 mm, 7 h.
Rome, AD 145 or later.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTA, Ceres, veiled and draped, standing left, holding two corn-ears in right hand and torch in left hand.
Refs: RIC 360a; BMC 408-414; Cohen/RSC 78; RCV 4582; Strack 474; CRE 76.
Notes: R.I.N. 20 (1907), p.564, no.167 (Budapest) = RSC 78c: "Ceres holding corn-ears and sceptre" – is probably no true variant. Likewise, A.S.F.N., 9 (1885) p.205, no.28 (Gnecchi coll.) = RSC 78b: "Ceres, veiled, standing l., holding torch and corn-ears' is probably this coin with the attributes listed in the wrong order.



Faustina I, AD 138-140/1.
Roman AR denarius, 3.18 g, 18.2 mm, 5 h.
Rome, AD 145 or later.
Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: AVGVSTA, Ceres, veiled and draped, standing facing, head left, holding long torch in right hand and fold of drapery in left hand.
Refs: RIC 362; BMC 421-427; Cohen/RSC 104; RCV 4584; Strack 468; CRE 85.
Notes: Strack considers the reverse figure to be Aeternitas. Cohen: Ceres not veiled.

 

Ooooh, I like that coin! Great catch at a great price. I need to beef up my Roman Republic collection. If I could find more great coins like that at that price, I'd buy them all day!

Those are both nice coins! They sent me looking to see what I had for Faustina I... I was surprised to find that I only have two ugly coins for her. I thought that I had more but must have been thinking of the 15 or so I have of Faustina II. Anyway, I won't show them here as they are pretty worn and common. My lone denarius is of the AETERNITAS reverse.

 

Here's one that came in the mail last week. I really like the glossy green patina. I wasn't able to capture it well here... it's even prettier in-person (greener and glossier). I love these barbarian hut coins and have been slowly buying them by mint when I can find them cheaply and in good condition. I got lucky with this one, coming in at only $20 with shipping.
Constans
D N CONSTA-NS P F AVG Pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust left, globe in right hand.
FEL•TEMP•REPA-RATIO Helmeted soldier, spear in left hand, advancing right, head left; with his right hand he leads a small bare-headed figure from a hut beneath a tree. The spear points upwards and to the right.
Exergue: ΔSIS(Symbol)M
Siscia, officina 4; 348-350 CE

I have a few more recent buys that I may get to tonight too!

 

Some excellent Saturday night coining in progress, I see.

As a follow up on my comments from last week, I'm pleased to say that Spink were excellent and very quickly checked their stock to establish whether they had a faulty batch or a one off misprint, and then immediately sent me a complete copy of LMCC which arrived on Wednesday.

It really is an exceptional and informative book.

 

Fantastic! That kind of customer service is why they've been in business for a century.

 

I cannot get over the resilience of these ancient coins.

 

A coin related poem by C. P. Cavafy





- Broucheion

 

Another Saturday free-for-all!



I've been photographing my Lucilla bronzes:

 

I just checked mine and it is okay.

 

Pile-o-randoms. Alexandria.

 

ooooh, those are great! I have some new ones I’ll post later!

 

Another Saturday night! I've been rephotographing a few coins.

A couple of Gratian maiorinae:


Gratian, AD 367-383.
Roman Æ maiorina, 5.10 g, 22.6 mm, 1 h.
Rome, AD 379-383.
Obv: D N GRATIA-NVS P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: REPARATIO REIPVB, emperor standing left, raising kneeling woman to left and holding Victory on globe; SMRQ in exergue.
Refs: RIC ix, p. 125, 43(a)4; LRBC II 750; Cohen 30; RCV 20006.


Gratian, AD 367-383.
Roman Æ maiorina, 5.90 g, 21.4 mm, 11 h.
Constantinople, AD 383.
Obv: D N GRATIA-NVS P F AVG, helmeted, draped and cuirassed bust, right, holding spear and shield.
Rev: GLORIA RO-MANORVM, Emperor standing facing, head right, on ship, raising right hand. Victory seated at helm. No wreath in field; in exergue, CONΓ.
Refs: RIC 52a (unlisted officina).

Indo-Greek drachma:


Hermaios and Calliope, 90-70 BC.
Bactrian AR drachma, 16.2 mm, 1.80 gm.
Obv: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΕΡΜΑΙΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΛΛΙΟΠΗΣ, jugate busts, right.
Rev: Kharoshti legend, king on prancing horse, right; monogram below.
Refs: BMC 66, 1-2; Forrer 53; SNG ANS 1319-25; Mitch 2003-2004; Bopearachchi 2B.

The Æ II of Faustina II I just got from Heritage Auctions:


Faustina II, AD 147-175/6.
Roman copper alloy as or dupondius, 12.24 g, 26.1 mm, 1 h.
Rome, AD ca. 174-176.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: MATRI MAGNAE S C, Cybele seated right, holding drum in left hand on left knee; to left and right of throne, lions, seated right.
Refs: RIC 1664, BMCRE 990; Cohen 170; RCV 5301; MIR 25; ERIC II 205.

 

Nice, RC! I like the Gratians and your new FII!

Tonight, I'm "stitching" together photos for (~two) handfuls of new coins I've got recently. I shot the photos earlier this afternoon while the sun was high in the sky and beaming into my dining room. This is as good of venue as any to share... Looks like what's caught my eye lately has been pretty broad.

My most recent one, having arrived earlier today, is a year 2 Elagabalus Alexandrian Tet with a fancy draped bust of Hermanubis on reverse, my first tet from him. It looks better in hand than it did in the semi-blurry photos on the 'Bay. I can only find 2 similar examples on ACSearch.



This Decius was just cool and I was researching it before I pulled the trigger and got excited cuz it has both a scarce obverse legend, but also has an even more rare obverse bust with TD cuirassed seen from front rather than the traditional seen from behind. I found one similar on ACSearch. And it looks slightly double struck on obverse bust.

Trajan Decius, Ruled 249-252 AD
AE Sestertius, Stuck 249/250 AD, Rome
Obverse: IMP CAES C MESS Q DECIO TRAI AVG, laureate and cuirassed bust of Trajan Decius right, slight drapery on far shoulder, viewed from the front.
Reverse: VICTORIA AVG, Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm, S-C across fields.
References: RIC 108a (var cuirassed, front bust)
Size: 29mm, 20.8g
Scarce obverse legend and a rare bust type.
cf: Triskeles Auction, Sale 16 (6/3/2016), Lot #299

I've been keeping a slight eye out for one of these larger Tanit/Horse Head dishekels for the past year or so and got excited to capture this green one.

Zeugitania, Carthage, 264-241 BC
First Punic War
AE Dishekel, Sardinia Mint
Obverse: Head of Tanit left, wearing wreath of grain and earrings.
Reverse: Head of horse right.
References: MAA 58, SNG Cop 192
Size: 27mm, 14.5g
cf: CNG E-Auction 407 (10/11/2017), Lot #27

This SA denarius matches the dupondius and as I have of the same type: the emperor holding globe with reversed spear. It's kinda fun finding matches like this!

Severus Alexander, Ruled 222-235 AD
AR Denarius, Struck 224 AD, Rome mint
Obverse: IMP C M AVR SEV ALEXAND AVG, bust of Severus Alexander, laureate, draped, right.
Reverse: P M TR P III COS P P, Severus Alexander, laureate, in military attire with cloak behind back, standing left, holding globe in right hand and spear reversed in left hand.
References: RIC IV 44c

I had sold my previous lone Sept Sev denarius in my collection over a year ago, so when I saw this one at $22, I didn't need to think much.

Septimius Severus, Ruled 193-211 AD
AR Denarius, Struck 202-210 AD, Rome mint
Obverse: SEVERVS PIVS AVG, head of Septimius Severus, laureate, right.
Reverse: VICT PART MAX, Victory, winged, draped, advancing left, holding wreath in extended right hand and palm sloped over left shoulder in left hand.
References: RIC IV 295
Size: 18mm, 3.53g

This "rough and scratched" sestertius of Mamaea was cheap and it made me think about something Doug has mentioned a few times, that long ago when diggers would find a coin and was covered with corrosion they would scrape it on a brick or something to reveal who is on the coin and reverse... maybe this happened to my coin?

Julia Mamaea, Augusta
Mother of Severus Alexander (222-235 AD)
AE Sestertius, Struck 228 AD (9th em), Rome
Obverse: IVLIA MAMAEA AVGVSTA, draped bust right, wearing stephane.
Reverse: FELICITAS PVBLICA, Felicitas, draped, standing front, head left, legs crossed, holding caduceus in right hand and leaning on column with left arm, S-C across fields.
References: RIC IV 676

I had one of these already, but with the variety of reverse iconography, letters, and ligatures, one can never have too many. This one comes with a rare symbol that is "apparently unpublished".

Cherronesos, Thrace
AR Hemidrachm, Circa 400-338 BC
Obverse: Forepart of lion right, head turned back.
Reverse: Quadripartite incuse square with alternating shallow and deeper sunken quarters, with a dot and selinon leaf on stem (wild parsley or celery) in each of two opposing quarters.
References: Apparently unpublished
Very rare symbol.
cf: CNG E-Auction 104, Lot #37;
NN Auction 67 (7/1/2018), Lot #57

This one is tiny, but I was really happy that the obverse is so easily identified for what it is.

Phokaia, Ionia, Circa 500-460 BC
AR Tetartemorion
Obverse: Head of griffin right.
Reverse: Quadripartite incuse square.
References: SNG Copenhagen Supp. 339, SNG von Aulock 7938
Size: 7mm, 0.33g
Notes: Appears to be a double die match with Roma E-Sale 10 (7/26/2014), Lot # 336


Anyways... Thanks for hangin' in there! TGISaturday!! What are you up to?

 

Great coins @Romancollector ! I like the Gratian... if I remember right, he's harder to find in this type than Theo or Valentinian II. I also like that Faustina Dos and that little lion!

@Justin Lee those are some great coins too! I love Alexandrian coins too and am always looking out for good deals on those. That Elagabalus is great. I have a few new tetradrachms but they're mostly later... I'll see if I can post some later. I also like that Dishekel. I've been looking for one of those too at a good price but they get relatively expensive fast! Nice grab. I'm hoping to find one where the seller forgets to list the size and it sells for the cost of the smaller coins. I also need another one of those Cherronesos lions... mine is off center on the reverse so the symbol is off-coin.

As for me, I'm working on a lot of things... one small project is to figure out what to do with this lot of Jovians. I noticed them in a poorly photographed lot and for $13 got them. In the photos, you really couldn't tell what they were other than VOT coins. Turns out 6 of the 7 are Jovians from Heraclea (and one Julian II from Thessalonica). I guess I don't need anymore Jovians from Heraclea now. Haha.

 

Justin Lee A coin from Colosseum Coin Exchange I bought this one back in February 1987 Stratonikea Ar Hemidrachm 133-129 B.C. Meadows 77 Obv. Head of Zeus right laureate. Rv Eagle standing right Demet Magistrate 1.25 grms 14 mm Photo by W. Hansen