This was purchased alongside another couple of coins for very small price (about a quarter of the cheapest example I could see on VCoins). The dealer had it labelled as Macrinus and didn't recognise it as the Usurper Macrianus. I know it's scrappy, rough and porous but I simply couldn't leave it lying there even though I don't chase after these usurpers. Macrianus - Antoninianus - RIC 11 Obv:– IMP C FVL MACRIANVS AVG, radiate & cuirassed bust facing right Rev:– ROMAE AETERNAE, Roma seated left, holding victory Minted in Samosata. A.D. 260 - 261 Reference:– RIC 11 Share your mis-attributed finds....
Nice find, Maridvnvm - a while back this was mis-attributed AE, said to be a Commodus as, came up on eBay. It is a hard-to-photo coin, but I was pretty sure it was not Commodus before I bid (the portrait's all wrong, even for a Provincial), but I thought it looked interesting and thought it would give me something to research. It is from Rhesaena, an issue for Herennius Etruscus showing the priest plowing with oxen. Rough, but pretty scarce. Herennius Etruscus Æ 25 Rhesaena, Mesopotamia (c. 249-251 A.D.) Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, [ΓAIMEΣ]EPETPOYΣKI[ΛΛIOΣ ΔEKIOΣΣEB] / CEΠ KOΛ ΡHCAINHCIΩN L III P, founder ploughing right with yoke of oxen, eagle above standing left on palm branch, holding wreath in beak, half figure of river god Chaboras swimming right in exergue. RPC 1593; Castelin 178-80. (12.25 grams / 25 mm)
Actually, my first coin of 2019 was somewhat misattributed. This was a $10 "buy it now" on eBay listed as Macedonia, Pella. The legend didn't quite match and I discovered it was issued by a Roman Quaester Gaius Publilius Tamios, soon after the Romans annexed Macedonia. Coin Talk was very helpful in attributing this, especially John Anthony's post from a while back: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ae...nce-gaius-publius-tamios.272354/#post-2335460 (Thank you, John!) Not a beautiful specimen, but from what I've seen, considerably scarcer than the usual Pella issues: Macedonia, Bottiaia District Roman Province Æ 18 Gaius Publilius Tamios, Quaestor (c. 168-166 BC) Macedonian mint Helmeted head of Athena right / ΓΑΙΟΥ ΤΑ[ΜΙΟΥ]; Cow standing right; monogram TB beneath. SNG Cop 1322; AMNG 210. (9.40 grams / 18 mm)
I have shown these before, however here are a couple misattributes from the Roman Republic: This was a surprise, as I was going after a very early 211 BCE Post-Reform Denarius as Crawford 44/5. @red_spork pointed out that this was actually Crawford 68/1b, a very hard-to-get Sicily issue... The Sicily issues had a very odd but distinct downward pointing crest-horn on the back of the helmet: RR Anon AR denarius Roma 211-206 BCE ROMA incus Dioscuri single horn-helmet Sear-- Craw 68/1b SICILY ISSUE RARE was cr 44-5 downward pointing crest-horn Gee, Ollie, I messed up AGAIN! I was going after the Quinarius from the Post-Denarius Reform after 211, and it was misattributed as Crawford 44/6 from the Clain-Stefanelli Collection. Again, it is rightly re-attributed as part of the Crawford 68/2b series minted in Sicily. RR Anon after 211 BCE AR Quinarius 2.12g Helmeted hd Roma - Dioscuri riding Cr 68-2b was 44-6 RSC 3 ex Clain-Stefanelli RARE downward pointing crest-horn I respectfully submit that this was a bit embarrassing to have them called out to be reattributed. I really missed the downward pointed crest-horn on both of them. However, they moved from a more common(?) issue to RARE issues... nice mistake to make.
This one was sold to me as Galerius. But it is not Galerius - it's Maximin Daia. Presumably the seller saw GAL and thought it was Galerius. Whereas we all know that distinguishing some of the tetrarchic legends can be a bit confusing.
Actually, I buy misattributed coins all the time off eBay - it is a way to find good stuff cheap. At least it seems like good stuff to me. Here is a somewhat scarce (?) Constantius I Chlorus (father of Constantine the Great) as Augustus (he wasn't Augustus for very long - 305-306 A.D.). It was listed as: "Roman 200-373 AD Bronze AE3/4 RNDM Attributable Roman Coin" It is one of my favorite LRBs - the green deposits (which are rock-hard and apparently stable) add to its appeal (many will disagree, I'm sure): Here is my attribution (corrections always welcome - my LRB skills are iffy): Constantius I Chlorus as Augustus (struck by Maximinus Daia) Æ Post-reform radiate (305-306 A.D.) Alexandria IMP C CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, Radiate, draped, cuir. bust rt. / CONCORDIA MILITVM, Constantius r. receiving Victory from Jupiter l., Δ /ALE. RIC VI Alexandria 59a. (3.68 grams / 20 mm)
Don't feel too bad, these anonymous RR denarii and fractions are very often misattributed even by the pros. I won a beautiful quinarius at Triton this morning that was misattributed actually but I'll save that one for when the coin shows up.
What a coincidence! I kept this bronze coin of Herennius Etruscus one year without finding any similar match for the same Emperor. In fact, the founder who looks completely like a priest is plowing Left. Hope it is published. And then I heard that the plowing scene was also a religious or sacred ceremony for the Phoenician people, hence the intervention of river god to water the grains and ensure life for the present and future generations .
Coool coin - you might check out my original post tacked on to an even older post of John Anthony's - it is sort of lost in "World Coins" section.. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/s-alexander-rhesaena-ae26.238154/#post-3236287
Here's another coin from Rhesaena. It was struck under Trajan Decius. Reverse shows Tyche pouring liquid onto a lighted altar. Eagle on a palm tree before Tyche. Also palm trees in right and left fields. BMC 24.
Here is an example for Domitian. A previous seller had it as RIC 921, a very common coin. However, the obverse legend is different on my coin. It is in fact RIC 922 (R2) a very scarce coin. I love this coin for the unusual obverse portrait. Check out the provenance, I am sure you will recognize the name of the previous owner. Domitian as Caesar AR Denarius 3.10 g Obv: CAES AUG F Domitianus; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r Rev: COS IIII, Pegasus standing r RIC 922 (R2) Aquired from Kolner May 2018 Ex: David Atherton collection Coin depicted on the Wild Winds database
My favorite misidentified coin is only that because it comes in plastic. Admittedly finding a misidentified slab from a worthwhile compan would be better but, slabbed or not, you need to read every letter, Constantius II not Constantine.
Hi! One of my best findings is this sesterce of Gordianus II. It was misidentified as Gordianus III. It is very rough and porous, but it still one of my favourite coins. IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG, laureate, draped & cuirassed bust right / ROMA AETERNAE.
Finding a misattributed coin-- especially when the actual coin is rare and desirable, is such a satisfying moment! Congratulations, everyone, for these nice pickups! Welcome to CoinTalk, @Macrianus-- what a score!
Since the Rhaesana coins of the House of Decius seem to be thick on the ground in this misattributed-coin thread, Here's one which wasn't attributed at all when I found it, so I guess that sort of qualifies it to be here too: Mesopotamia, Rhesana, Trajan Decius, 249-251 A.D. AE 21mm, 6.46g, 10h. Obv: [ΑΥΤ Κ Γ Μ ΚΥ Τ]ΡΑ ΔEKIOC CЄB laureate head right. Rx: [CEP CO]Λ PHCAINωN Λ III Π two turreted veiled and draped busts of Tyche confronted, standard topped with eagle; below, small altar (mostly off-flan) between RPC IX 1600.
