Secret Saturnalia 2020

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Curtisimo, Nov 4, 2020.

  1. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

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  3. Julius Germanicus

    Julius Germanicus Well-Known Member

    Io Saturnalia!

    Me and my son couldn´t wait any longer and opened the neat Saturnalia package today!

    Bildschirmfoto 2020-12-18 um 23.02.07.png

    My secret Saturn made my day with what is the most generous present I received all year.

    The first thing that came to light was a board game!! How on earth could my secret Saturn know that I love strategy board games?

    Bildschirmfoto 2020-12-18 um 22.59.24.png

    Totally looking forward to develop the most powerful cities in Antiquity and triumph over my family by bringing my civilization to victory!

    This even has the added value of same English practice for my kid :-D.

    Next thing included was this little Sigillaria figure which perfectly fits into my Lego Forum:

    Bildschirmfoto 2020-12-18 um 22.59.15.png

    Oh, and last but not least there were not one but two interesting coins included!

    The first one was announced as “from a country that unfortunately made it to the news headlines this year:

    Bildschirmfoto 2020-12-18 um 22.59.02.png

    This neat piece is my first medieval coin! I must admit that I had never heard of Levon I the Magnificent, first King of Armenian Cilicia from AD 1198-1219, or even his kingdom.

    This is a real eye opener for me and I shall dig into the history of this nation founder (who at first glance into Wikipedia is worth an extensive writeup), the history of Armenia, and the third Crusade!

    Thank you for the inspiration and this interesting conversation piece!!!

    The other coin is a Sestertius, my favourite denomination of all ages! “… that I hope you can keep as a pocket piece, until it reveals its full detail by next Saturnalia, after rubbing in hand for a long time”.

    Bildschirmfoto 2020-12-18 um 23.01.31.png

    Until then I have it identified as:

    LVCILLAE AVG ANTONINI AVG F – bust of Lucilla right, wearing paludamentum, pearls on chignon
    HILARITAS S C - Hilaritas, standing left, holding cornucopia and palm branch
    Sestertius, Rome mint
    30,9 mm / 17,86 gr
    RIC 1742, BMCRE 1147, Cohen 31, Banti 18 (22 specimens)

    That is exactly what I am going to do and will present it here for the next Saturnalia in shiny Orichalcum glory!

    Thank you so very much Alex22! You made the season start with a day full of joy!
     
    Shea19, Alex22, lordmarcovan and 17 others like this.
  4. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    Glad you like it and nice photo! The thing I really liked about this coin was that the ADVENTVS was a reference to a truly interesting return to Rome. In fact, Philip was returning with his tail between his legs under some interesting circumstances and this coin was most likely struck as a donative to the soldiers who just proclaimed him emperor.

    I did a write up on this coin last year explaining why I thought it was interesting.
    https://www.cointalk.com/threads/my-first-adventvs-coin.345800/#post-3679250

    Here are some additional photos that show the die chip you mention. I too would be interested in seeing some die matches.
    91A0505D-D139-4FC4-B46C-2DC13350F13C.jpeg

    .................................

    As to the coin I received from @Theodosius ... Well not surprisingly he totally hit it out of the park! An absolutely stunning coin that now sits in a place of honor in my Nerva-Antonine Collection. I am at a loss for words about it really. Thank you Theodosius.

    D09B876E-E3AC-42D8-9B50-9BBBB82A859D.jpeg
    Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-180
    Æ Sestertius, Rome mint, struck AD 170-171.
    Dia.: 32 mm
    Wt.: 25.1 g
    Obv.: IMP M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXV; Laureate head right.
    Rev.: PRIMI/DECEN/NALES/COS III/SC within wreath.
    Reference: RIC III 1006. Scarce.
    Ex Theodosius Collection


    I am happy to have made so many real friends on here. I got an opportunity to exchange coins with a few friends this year and it has been the highlight of an otherwise dismal collecting year. It’s truly humbling to be counted among this group of generous and knowledgeable people. I hope everyone is having a excellent and safe Saturnalia! I know I am :)

    23E0B2C2-0755-4947-8FCF-DF6379E64E3B.jpeg
     
  5. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    My Secret Saturnalia coin arrived today. I absolutely love it. I am not really up to snuff on Greek coins so I am glad that it came attributed. Earlier this year I purchased a Roman provincial with Hygeia on the reverse so this is a great addition to add a portrait of her father, Asklepios.
    My Secret Saturnalia did not reveal their name so I will say a hearty "Thank You" to everyone here in the ancients forum. You all really are top-notch people here and I am glad to be among you.
    Io Saturnalia!

    Oh...and without further ado...the coin:



    Pergamon, Mysia
    AE15
    133-27 BC
    Obverse: Bearded head of Asklepios right
    Reverse: AΣKΛHΠIOY ΣΩTHΡOΣ, Serpent-entwined staff of Asklepios.
    IMG-0107-removebg-preview.png
     
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  6. HAB Peace 28 2.0

    HAB Peace 28 2.0 The spiders are as big as the door

    First off, I am VERY happy about my present. IMO my SS, went way above and beyond, the call of duty. 1. The wrapping paper is next level. Probably, the most interesting wrapping paper I’ve EVER seen? I will definitely save this. 2. The coins are really interesting and nice. I really like the Postumus coin. It’s quite a fantastic piece of Ancient History.
    3. The Hungarian coin brings me back, to when I tried to learn the Hungarian Language. And btw, failed miserably :happy:.
    4. This hardback book is incredibly nice. When I get time? I will read it, and try to learn some new information. Don’t worry about that.
    5. In closing, once again. I REALLY appreciate your generosity. I hate to be a spoiler. But by process of elimination, and common sense :happy:. I’m pretty sure, I know who you are. Boldog Karàcsonyt és köszönet.

    59FF3918-A319-4149-B401-57808FA3EE0B.jpeg 9CE86955-642F-447B-8776-15D6DBD0694C.jpeg 0684C7E0-5DC9-410E-B188-8289B1ACFD0B.jpeg C1DBBC33-9302-4813-BC66-6016451F4565.jpeg C31EC7FA-3DA5-4911-AC78-C94C3CE5BE8F.jpeg 19F56B3B-F01D-4913-934A-FD8EBD436E50.jpeg
     
  7. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    H. Peace, I was given a copy of that book about 10 years ago & thoroughly enjoyed it :happy:. The illustrations are breathtaking, all coins being super high grade. David Vagi wrote the chapters on Greek & Roman coins & did an excellent job. The only part of the book that seemed rather pointless was the value given to each coin in a number of different grades; this was done at the end of the book.
     
  8. Orfew

    Orfew Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

    Many thanks to my Secret Saturn! @Clavdivs obviously did some planning with his selections. I was thrilled to see what was in the box. Many thanks to @Clavdivs for the amazing secret Saturn gifts.

    First I was very happy to see a book in the package! I was looking for a Christmas read and now I have one. It is also exactly the kind of book I would have bought for myself. I also loved the helmet keychain. When I saw it I could not help saying out loud...How cool is that?

    IMG_1318 copy.jpg

    And this great coin! Of course...it is a denarius of Domitian. Better yet I did not have this type!

    Screen Shot 2020-12-18 at 7.45.15 PM.png
    Once again my very sincere thanks to @Clavdivs for these very thoughtful gifts.
     
    lordmarcovan, finny, NLL and 15 others like this.
  9. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    @Orfew I have followed lots of your posts...how do you not have that type of Domitian? I assumed that you had every type! :)

    it is a great looking coin and an interesting looking book.
     
    lordmarcovan, Ryro and Orfew like this.
  10. Orfew

    Orfew Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

    Actually I only have 53 Denarii of Domitian. For a frame of reference @David Atherton has between 500-600.

    As for why I did not have this one? I have been deliberately getting as many of the ultra rare ones as possible because I did not know when I would see another in the next several decades if ever. I have however, wanted one of these for a few years so its appearance was a very welcome surprise.
     
  11. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    Orfew I am very happy that you enjoyed the gift. I thought the keychain was quite unique and when it arrived at my door I liked it so much that I ordered another for myself.... then handed it to the wife and asked her to add it to my stocking. :)

    upload_2020-12-19_0-36-57.png
     
  12. hoth2

    hoth2 Well-Known Member

    I haven't really been able to be too active in the old-metal-in-the-ground scene singe my boy was born a few year ago (and since then a girl and soon another boy), but the people on this board are kind, and generous with both their time and their attention. You're a wonderful bunch. Merry Christmas!
     
  13. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    Just for fun, here's my SS 2019 gift, said to be from a private collection in London.

    This is without a doubt the most attractive denarius that will probably ever be in my collection.
    Caracalla RIC 312d (2020_11_18 03_38_31 UTC).jpeg

    [glamour shot from when I used to take pics of coins laid on top of vintage South American bank notes...]
     
  14. H8_modern

    H8_modern Attracted to small round-ish art

    I was waiting for the gift I sent to be received before I opened mine. I was going to open it last night but it was so well done I needed the light of day to document the process.

    It was not the tablet it appeared to be but the box did make for a great presentation.

    upload_2020-12-19_8-38-27.jpeg
    upload_2020-12-19_8-38-44.jpeg
    upload_2020-12-19_8-39-6.jpeg

    I started with the visible coin which is this neatly toned Ike.
    upload_2020-12-19_8-39-24.jpeg
    upload_2020-12-19_8-39-38.jpeg

    Then I started on the Gordion Knot
    upload_2020-12-19_8-39-59.jpeg

    Once through that obstacle I found this amazing LRB. Great details, great color and a great provenance. Truly amazing and a USB with pics included. Absolute home run. Thank you SS, I’m honored to have these and had fun with the presentation as well.
    upload_2020-12-19_8-40-23.jpeg
    upload_2020-12-19_8-40-37.jpeg
     
  15. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    Nicely presented! And an ex-Dattari, even!
     
  16. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    Great presentation. I like the rings on that Ike. Just like Saturn...too bad it is showing the Moon on the reverse :p

    A beautiful silvered Constantine as well!
     
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  17. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    Regarding wrapping paper. Several years ago they were selling posters with all the emperors and several other coin groupings. Posters that were damaged or no longer wanted for wall display made good wrapping paper. That is how I disposed of my damaged one. Yours appears to be the Italian version (clue?) but they existed in English also.
     
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  18. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

    I was just on reddit and saw this meme. I think it fits quite nice here:
    [​IMG]
     
  19. AnYangMan

    AnYangMan Well-Known Member

    Io saturnalia!

    Now that the semester has come to a close and the last exams on Friday are over, it is time to open my Saturnalia gift! It had arrived already a couple of weeks ago and the return adress already gave me a hunch of who my Secret Saturn would be ;). Opening it confirmed that, but most of all I was stunned by the contents! He really has a great taste and both of his gifts (as if one wasn’t already enough!) are right up my alley. Without further ado:

    [​IMG]

    City of Lübeck, AR Witten. (Lubeck, ca. 1330-1379).

    A type (along with a Witten from Hamburg and Rostock, to complete a sort of Hanseatic trifecta) that I was actually on the lookout for! I could not find an example I liked well-enough, but my Secret Saturn solved that problem for me with this lovely toned one. It is simply a fantastic example of the type, if a bit tricky to photograph. I ended up using slightly harsher light than I should have, giving the obverse a bit of a ‘dirty’ look, while it in reality is a bit ‘smoother’. But anyhow, you have great taste my Secret Saturn…

    [​IMG]

    And as a cherry on top, he also included a book on the material culture of the silk road! Ever since a well-taught lecture series on the history of Central-Asia last year, my interest in the area has skyrocketed (culminating in one of my favourite purchases of the year). A book I will truly enjoy reading, thanks Saturn!

    All in all, a truly generous and well-researched pair of gifts that I will cherish for years to come. Here’s to an equally great exchange next year!

    Meanwhile my gift arrived, but one day late :(
     
  20. HAB Peace 28 2.0

    HAB Peace 28 2.0 The spiders are as big as the door

    Maybe, I was wrong about who my SS was :happy:? Or maybe I’m right? I don’t know for sure now?
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2020
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  21. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    My gift arrived in today's mail! Io Saturnalia!!!

    My Secret Saturn knows what I like and sent me this posthumous issue of Faustina II! :joyful: Thank you so much!!

    It's a cool coin. It bears the fourth and final obverse legend for the empress, DIVA FAVSTINA PIA. Dating this coin is difficult, but is probable that coins continued to be issued for Diva Faustina until the death of Aurelius in 180, and possibly into the early period of the reign of Commodus. A date of 176-180 or later is suggested.

    The obverse die has seen some use and there is a cud in front of the empress' nose indicative of a die break.

    Faustina Jr CONSECRATIO S C altar no palmettes sestertius.jpg
    Faustina II, AD 161-175.
    Roman orichalcum Sestertius, 19.75 g, 30.0 mm, 1 h.
    Rome, AD 176 or later.
    Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA PIA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
    Rev: CONSECRATIO S C, Altar-enclosure, with door in front and antefixae visible on corners above.
    Refs: RIC 1706; BMCRE 1579-81; Cohen 76; RCV 5230; MIR 60-6/10.
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2020
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