Merry Christmas and Io Saturnalia! My Secret Saturn gifted me a very cool hemidrachm of Vespasian from Caesarea-Eusebia in Cappadocia. @Sulla80 posted a very helpful thread on these that allowed me to confirm that my type is a local issue and was not struck at the Rome mint. That works out well since I did not have a coin from this mint. My Saturn also sent me a very nice note with the coin. Thank you very much to my Secret Saturn, whoever you are. Cappadocia, Caesarea-Eusebia, Vespasian (AD 69-79) AR Hemidrachm, Caesarea mint, struck AD 77/78 Dia.: 16 mm, 12h Wt.: 1.6 g Obv.: AYTOKP KAICAP OYЄCΠACIANOC CЄBA, Laureate head right Rev.: Nike advancing right, holding wreath and palm frond Ref.: RPC II 1659; Metcalf 17
And the awesomeness just keeps coming. A BIG thank you to @ominus1 for my Saturnal-Xmas surprise. Not an ancient, but a very cool disappearing Athena with a trident. Admittedly, I had to look up scotch and soda, hold the soda please to figure it out, but a very cooool way to get free drinks at the bar. 2 coins: And now 1! = Thanks old buddy. To you and yours a very merry Christmas
Received this very nice silvered Probus antoninianus along with a nice "Happy Saturnalia" note. Its always great when they take the time to write/type one . I was also able to figure out the identity of my Secret Saturn. I'm not sure if they care, but like I've done in past years I will keep the identity anonymous. Thanks Secret Saturn! Probus, Roman Empire AE antoninianus Obv: IMP C M AVR PROBVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev: CLEMENTIA TEMP, emperor standing right with sceptre, receiving Victory from Jupiter standing left with sceptre, H between, XXI below Mint: Antioch Date: 276-282 AD Ref: RIC V-2 922
Saturnalia continues - here is an Aurelian radiate and cuirassed ant from Cyzicus that I was gifted: RIC 348 A 272-274 IMP AVRELIANVS AVG RESTITVT ORBIS Victory (is my preference, I could be convinced it's Zenobia) standing right, presenting wreath to Aurelian Mintmark A Not the same type depicted here but a great write up about the denomination, Aurelian's monetary reforms and his restoring of the Roman world or Restitutor Orbis! Thank you!
Sorry for being a few days late. I waited until Christmas to open my present. My Saturn certainly must have known about my interest in large provincials and architectural reverses, as I got this incredible piece of Philip I from Zeugma! I didn't have my normal magnifying loupe to shoot through, but after enough fiddling around with settings I got a decent shot. This coin is provenanced to a Spanish auction from 2019: https://www.biddr.com/auctions/ibercoin/browse?a=598&l=616417 I think it looks much better in-hand than the auction photo. I will likely do a full writeup on this coin shortly. The reverse is rather impressive, with a rare depiction of the entire temple complex and not just the facade. This helps us learn a bit more about how some of these temples looked like in real life; more than a building they were often full-on complexes with all sorts of fun stuff in front. This will be a fun project to try to make an artistic recreation one day. Despite the minute engraving on the I also received a rather fun info sheet with 10 cool facts about Saturnalia, none of which I knew before. Thank you!
My camera situation has been solved, so here are my Saturnalia gifts in full glory. I very much like all three coins! 1. A beautiful Faustina: 2. The "tiny owl" quadrans: 3.Who doesn't like a a coin that says "mega" on the obverse? Once more, thank you so much!
My Santa was really thoughtful in their gift to me. First coin. This next coin which is a denarius of Julia Domna is a fantastic coin! I really love the details on it and my favorite part is the peacock standing next to Juno’s foot. Thank you Santa for the amazing gifts! I will cherish these for many many years to come!
Hi all, SS must have been very busy lately since my gift arrived yesterday, more than three weeks after it's been posted from Colorado It's a very interesting Porcius Festus prutah, something I don't know anything about until now : a new field to dive in and explore. Although they wrote a nice message, my SS remains mysterious, and I have no clue about who they might be. I will post a pic as soon as I get a chance to photographying it properly Thank you Secret Santa !! Q
Saturnalia continues! And here is the precious gift from my Saturn. The package had the misfortune of spending Saturnalia, Christmas and New Year at the UK customs, but I was able to pick it up on 8th of January. Sorry for the late posting here. Of course, I did notify my Saturn, who contacted earlier to let me know that the Gods did not forget me this year. Unfortunately, I have next been caught in the midst of application shortlisting at the uni, which prevented me from properly welcoming the coins to my collection and posting here. Below is a quick peek, as they transition into their new outfits. Thank you so very much @Curtisimo for the heartwarming, chunky and diverse set of three precious coins that I will cherish for years to come!
Due to my fog brained mistake of giving an old address to John Anthony, this coin travelled from France to the United States, back to France and then back to the US and just arrived a few days ago. When it was realized that the first coin would not arrive my secret Saturnalia sent another coin to the same incorrect address. Both letters were finally returned to him around mid March at which time he asked me if the address was correct. He then sent it again with the correct address. Thank you to @Cucumbor for sending this wonderful coin and his patience for dealing with my gaffe. Jovian AE1, 28mm. Thessalonica. DN IOVIANVS PF PP AVG, laurel and rosette-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right / VICTORIA ROMANORVM, emperor standing facing in military attire, head right, holding labarum and Victory on globe. Mintmark dot TESA dot.