Show Your Rarest Roman (according to the ERIC II tabel)

119- Diaduminian. I chose an Assarion of this Emperor. BMC 408.
I was astonished to see Theodosius II more rare than Clodius Albinos, Vabalathus and even Eudoxia.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I have 142 of the Roman Rulers, and my "Rarest" are:

A) Rarity List from @Valentinian :

135:

RI Paulina w Maximinus I D before CE 235 AE sestertius 30.77mm 19.66g 2nd emission of Maximinus I CE 236 Consecratio Peacock RIC IV 3

167:

RI Verina w Leo I AE2 20mm 457-475 Victory inscribing CHI RHO - RIC X 656 R3 RARE
Ex: @Valentinian



B) From Eric II List from @Aethelred :

148:

RI Verina w Leo I AE2 20mm 457-475 Victory inscribing CHI RHO - RIC X 656 R3 RARE
Ex: @Valentinian

151:

RI Paulina w Maximinus I D before CE 235 AE sestertius 30.77mm 19.66g 2nd emission of Maximinus I CE 236 Consecratio Peacock RIC IV 3

 

My "rarest" on the older list is Pertinax (137), but that moves to 95 on the newer one (seems appropriate to me). Romulus is 144 on the newer list, and 136 on the older.

 

The ERIC rarity list only counts imperial coins, not provincial coins....but at Rome itself, I believe no coins were struck for Britannicus. So I am not quite sure how he made the ERIC list.

This coin was minted at the Greek colony of Smyrna.

Britannicus is #181 on the old list and #176 on the new list.

SGIC 516, Lindgren 562

Since this might not count, I offer this Didia Clara (#157 on the first list and #146 on the second list)

 

https://www.cngcoins.com/Search.asp...&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_4=1&VIEW_TYPE=0#

Because they are Latin language and sestertius format, the Thracian mint Britannicus struck under Claudius are considered Imperials.

 

Thanks Doug!

 

133 on the second list Magnia Urbica , I see a lot of these,


same goes for Drusus 127 on the list.



But I Dont see a lot of Antonia coins, 117 on the list.

 

@dougsmit As promised I have read your excellent review of ERIC II. I now have a greater appreciation for what the author of the book did.

I am now more convinced than ever that with the lack of historical context, the unnecessarily complex numbering system and some of the other weaknesses, that I would never use it.

The one thing not mentioned in your review was the one thing I hoped you would expound upon, the list of emperor's by rarity. You said you have misgivings about the list, I think it would be interesting to know what those misgivings are. If you have said so elsewhere xnd I have missed it, I apologize.

 

@ Alex Sev.. Your coin reads Maxentius on obverse and not Pertinax or other.

 

That's because he is showing a Romulus, son of Maxentius. The coin names both.

 

Sorry for necroposting, but I do have a coin of Poppaea (Nero's wife), but I can't find her on any list. If anyone's interested, I'll post pictures.

 

The ERIC II list is for Roman imperial coins. If someone has a Roman provincial coin, say of Roman Alexandria, it technically does not count. The author of ERIC II made a separate list for provincial rarities, available on my site here:
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/catalogs/ProvincialRarityStats.pdf
This one also links to the original ERIC II imperial list:
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/catalogs/notes.html

 

It becomes less astonishing when you consider how the list was created. It looks at coins offered for sale with photos in printed catalogs and auctions by prominent firms. That means low-valued coins are not counted because they are not offered that way.

Most of the coins of Theodosius II that were counted were gold. There are many Theodosius II AE coins out there that are not offered by fine firms because they are not worth enough. They didn't get counted. For example, my own site has six Theodosius II AE and no Clodius Albinus coins right now. In the broader market, those numbers are more representative. Clodius Albinus coins are worth more so almost any Clodius Albinus had a chance of being sold at a prominent venue.

 

Long before digital photography we had printed coin lists that illustrated the high end coins but only had text for common denarii and ignored late Roman bronzes which rarely made the lists at all unless they were some special type. The result was evidence that Pescennius Niger and Pertinax were more common than Septimius Severus ..... Constantius II ----- who is that???
At least things are better now with paperless and filmless lists allowing cheap coins to exist at least in high grade.

 

Trebonianus Gallus... ... 86

Won in JA’s most recent auction. It is really a looker in hand.

 

#120 Johannes

#122 Vetranio

 

Here's a Domitia - RIC 847 (Domitian):


She was #165, then #148 on the lists posted.

ATB,
Aidan.