Picked up 2 new denarii from the bay and for some reason they went CHEAP:hail::hail: so I was very happy. They arrived in 1 day due to the seller being less then a hour away:thumb:. As usual the coins look better in hand, especially the faustina. What looks like a hole next to left column is just part of the column decoration itself, weird but the loupe didnt lie. So im glad to finally get a faustina I off my want list and a scarcer reverse/cheap at that. Got a few more coins on the way. Also gonna hit up long beach friday after all due to more $ to spend then when I went in Feb. FAUSTINA Sr. (138-141 AD) Silver Denarius DIVA FAVSTINA Draped bust right. AED DIV FAVSTINAE Hexastyle temple of diva faustina, containing seated statue of the deity, trellis-work fencing in foreground at foot of steps. RIC 343 17mm 3.2g MAXIMINUS ( 235 - 238 A.D) Silver Denarius MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG GERM Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. PAX AVGVSTI Pax standing facing, head left, holding olive branch and transverse scepter. RIC 019 RSC 037 20mm 3g
Nice ones! Beautiful, I love the temple reverses that were used throughout the years of the Empire, this one is no exception. The decorations on the sides that you thought looked a bit like a hole on the left are a nice touch, I guess a bit of black ancient debris got into the little gap where the decoration on the left side is... the other decorations, such as on the three points of the roof, the top and either far side, as well as the base look great as well. Nice portrait too, and good looking flan. The Maximinus is great, the bust looks to have some really good detail on the beard and such, nice pics too. Very nice reverse, I like the type.... I still want to get a Maximinus denarius and a Macrinus denarius and antoninianus one of these days.... also 3gr or more each on your two, nice weight for denarii.
Thanks for the comments. Forgot to mention the Faustina is alot like my Lucilla, subtle gold toning around the obverse lettering and a very subtle blue within the lettering. The thrax does have some wear on it's high points but there is alot of beard detail.
Max Thrax gets extra points for his chin sticking out past his nose. He is a ruler where the ugly coins are better than the better looking ones. Any architectural reverse denarius is a premium item compared to the ordinary standing figure so both coins strike me as worthwhile additions to a collection.
I agree with Doug, the temple reverse is what really differentiates the Faustina. There are whole subsets of collectors who specialize in them. Extremely nice pickups, especially the Faustina.
