I was just starting out collecting ancients about 20 years ago and loved going through pick bins looking for anything interesting. One international dealer in particular always had hundreds (probably thousands) of little uncleaned ae4's which he sold for $8 each. This morning I was going through some of these finds from back then which I labeled and put away, but never took pictures of. These were a few of my favorite Valentinian III finds: Those days are mostly gone at this point. Kind of a shame in that many collectors like myself got interested in ancients by going through and picking pieces and then spending many hours identifying each of them (with the Van Meter book of course).
Very nice for the time (mid 5th century). I suspect I may have a few very late AE4s but they are beyond my ability to attribute, e.g. too worn. I know one of them has a monogram on the reverse.
Nice grabs, @Brian Bucklan ! VIII Here are mine: RI Valentinian III 425-455 CE AE 9mm Rome mint VALENTINIAN III AE4 11mm 1.47g Nummus (VF) AV: DN VALENTINIAN PF AVG; pearl-diademed draped cuirassed bust r. REV: SALVS REI - PVBL[]; Victory advancing left holding weath and palm. EXE: [RM] Rome mint. REF: RIC X Rome 2108, Scarce, 425-430AD. Apparently the first substantive issue for Valentinian III which would suggest an early date. The reverse legend is highly abbreviated REI - PVBL[] instead of the longer REIPVBLICE, as the small flan couldn't account for a full legend. This is very usual for the type and the age. Ex. G & N Numismatik, DE. Ex @seth77
Years ago I got it from you! I have it stored in bank, so I do not have it in my hand right now. (Also, got a Vetranio from you too at that time.)
Went through another batch and found two more. The first one can only be Val III as it is the CAS - (TRA) type camp gate. The second one can be identified because of the PLA at the start of the obverse legend.
Combing through those bins sounds like a lot of fun to me. It is indeed a shame those days are gone! Here are some Val III's, although only the first is still in my collection (I still need to take my own photo): I recently purchased this coin as a Galla Placidia: It's a relatively common type for Val III and relatively rare even for GP. Given the price I paid I suspect many weren't convinced by the attribution. The thing that convinced me was the prominent earring. It's clearly not tooled (as the hair might be, a little) and I don't believe it's ever present for Val III. Would appreciate your expert thoughts, though, @Brian Bucklan.
@Severus Alexander: I wish I could tell you it's Galla Placidia ... but there's really no way to be absolutely sure. I see what you are saying about the earring, which is what it appears to be. I tried to magnify the image to determine if there was one or two visible letters in the obverse legend, but I couldn't make anything out. Welcome to the world of late Roman ae4's.
Thanks, Brian. I'm OK with 90+% sure... but I certainly wouldn't be OK with 50-50 - I'd send the coin back in this case. There are some visible letters on the obverse, consistent with "CID" but they're pretty faint; and the potential D (visible in the photo) is in line with the nose, a bit lower than normal for the cross type. It would help if I had seen another Victory type for her, but I haven't. The diadem does seem to be legit & not tooled, plus it has three "tails" rather than two (in hand you can see the dot nearest the earring is indeed attached to the diadem), normal for an empress but not seen on an emperor. Also the small chin is very Placidia but not very Valentinian. Overall I'm comfortable with the attribution but open to correction (or confirmation) from someone who knows better!
Those are some great finds Brian, wish I could have had such experiences with pick bins. I wonder if any of the AE4s you’ve sold to me over the years came from such bins. Looking forward to what I’ll find at your table at FUN! Speaking of Placidia, here’s my example, that took forking over a few good coins to obtain (worth it). Galla Placidia, Western Roman Empire AE nummus Obv: D N GALL[A PLA-CIDIA P F AVG], female, pearl-diademed bust right, wearing necklace and earrings Rev: [SALVS REI]-PVBLI[CE] around cross, T in left field Mint: Rome Mintmark: [RM] Date: 425-437 AD Ref: RIC X 2111
That's an interesting obverse legend on the 3rd coin of the OP, sporting an -O at the end of Valentinian rather than the usual -VS.
I think your coin is in fact Galla and that can be determined by the form of the hairstyle and the 4 cords fastening the headdress and/or holding the diadem, which is distinctive to her coins as opposed to the usual 2 cords which are seen on the regular male effigies of the time. Some legend would be nice, but regardless the coin is a Galla Placidia.
@ValiantKnight : That is a decent piece for Placidia, they are very scarce. Hopefully I finally get to meet up with you at the FUN show in January. @Severus Alexander : There's only one shown on acsearch and this is it (not my coin ... but definitely wish it was): And I agree with @seth77 that your coin matches Placidia more than Val III
Very nice! Out of probably a couple thousand LRB's I have searched over the years, there was only one that was 100% attributable as Valentinian III - a VOT PVB campgate in abysmal condition. It always strikes me as odd how Valentinian III bronzes command such incredible premiums while his gold carries only a 2-3x markup. That's why this is the one and only Valentinian III in my collection for now...
Some very nice write ups above. Thanks, folks! I don't have handy the descriptions of my nummi, so I will pass over them, but will show my Valentinian III solidus. It is Ravenna, ca. 430-445, and is RIC X 2018-19. 4,38 gr., 22 mm. 12 hr.
Thanks to @Brian Bucklan and @seth77 for the help with my Galla. (Yes, I will continue to call it that. ) Some pretty sweet gold in those last two posts!