When You Buy a Coin because of the Reverse

This is a play on the recent (excellent) thread by @David Atherton called "When you Buy a Coin because of the Portrait".. which is here is you missed it:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/when-you-buy-a-coin-because-of-the-portrait.327663/

Some fantastic Obverses were displayed on the thread... but how about the killer reverse that made you splash the cash?

Here is a coin that I purchased purely for it's reverse. The obverse is a mess as you can see. It looks like a double strike.. obviously off center - but something else seems to be going on there - perhaps an expert will have an idea?
However the reverse had the scene I was looking for. While the reverse is also far from perfect ...for $30 I jumped at the opportunity to own one of these. In hand you can see the head of Medusa in Perseus' grasp quite clearly.. I will try to get a better photo. I am not a serious Greek coin collector at all - this reverse scene is just so darn cool I wanted one.. and anything better would be out of my price range. I think it's an awesome reverse!!



Obverse: Head of Athena in crested helmet ornamented with Pegasos to right

Reverse: Hero Perseus facing, holding harpa (dagger) in left, and head of slain Medusa in r. hand, her decapitated body below, monogram to left, Greek AMI - SOU across field

Reference: SG 3680, LK 23

Reverse scene featuring the final act of the showdown between brave Perseus and the abominable Medusa. This type was issued by a few cities on the south shores of the Black Sea (Pontos and Paphlagonia) during the reign of Mithradates VI Eupator, and it is sometimes conjectured to allegorically refer to his struggle with Rome.

Please post any coins that you purchased because of the great reverse....

 

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Excellent purchase for $30! I love that reverse.

 

Wonderful Perseus!
Who doesn't love a nice reverse...

Julia Domna, Augusta
194 - 8 April 217 A.D.
Silver denarius, weight 2.745 g,
maximum diameter 18.4
m, Emesa (Homs, Syria) mint, 193 -
196 A.D.; obverseIVLIA DOMNA AVG,
draped bust right, hair in waved
horizontal ridges, bun at back
of head; reverse VENERI
VICTR, Venus standing right with
back turned facing, nude to below the
buttocks, resting left elbow on waiste
high column, transverse palm frond
in left hand, apple in extended right
hand;

Vespasian
(AD 69-79), AR Denarius
(19mm, 2.95g), struck AD
73. IMP CAES VESP AVG
CENS , laureate head facing
right / PONTIF MAXIM ,
Nemesis advancing right,
pointing a caduceus at a
snake below. RIC 544; BMC
97.

 

No, no, please -- I'm already feeling a little stiff from looking at this one!

 

Welcome to The Headless Medusa Club! I think we've yet to see a perfect one of these and yours is actually not half bad, with only thing missing on the reverse being the harpa. My first one was missing most of the body and all of the neck-stump.

I often (usually?) buy coins for their reverses. For me, that's often where the story is at, quite literally.

I bought this one about five years ago, and at the time, it was the most expensive coin I had bought by a factor of about 5. The reverse depicts a scene from Virgil's Aeneid, where, in a prophetic dream, Aeneas, while leading a group of refugees fleeing Troy, encounters the river god Tiberinus when he reaches Italy. The god tells him he should settle his people when he sees a white sow suckling her young under an oak tree. He sees this very omen the next day along the river, and builds his town on the spot that would in the future become the city of Rome.

ANTONINUS PIUS
AE As. 11.02g, 28.6mm. Rome mint, AD 140-144. RIC 733; Cohen 450. O: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right. R: IMPERATOR II, sow seated by a river under a oak tree suckling three piglets, with another one in front of her; SC in exergue.
Ex Old Sable Collection

Provincials often have great story reverses. This rare bronze from Tyre I picked up earlier this year also really made me "splash the cash". It shows the founding the Greek city of Thebes by Cadmus. Cadmus was son of the king of Tyre and brother of Europa. Europa had been abducted by Zeus, and on his travels in search of his sister, Cadmus found himself in Greece, where he taught the Greeks the alphabet and writing, and also founded the city of Thebes.


VALERIAN
Rare. AE27. 13.98g, 27.3mm. PHOENICIA, Tyre, circa AD 253-260. Rouvier 2500. O: IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. R: TVRIORVM, Cadmus standing left, holding patera and spear; at feet to left, cow reclining right; in left field, city gate of Thebes above ΘH/BЄ; murex shell to right.

 

@zumbly - wonderful coins that tell great stories. I had never seen those reverses before.. thanks for posting.

 

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Pharos lighthouse of Alexandria (and passing ship) is shown on the reverse of this tetradrachm of Commodus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse_of_Alexandria

 

This one certainly fits the bill:

Provincial Rome - Phrygia
Caracalla, r. 198-217 A.D.
Hieropolis, AE30, 30 mm x 12.36 grams
Obv.: AV K M AVP ANTΩNΕINO/C. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right
Rev.: ΙΕ POΠ ΛEITΩN. Nemesis, wearing polos, standing facing, head right, holding rein or halter. To right Serapis, enthroned left with Cerberus at feet.

Just won another Caracalla provincial in today’s CNG auction which was also chosen for the reverse (not as pretty as this one, though...)

 

I buy most of my coins for their reverses, but here are a few of my favorites:

Is there anything cooler than Cybele riding in a quadriga of lions?



This elephant of Philip I is pretty cool, though!



I bought this Gordy provincial because of Artemis hunting on the reverse:



And this Caracalla and Domna is cool because its reverse depicts Apollo preparing to slay Python!



And who could resist this one with Dionysus and his panther?



It's so cool that Mionnet had to illustrate it!

 

From the obverse, this Republican denarius of Sextus Pompeius Fostlus looks to be just another Roma head coin but the reverse shows the shepherd Faustulus discovering the wolf and twins Romulus and Remus under a tree.

 

Understandably, foundation myths are a popular choice, but the motivation for the use of some reverses can be a little harder to fathom. This provincial from Alexandria Troas seems to depict Herakles and some buddies naked and drunk at an ancient frat party.


SEVERUS ALEXANDER
AE25. 6.37g, 25mm. TROAS, Alexandria Troas, circa AD 222-235. RIC VI Online temp #3987 var. (obv legend); Bellinger A335. O: IM AR ƧE AΛEXANDROS, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: COL AV-G TROA, drunken Herakles stumbling right, an arm around the shoulder of Pan to his right, a satyr on his left holding his hand and another behind him supporting (or restraining) him with both arms.

 

Got this one because of the reverse, also control mark is unpublished.

 

I love this Titus cistophorus for the reverse.

Titus
AR Cistophorus, 10.64g
Rome mint (for Asia), 80-81 AD
RIC 515 (R). BMC spec. acquired 1948. RSC - . RPC 860 (3 spec.).
Obv: IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M•; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: CAPIT across field, RESTIT in exergue; Temple of Capitoline Jupiter with 4 columns enclosing figures of Juno, seated Jupiter and Minverva
Acquired from Calgary Coin, 30 November 2015. Ex MS collection. Ex Harlan J Berk 124, 3 January 2002, lot 448.

And this rather rare reverse struck for Domitian.

Domitian
AR Denarius, 3.28g
Rome Mint, 95-96 AD
RIC 784 (R2). BMC 237B. RSC 296.
Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P XV; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: IMP XXII COS XVII CENS P P P; Altar, with two figures of soldiers, flanked by aquilae; under each aquila on top of the altar is a seated captive
Ex Solidus, eBay, 13 April 2014.

 

Great buying at $30 Clavdivs great reverse of a popular type, there's no way I would have bought this Trajan Dupondius if it wasn't for the bridge.

 

Wonderful reverse on that one, AA!

 

Just got this one in the mail yesterday... bought for the depiction of The Temple of Divus Augustus... it includes quite a bit of detail that many times is missing on coins with wear.


Antoninus Pius
Rome mint A.D. 158-159.
ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP, laureate head right
TEMPL DIVI AVG REST, COS IIII, seated figures of Divus Augustus and Livia, set on podium, within octastyle temple.
RIC 143; BMCRE 549; RSC 799b.

 

Thanks I was very lucky to pick it up at a reasonable price.

 

Some stunning reverse scenes. @dougsmit's pharos stands out IMO

I din't get the one below just because of the reverse. It being a miliarense, and a Ferrando plate coin from Arles counts too


Constantius II, Light miliarense, Ferrando II plate coin - Arles mint (Arelate), 3d officina
DN CONSTAN TIVS PF AVG, Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Constantius right
VIRTVS EXERCITVS, Constantius (soldier) facing holding spear and shield. TCON at exergue
4,54 gr ; 22,6 mm
Ref : RIC VII # 252, Ferrando II # 1026 (this coin), Cohen #326, RC #3993v

Q