Your rarest emperor

Hi all

Greg from Melbourne, Australia here. I'm new (though not new to the hobby) and have been reading the discussions for a few months.

I'm a one-coin-per-Roman-ruler collector. I was wondering: what is the rarest emperor in your collection?

Mine is Uranius Antoninus (see attached - please pardon the clumsy way i present my coins)

SYRIA, Seleucis and Pieria. Emesa.
Uranius Antoninus. Usurper, AD 253-254. Æ (32mm, 16.75 g, 12h).
Dated SE 565 (AD 253/4). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Baetyl of El–Gabal, decorated with eagle flanked by parasols, within hexastyle temple; crescent in pediment, ЄΞΦ (date) in exergue; SNG Hunterian 3174 (same obv. die); BMC 24 (same obv. die).

Please make me jealous with photos of your rare emperors!

I don't have Majorian, Olybrius, Glycerius, Regalianus, Nepotian, Martinian, Saturninus to name a few. I don't know if i will ever get them all. I'll probably end up focusing on a speciality (is that what happens to most people)?

Greg

 

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Welcome Greg

What a great coin. I have some uncommon, but not truly rare emperors. I will watch this thread with interest.

 

I just posted yesterday a Maximus of Barcino (https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-maiorina-of-maximus-of-barcino.269168/).
Besides that I can think of Marius and Poemenius, although the last did not mint in his name but rather in the name of Constantius II.

 

Welcome to the forum Greg. I don't think I have a rare emperor...or a photo of one anyway.

 

Oh wow. I have always wanted a coin of Maximus. I have seen his siliquae available occasionally, but my coin spending often gets diverted to prettier things.
I don't have a Poemenius, but at the moment i am limiting to myself to portraits of emperors, rather than the issuing ruler (eg Aureolus for Postumus is out of scope for me too at the moment)

 

Welcome, Greg . Uranius is certainly a rare one!

I don't have any particularly rare emperors to show and tend to collect multiples of favorite emperors... or of emperors who issued many interesting types.

 

Aw, I completely forgot about Aureolus. Although issued for a relatively short period, his coins are not that rare though.

 

I forgot about Aureolus too! Here is mine


Aureolus (Usurper)
Coin: Bronze Ant
IMP POSTVMVS ??? - Radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right
VIRTVS EQVIT - Virtus advancing right, holding spear and shield
Exergue:


Mint: Milan (267-268 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 2.23g / 19mm / -
Rarity: Scarce
References:

• RIC V 388
• Mairat 224-5
• AGK 111b
• RSC 441

Acquisition/Sale: $0.00
Notes: Feb 22, 15 - Minted under Postumus. Rebel in Milan. Coins of Aureolus can be distinguished from others of Postumus by having mint letters in the exergue.


I also have a Marius:


Marius
Coin: Bronze Ant
IMP CM AVR MARIVS AVG - Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
VICTOR-IA AVG - Victory standing left, holding wreath and palm
Mint: Treveri or Cologne (269 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 3.10g / 19mm / -
Acquisition/Sale: $0.00
Notes: Dec 6, 13 - RIC 17 Schulzki 7b, Elmer 638, Cunetio 2509.
Hint of silvering remains.

 

That's a cool Marius. I have a Marius too but it's not very photogenic - very hard to find a good one. I love the story about him - the blacksmith who became emperor for a couple of months and was killed by a sword of his own manufacture.

 

Welcome, Greg. That's an impressive rarity! I look forward to seeing your other coins.

 

Welcome!!!My rarest one DIADUMENIAN

 

Awesome coin. I love a nice big bronze!

 

Me to

 

For some strange reason my collection is on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/olybriuscoins

Other highlights in my collection:

Libius Severus 461-465 AD. Æ 10mm (0.76 gm). Rome mint. Issued under Ricimer. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right / Monogram of Ricimer. RIC X 2716.



And for some reason i really love this big provincial Balbinus:



Cilicia, Tarsus: Balbinus, 238 AD. AE 36 mm, 24.31 gm. Obv: Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right. Rev: Pupienus(?), radiate, on horseback right, casting javelin at lion leaping right beneath with head left; A in legend, M/K and G/B in fields. SNG Levante Supp. 280 (this coin); SNG France 1630.

 

OMG !
That's really something !
My rarest would be a Domitius Domitianus octadrachm


Domitius Domitianus, Octadrachm, Emmet plate coin Alexandria mint, AD 296-297
ΔOMITI-ANOC CEB, Radiate bust of Domitius right
No legend, Serapis going right, LB in field (regnal year 2)
12.79 gr
Ref : Emmet, Alexandrian coins #4241/2, this example illustrated, Dattari # 10830, RCV # 12982 (2000), Sear # 4801 var (It's actually an hexadrachm in Sear)
Domitius Domitianus, stationed in Egypt, rebelled against Diocletianus in july 296 AD and was proclaimed emperor. He was defeated during spring 297 AD. Diocletian decided to close the alexandrian mint, so the coins of Domitianus are the last provincial coins from Alexandria. Also, Domitianus was the only ruler to strike octadrachms (in parallel with didrachms, tetradrachms and hexadrachms)

For more information, see, in english : http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Domitius Domitianus or "en français" http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=54339.0

Also, the following comment, about another specimen sold at CNG (Triton XI, Lot # 539) "For the most part, scholars agree that the larger coins featuring the radiate bust must be a double, and thereby call it an octodrachm. At half the weight, then, the smallest coins with the Nike on the reverse must be tetradrachms, though these coins have erroneously been called heretofore didrachms. The weights of these tetradrachms appear consistent with the final issues of pre-reform tetradrachms of the Tetrarchs. The middle denomination poses the largest challenge to this arrangement. By weight, it should be a hexadrachm. However, no such denomination was known to have been struck in Egypt, though tetradrachms earlier in the third century achieved this weight. The obvious problem here would be the confusion caused in circulating the same denomination in two different weights. As this type is the rarest of the group, it is possible that it was meant for a special occasion, or more remotely, a stalled attempt to reinstitute the pre-reform coinage on an earlier weight standard. Further investigation may shed more light on this subject.

Q

 

I am thoroughly jealous of this .

 

I am thoroughly jealous too - I don't have a DD. If I bought one, I'd get an octodrachm like yours - the Genius standing folles are a bit boring, especially for the price.

 

Welcome Greg. Glad to have you.

I guess my rarest Roman Imperial would be my Caligula or my Claudius even though neither are that rare.


And I suppose my Claudius/Nero Drachm is somewhat rare.

 

Add my welcome to all the others, Greg.!!!

All the 'rare' Emperors posted so far are still missing from my Littleton album of Roman portraits...but I seem to have examples of all the others that may remain, including a recent purchase of a 'budget' Pertinax with the 'Ops' reverse.

WOW, between all of us here at CT, I think we may have them all....

Anyone have any Gordian I or II ??? Not me, and not likely to either LOL

 

Marvelous examples everyone, but that octodrachm takes the cake. Spectacular in both scarcity and condition!