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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 2018638, member: 19463&quot;]As common with most antoniniani of the period, the two headed Antioch coins had a workshop letter in exergue of the reverse.&nbsp; This is always under the portrait of Aurelian so he is on the reverse.&nbsp; Here is S (6) and H (8). </p><p>[ATTACH=full]364938[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]364939[/ATTACH]&nbsp; </p><p>The two headed tetradrachms of Alexandria had a particularly strange situation.&nbsp; Aurelian was in his first year of rule so there is an LA (year one) on his side of the coin.&nbsp; Vabalathus was in his fourth year so he has L delta.&nbsp; I guess that would make the young king the senior ruler so it is appropriate to call his side the obverse.&nbsp; Also consider that these coins were only issued from mints under the control of the Palmyrans so they would put their man on the obverse.&nbsp; Aurelian did not recognize these people as his peers and did not issue any coins in their honor from any mint he controlled.&nbsp; </p><p>[ATTACH=full]364941[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I know the old timers here are tired of seeing my Zenobia coin but some of you are new here.&nbsp; I bought it in full knowledge that it was a fake but considered it interesting because of how it was made.&nbsp; The obverse here was tooled from an as of a much earlier coin.&nbsp; I believe it was a Flavian (Vespasian, Titus, Domitian) because of the Spes reverse but can prove nothing.&nbsp; There was a time a century or two ago when rich collectors wanted coins to fill all the slots in their collection and craftsmen quite willing to produce pieces to fill the demand.&nbsp; I would love to know how much this piece sold for the first time it sold and when that was.&nbsp; Obviously it is worth less than the coin from which it was made (some would just say worthless) but I found it an interesting side note on the hobby.&nbsp; It would fool no one today but it was made for a world with no Internet and few books but plenty of well funded students of history who might be talked into such a rare piece.&nbsp; The Greek legend is correct to be a real coin of Zenobia but the coin is too large and thin to be in any way mistaken for an Alexandrian tetradrachm (it is an as!).&nbsp; The SC on the reverse was madified to read LE (year 5).&nbsp;&nbsp; I am realistic enough to know I will never own a real coin of Zenobia so when this one showed up I bought it.&nbsp; </p><p>[ATTACH=full]364940[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Before I mention it, how many of you knew that the name of the young king was spelled differently on his solo antoniniani than on his coins with Aurelian.&nbsp; Anyone know why??? </p><p><a href="http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=313739" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=313739" rel="nofollow">http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=313739</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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