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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;AncientJoe, post: 4984912, member: 44357&quot;]Common symbols are sometimes surprisingly challenging to find. The Zodiac was a significant part of Roman culture yet the full wheel appears only periodically on coinage with relatively few examples surviving when they are found.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve been a perennial underbidder on the types from Antoninus Pius but was surprisingly fortunate to pick up this coin from the most recent CNG sale (finally getting around to posting more often). </p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve added some important types this year but this is the one which I was most worried about as, if I didn&#039;t buy this example, I might not see another for a long time.</p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s also yet another case where viewing coins in-hand is crucial. This was sold mid-pandemic but my dealer was able to have select coins from the auction mailed to him to view. I feared it might be tooled but he gave it his stamp of approval. </p><p><br /></p><p>If you aren&#039;t working with a trusted, experienced dealer, send me a message and I&#039;ll happily give some recommendations. A good dealer will talk you out of buying coins more often than not and tell you when overpaying is underpaying. They&#039;re valuable at all price-points and well worth the few percent over the hammer price.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1197616[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><i>PAPHLAGONIA, Amastris. Julia Maesa. Grandmother of Severus Alexander and Elagabalus. Æ 30mm (13.49 gm). IOUL MAICAN CEB, draped bust right, wearing stephane, holding grain ear and poppy / ΑΜΑCΤ ΡΙΑΝΩΝ, Hera and Zeus standing facing, looking at each other, each holding a long staff; H in exergue; all within wheel of the twelve signs of the Zodiac. BMC Pontus pg. 89, 34; Mionnet II pg. 396, 52. Good VF, dark green patina, centering holes on both sides. Extremely rare and among the finest known, with all the signs clear. The authors of RPC cite only four specimens, one of which is described as a cast, and only one specimen, this coin, in CoinArchives.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>The &quot;Zodiac Wheel&quot; was a symbolic map of the heavens, and Zeus, king of the gods, and Hera, queen, are shown at its center. According to Catharine Lorber, &quot;The entire design reflects the common belief of third-century Romans that their lives were shaped by higher powers. This schema and variations on it were employed by numerous mints for different emperors from the mid-second through the mid-third centuries.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Post your coins depicting Zodiac symbols.</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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