Harry G

These aren't my "photos" - I found them link in a Reddit thread, but I feel they may be relevant here.

https://sketchfab.com/frankmcmains/collections/numismatics-a014befcf84f47b5a8790542fa480e48

They're essentially 3D scans of coins; the original poster commented that it took around 800 pictures of the coin and stacked them on top of each other, and the setup cost $3950.

Reddit post: 

https://www.reddit.com/r/AncientCoins/comments/14h7tjj/silver_denarius_of_severus_alexander/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=2

Oh, I nearly forgot about "The coinage of the Gallic Empire" by Mairat.

It's an analysis of coins of the Gallic empire, but includes lots of plates of coins too, and I find it useful when trying to get some more info on some scarcer types.

https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:58eb4e43-a6d5-4e93-adeb-f374b9749a7f

(volume 2 PDFs are all plates)

1 hour ago, akeady said:

I don't believe RIC is public domain and Spink will try to take down any copies posted - which is likely why any websites with such PDF copies have disappeared.

I don't see any copyright information on your RIC VI but the other volumes you posted do have it, as does my paper copy of RIC VI:

Stick with the dead tree editions!

ATB,
Aidan.

I've deleted the links (just in case!)

There's GALLIENUS ANTONINIANII from the collection of Frank Reinhardt available here (probably one of the most comprehensive guides of Gallienus coins since MIR)

https://www.academia.edu/77282280/GALLIENUS_ANTONINIANII_English_version_PDF?email_work_card=title

I also have physical copies of RIC (Volumes 1 - 5) and MIR (although I regretfully sold my set of RPC books), and am happy to send pictures of pages if people are after a specific reference 😄

Hi all!

I've had this coin in my "miscellaneous" pile for a while now:

I have a (very) limited knowledge of Parthian coins, but I think it's a decently scarce beardless drachm of Pakoros I from Ekbatana (78 - 120AD).

Unfortunately, the coin has some very hard red deposits, which I have been unable to remove with my dental pick.

Is this some form of horn silver? If so, would Sodium Thiosulphate help?

Jotapian is one of my grail coins - I've been hoping to spot one in a group lot on eBay for the last few years, but no luck so far.

Roma sold 3(!) in their last XXVII sale - the nicest being this one that sold for £12k.

Looks like this will be my last post on this thread!

My only coin that has cost me over £500 is my antoninianus of Laelianus. It was about 3x as expensive as my second most expensive single coin purchase:

Laelianus Antoninianus - VICTORIA AVG (£623)

The second most I've ever spent on a single coin is my Valens miliarense:

£227 on eBay (which I still think is a bargain despite the damage)

DN VALENS P F AVG - Diademed, shoulder-draped cuirassed bust of Valens

VICTORIA AVGVSTORVM / RP - Victoria standing left, foot placed on a globe, inscribing VOT / V / MVLT / X on a round shield supported by column

Hi all!

I recently bought this coin as a part of a group lot on eBay, as it struck me as unusual.

The bust seems to be in the style of Siscia mint, but the coin has APOLLINI CONS AVG (centaur left) reverse.

Almost all "zoo series" antoninianii of Gallienus were struck from Rome mint, but a select few appear to have been struck from Siscia. MIR lists a few zoo series ants from Siscia, but not this exact type (with the centaur facing left). It looks like the mintmark of my coin may be I[S]?

The closest I can find is this antoninianus from the Reinhardt Collection, which possibly shares this obverse die

Any thoughts on this? 

I was 15 minutes late to the bidding of this beauty.

I would've gone to almost 3 times the hammer price. It hurts even more knowing that the max bidder's bid was only £90.

I'm guessing it went so cheaply because people were confusing it with the much more common Cyzicus mint coin, rather than the Smyrna issue

Fantastic piece!

Here's my only possible "Damnatio Memoriae" coin (more likely, it's just graffiti though):

Gallienus - MARTI PACIFERO (Rome)

That gave me an idea - I just asked ChatGPT to:

"Give me some fictional 18th century provenance for an EID MAR aureus, including buy/sell/auction records, made to look genuine"

and it came up with:

"According to the records, the EID MAR aureus was first discovered by a group of French soldiers in 1762 during the Seven Years' War. They found the coin in the possession of a local farmer near the site of a Roman battle. The farmer claimed that the coin had been passed down through his family for generations.

After the war, the French soldiers brought the coin back to France, where it caught the eye of a wealthy collector named Louis de Beaumont. Beaumont was an avid numismatist and had an extensive collection of ancient coins. He purchased the EID MAR aureus from the soldiers for a considerable sum.

Over the years, the coin passed through several collections, including that of the Duke of Cumberland, before ending up in the hands of a prominent London dealer named James Christie. Christie auctioned the coin in 1784, where it was sold to an anonymous bidder for a record-breaking price.

The buyer was later revealed to be a wealthy Italian collector named Giuseppe Conti, who was known for his passion for ancient Roman coins. The EID MAR aureus remained in the Conti family collection for several generations until it was eventually sold at auction in the early 20th century.

This provenance gives the impression that the coin has been in circulation for several centuries and has passed through many notable collections, making it a rare and valuable piece for collectors. However, it should be noted that this provenance is entirely fictional and should not be used to deceive or mislead anyone into believing the coin is genuine."

A more convincing provenance than Roma's in my opinion! And it cost £100,000 less...

Just following up to say that it looks like the coins been withdrawn from sale!

Hi all!

I was browsing the latest Roma catalogue, and cam across this coin - an antoninianus of Tranquillina.

However, the obverse looks a lot more like Otacilia Severa to me

• The nose points "sideways" rather than down (which is more commonly seen on Otacilia Severa rather than Tranquillina)
• The features for Tranquillina are much younger than Otacilia Severa, and the coin appears to show an older bust
• The "SABINA" at the start of the obverse legend always seems to start after the crescent on all Tranquillina antoninianii on acsearch - not "around" it
• The last half of the legend seems to have SEVERA as the undertype (the S starting at the Q of TRANQVILLINA)

Below is an antoninianus of Otacilia Severa (my coin) and a genuine Tranquillina (unfortunately not my coin) for comparison.

And the issue with the legend:

Any thoughts on this? If it turns out it's tooled, I will of course report it to the auction house.

Interesting coin! Never seen that mintmark before.

I always forget how much postage is from them - not sure how they can charge £35 postage for what should cost £15 - £20.

Lots of lots went very cheaply from them today (pages of £2 - £4 sales), but I entered the auction late and only managed to win a small group of silver.

Sure, why not 😄

I received some coins that I didn't order a few months ago - a group of Byzantine folles worth 70EUR in place of a small group of Roman antoninianii worth 22EUR.

Emailed the auction house. No response, so I kept them.

Its been the other way round for me too - I frequently sell coins on eBay, and once mixed up two orders - a Byzantine half follis, and a Roman denarius. Both buyers were very understanding and sent them back - and surprisingly one said that I didn't need to pay them back their out of pocket postage costs (but I did anyway via eBay refund)

I've bid on a few and only won one so far.

I'm gutted - I missed the bidding of a coin that I really wanted by about 15 minutes (the fantastic coin in lot 1128). It only went for £90 and I would've gone up to £250 on it.

If anyone won it and wants to make a quick £120 or so by selling it to me let me know 🥲

Tetricus I (sic on reverse on this coin: PVAX)

Tetricus II

Here's my set!

Laelianus

Marius

Postumus

Postumus (Aureolus)

Looks like the story finally broke in the mainstream media:

https://observer.com/2023/03/exclusive-uk-auction-house-director-arrested-for-4-1-million-roman-coin-fraud/

It's weird how they didn't even use a picture of ancient coins - just modern graded ones.

My Gallienus TIA AVG TIA AVG error is the plate coin in MIR

And my error antoninianus of Probus from Lugdunum mint, with TEMPR FELICI reverse.

Ex. Linchmere Hoard (1924).

Unfortunately no other plates or pictures of the coin in the find - the only evidence of provenance is in the original auction listing.

https://www.lawrences.co.uk/sales/fine-art-sales/fc270521/view-lot/888/

The table of the contents of the Linchmere hoard does does not note the spelling error, and neither does the auction listing. 

12 minutes ago, Barnaba6 said:

@DonnaML,

Thank you for your empathy. I appreciate it. This is indeed troubling news and obviously I can’t say that I feel comfortable. I had no idea about this matter until yesterday.  

The allegations against Mr. Beale are certainly serious and - if true – will likely lead to serious legal consequences for Mr. Beale.

However, let us not forget that the criminal case is not against the Roma Numismatics company but against Mr. Beale personally. As of now, there are no worrying signs pertaining to Roma Numismatics itself. In particular, there is no information suggesting that consignors are not receiving their due payments or that buyers are not receiving the coins purchased from Roma (including coins sold at Roma's recent e-sale no. 106). At least I am not aware of any such complaints and I am sure that people would publicly share their complaints on various forums if they had them. On the contrary, Roma’s auctions are continuing to run as usual.

I can confirm that I received a standard advance payment from Roma in January  (i.e. already after the arrest of Mr. Beale as it now turns out) for the coins which I consigned as per our consignment agreement. I am in regular contact with Roma’s staff, receive all the pre-sale reports and other information etc. Roma’s staff is very responsive. All seems normal.  

Not underestimating the accusations against Mr. Beale personally, in the lack of any specific evidence pertaining to Roma’s current operations, I think we should avoid questioning the safety of buying and selling through Roma Numismatics. Any potential panic – if sufficiently widespread – might kill even the strongest companies, regardless of whether such panic is justified. 

So I would nevertheless encourage you Donna to bid on the Probus coins which interest you. I can assure you that the provenance of the coins stated by Roma in this case is true: they all come from my personal collection and I am indeed a "Polish connoisseur of Probus coins". I acquired my coins from reputable European auction houses in the last 12 years and most coins have prior documented provenances (prior to entering my own collection).

Furthermore, unlike coins leading to the arrest of Mr. Beale, my Probus coins are not worth hundreds of thousand or millions of pounds a piece (alas!), so I don’t see why there should be any problems in exporting them safely to the US by Roma after the sale.  

Ultimately, it is always the bidder’s individual decision whether to bid or not on a particular lot at a particular auction.   

I'd also like to say that I've had no issues with Roma in the past when buying and selling.

E.g. I managed to buy some Byzantine coins from "The Vitangelo Collection", and all came with old collector's tickets by the same hand, and I have no reason to doubt the provenance.

That's a shame - I've bought and sold a lot with Roma in the past, and they've always been excellent.

I'm curious - where does the burden of proof lie in cases like this? Would the individual have to prove that the coins were from a legitimate source, or is it the authorities job to show otherwise?

Hi all!

I'm very excited to share my latest buy - it's a grail coin that I've wanted for a long time. I finally bit the bullet and bought it a few days ago (on eBay of all places), and it arrived today!

Laelianus - VICTORIA AVG

IMP C LAELIANVS P F AVG - Radiate, draped, cuirassed bust r.

VICTORIA AVG - Victory advancing right, holding wreath and palm

I somehow managed to buy a good condition one too; it's well centred, with good detail, and with a boldly struck reverse (reverses of Laelianus ants tend to be weakly struck).

Laelianus was the governor of Upper Germany under Postumus. He led a rebellion at Mainz against Postumus, but his support quickly ran out and he was murdered, so Postumus recaptured Mainz. Laelianus' revolt probably only lasted for one or two months.

Interestingly, Laelianus' revolt indirectly led to the fall of Postumus, as Postumus was murdered by his troops after refusing to let them ransack the city.

This nearly completes my collection of Gallic emperors (I'm still going to buy more of them, but now I have one of each emperor).

Unfortunately, I'm still missing a coin of Domitian II, and as there are only a couple known to exist at the moment, I don't think I'll be buying one very soon.