zumbly

Wow, there are some really nice examples and interesting, rare types in this thread. 

This one's from Cologne, when the billon was still silvery. 

This on the other hand, from Mediolanum, came out of the Normanby Hoard with barely a trace of silvering still on it.

Here's an ex @Steve that also needs to be on this thread, from the Spanish party island of Ibiza. 

IBERIA (Islands off), Ebusus
AE Quarter Unit. 3.33g, 17.3mm.
Circa 2nd century BC. ACIP 719; SNG BM Spain 318-21.
O: Squatting Kabeiros (Bes?) holding club and serpent.
R: Bull butting left.
Ex stevex6 Collection

Your new Brutus is a wonderful specimen, Al.  Congrats!

ROMAN REPUBLIC. Q. Servilius Caepio Brutus (M. Junius Brutus).
AR Denarius. Holed. 3.58g, 20.8mm.
Rome mint, 54 BC. M. Junius Brutus, moneyer. Crawford 433/1; Sydenham 906.
O: Head of Libertas right; LIBERTAS behind.
R: The consul L. Junius Brutus walking left between two lictors, each carrying fasces over shoulder, preceded by an accensus; BRVTVS in exergue.
Ex Michael Kelly Collection

Congrats on the acquisition, ff.  I love this reverse, obviously essential to any collector of Victory types. 

CONSTANTINE I
AE3. 3.12g, 20mm.
Constantinople mint, AD 328. RIC VII Constantinople 32.
O: CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG, rosette-diademed head of Constantine right, looking up to the heavens.
R: CONSTANTINI-ANA DAFNE, Victory seated left on cippus, palm branch in left hand and laurel branch in right hand, looking right, spurning a captive kneeling left with head turned right; a shield at her foot and a trophy before her; gamma in left field, CONS in exergue.

Pyrrhus took the city of Apollonia when he pushed northwards into Illyria. 

ILLYRIA, Apollonia
AR Drachm. 3.0g, 17.8mm.
ILLYRIA, Apollonia, circa 81-60 BC. Aibatios and Chairenos, magistrates. Maier 120; SNG Cop 398; HGC 3.1, 5 (R2).
O:  AIBATIOΣ, cow standing left, suckling calf standing right below; in exergue, grain ear.
R: ΑΠΟΛ / XAIPHNOΣ, Fire of the Nymphaeum and lagobolon (rabbit-bashing stick) within double linear frame.

Next: Another Illyrian

Neato.  For some reason, I've always liked this type with Abundantia pouring out goodies from her cornucopia. 

ELAGABALUS
AR Denarius. 3.38g, 18.8mm.
Rome mint, AD 218-222. RIC 56.
O: IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
R: ABVNDANTIA AVG, Abundantia standing left, emptying cornucopia; to left, star.

Wow, Donna, that's an impressive coin!  I love the busy reverse (and the fact that you can still see the Victory decoration on the chariot) and of course Macrinus's aegis. 

That's a great Comomodus too, @Severus Alexander.  I only vaguely recall seeing it before, but it's terrific!

MACRINUS
AE27. 12.0g, 26.9mm.
MOESIA INFERIOR, Nicopolis, AD 217-218. Statius Longinus, legatus consularis. Hristova-Hoeft-Jekov (2018) 8.23.41.1 (R5); Varbanov 3428.
O: AVT K M OΠЄΛ CЄV MAKPЄINOC AV, laureate bust right.
R: VΠ CTA ΛONΓЄINOV NIKOΠOΛITΩN ΠPOC ICTPΩ, the mountain-god Haimos seated left on rock, resting arm above head and holding spear; AIMO/C in left field; bear advancing right below.

Here's a later, Classical-style nymph and satyr type for variety.

THRACE, Thasos
AR Stater. 8.52g, 21mm.
THRACE, Thasos, circa 412-404 BC. Le Rider, Thasiennes 6; HGC 6, 334.
O: Satyr advancing right, carrying off protesting nymph; A to right.
R: Quadripartite incuse square.

2 hours ago, JeandAcre said:

...This will date me, but I'm a fan of some of Van Morrison's stuff.  Especially Hard Nose the Highway (especially for the title track), and some of the later ones, partly of a more mystical, ostensibly New Age bent (...which, if memory serves, were summarily panned by the critiics), Common One, Into the Music, and Beautiful Vision.

...None of which I've heard in a long time.  I'm about to.  Thank you for being the catalyst of that.

I think I'm in the same boat.  I was looking at my old CDs over the past few days and was surprised to find amongst them 14 Van Morrison ones.  I first started getting into him over 30 years ago, but still think of myself as a latecomer to his catalogue.  I've not been playing him much recently, and one of the CDs I didn't have any recollection of buying at all was Beautiful Vision.  Looking at the track list, though, I immediately recalled enjoying excellent stuff like the title track, Dweller on the Threshold, and of course Cleaning Windows. 

Number 36...

11 hours ago, DonnaML said:

@zumbly, I love your T. Carisius. I have another coin issued by the same moneyer in the same year:

Roman Republic, T. Carisius, AR Denarius, 46 BCE, Rome mint. Obv. Head of Sibyl (or Sphinx) right, her hair elaborately decorated with jewels and enclosed in a sling, tied with bands / Rev. Human-headed Sphinx seated right with open wings, wearing cap, T•CARISIVS above,; in exergue, III•VIR. Crawford 464/1, RSC I Carisia 11 (ill.), Sear RCV I 446 (ill.), Sear Roman Imperators 69 (ill. p. 46), Sydenham 983a, BMCRR 4061. 19 mm., 3.87 g.*

 

*The head on the obverse is described simply as a “Sibyl” in Crawford, “Sibyl Herophile” in Sear, and “Aphrodisian Sibyl” (i.e., Sibyl relating to Aphrodite/Venus) in RSC and BMCRR. The Sibyl Herophile was the name of a Sibyl at Erythae in Ionia opposite Chios, also associated with Samos. Crawford notes at p. 476 that the combination of a Sibyl on the obverse and a sphinx on the reverse “recall
those of Gergis in the Troad [citing BMC Troas, pp. xxx and 55], perhaps allud[ing] to Caesar’s Trojan origin,” the moneyer being a supporter of Caesar. See the examples of these coins of Gergis at https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/troas/gergis/i.html and https://www.asiaminorcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=79 . On each such coin, the Sibyl is characterized as “Sibyl Herophile.” Characterizing her as the “Aphrodisian” Sibyl would relate to the gens Julia’s legendary descent from Venus. The theory that the obverse instead portrays the head of the Sphinx on the reverse is presented in an article by D. Woods, “Carisius, Acisculus, and the Riddle of the Sphinx,” American Journal of Numismatics Vol. 25 (2013).

The “IIIVIR” in the exergue on the reverse refers to the moneyer’s position at the mint. See https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=IIIVIR, defining the term as a “Latin abbreviation: Triumvir. On coins of the Roman Republic IIIVIR is used as a shortened abbreviation for IIIVIR AAAFF, which abbreviates ‘III viri aere argento auro flando feiundo’ or ‘Three men for the casting and striking of bronze, silver and gold,’ a moneyer or mint magistrate.”

Thanks, your T. Carisius is great, especially with that amount of detail on the sphinx on the reverse. 

22 minutes ago, Phil Davis said:

This is one of two coins with a special tag in my trays, telling my wife to put it on the cover of the catalogue if I die suddenly.

Hopefully we won't be seeing it on the cover of a catalogue anytime soon!

ROMAN REPUBLIC. L. Cassius Longinus.
AR Denarius. 3.94g, 19.5mm.
Rome mint, 63 BC. Crawford 413/1; Sydenham 935.
O: Veiled and draped bust of Vesta left, C before, kylix behind.
R: Togate voter standing left, dropping tablet inscribed V (for VTI ROGAS, "As you ask") into cista, LONGIN.III.V downwards to right.

Next: colourful toning

Google chose coin #3 on my spreadsheet for me today.  It was one of a group of coins that made up my first ever purchase of ancients, and boy, does it show. 😊 I clearly didn't know how to pick coins for their looks, rarity, or any special numismatic or historical interest for that matter.   Basically, at the time, any ancient coin was cool to me.  But hey, looking at it now, I think it still is pretty cool!

HADRIAN
AE As. 9.16g, 24.7mm.
Rome mint, AD 129-130. RIC II.3 1372.
O: HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, laureate head right.
R: COS III P P, Roma standing right, resting foot on helmet, holding spear and cornucopia; S-C in field.

There doesn't seem to be consensus on what animal is below the griffin on the reverse.  It looks like it could be a fox or a dog, but another possibility is what ancient writers called the Ichneumon, which may have been the Egyptian mongoose.  That would have been an appropriate match with the snake control symbol on the obverse.  Pliny wrote this about the ichneumon in his Natural History: "The ichneumon is known for its willingness to fight to the death with the snake. To do this, it first covers itself with several coats of mud, drying each coat in the sun to form a kind of armor. When ready it attacks, turning away from the blows it receives until it sees an opportunity, then with its head held sideways it goes for its enemy's throat. The ichneumon also attacks the crocodile in a similar manner."

ROMAN REPUBLIC. L Papius.
AR Serrate Denarius. 3.92g, 18.8mm.
Rome mint, 79 BC. Crawford 384/1, pl. LXVII, symbols 122; Sydenham 773.
O: Head of Juno Sospita right; behind, coiled snake.
R: Griffin leaping right; below, animal with raised tail (fox, ichneumon, or dog) crouched right; L • PAPI in exergue.
Ex E.E. Clain-Stefanelli Collection

From Alopekonnesos, or fox island, what else but a fox... 😊 

THRACE, Alopekonnesos
AE13. 2.33g, 13.5mm.
THRACE, Alopekonnesos, circa 3rd-2nd centuries BC.
HGC 3.2, 1307; Yarkin 59.
O: Helmeted head of Athena to right.
R: ΑΛΩ-ΠΕΚΟΝ, Fox standing to right; ear of grain before.
Ex Thrax Collection

And here's one with a whole zoo on it...

SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
AR Denarius. 3.66g, 20.4mm.
Rome mint, AD 206. RIC 274; RSC 253.
O: SEVERVS PIVS AVG, laureate head right.
R: LAETITIA above, TEMPORVM below, ship with mast and sail in center of circus; above, four horse quadrigae driven left; below, ostrich, lion, wild ass, lioness, gazelle, bull butting left, bear right, head left.

One each from four of the the first five emperors (I don't have a Caligula).  The Nero's a rare contemporary forgery from Alexandria. 

AUGUSTUS
AE As. 10.64g, 27.7mm.
SPAIN, Calagurris. Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. L. Baebius Priscus and C. Gran. Brocchus, duoviri. ACIP 3122a; RPC I 441b.
O: MVCAL IVLIA AVGVSTVS, laureate head right.
R: L BAEB PRISCO C GRAN BROC II VIR, Bull standing right, head facing.
Ex Archer M. Huntington Collection (HSA 1001.1.20771)

TIBERIUS
AE18. 5.35g, 17.5mm.
PHRYGIA, Dionysopolis, circa AD 14-37. Charixenos Char tou Char, magistrate.
RPC I 3120.
O: ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΣ, Bare head right of Tiberius (?).
R: ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ - ΧΑΡΙΞΕΝΟΣ / ΧΑΡ ΤΟΥ ΧΑΡ, Dionysus standing left, holding bunch of grapes and thyrsus.

CLAUDIUS
AE24. 9.25g, 24.4mm.
JUDAEA, Caesarea Panias, circa before AD 49, pre-royal coinage of Agrippa II. RPC 4842; Meshorer 350; Hendin 1259.
O: [TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR IM P P], laureate head left.
R: [ANTONIA B]RITANN[ICVS OC]TAVIA, the children of Claudius: from left to right, Claudia Antonia, Britannicus, and Claudiua Octavia, the two daughters each holding a cornucopia.

NERO
Contemporary Imitation of Billon Tetradrachm. 10.98g, 23.8mm.
Copying EGYPT, Alexandria, RY 14 (AD 67/8). RPC 5307; Dattari-Savio Pl. 319, 14(this coin); Metcalf, Two Alexandrian Hoards. 1. A Hoard of Forgeries from Luxor," (Revue Belge de Numismatique Vol. CXXII, 1976, pp. 65-69) Obv IX/Rev 17.
O: ΝΕΡΩ ΚΛΑV ΚΑΙΣ ΣΕΒ ΓΕΡ ΑV, radiate bust left, wearing aegis, LΙΔ in left field.
R: ΔΙΟΣ ΟΛΥΜΠΙΟΥ, laureate bust of Zeus Olympios right.
Ex Giovanni Dattari Collection, probably from the E.T. Newell Luxor Hoard (1908)

Welcome, VK!

Google RNG picked this one for me to show.  I didn't have an eastern mint Septimius Severus at the time, and I'll just blame @dougsmit for making me want one at all. 😊 The opportunity for me to acquire it came in Berk's Sale 198 in 2016, which had a run of interesting pieces from Curtis Clay's collection, and I happened to have a voucher from them to spend.  I picked this particular coin because it wasn't too pricey, and I liked the "SEV SEV" legend error. 

SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
AR Denarius. 2.95g, 17.5mm.
Eastern mint, AD 194-195. RIC 371 var. (obv legend).
O: IMP CAE L SEV (sic) SEV PERT AVG COS II, laureate head right.
R: CERERI-FRVG, Ceres standing left, holding wheat ears and long torch.
Ex Curtis L. Clay Collection

33 minutes ago, Ryro said:

Any idea why Hector's ears stick out like a satyr?

I'm guessing it's just part of the helmet design.  But it's always possible they just thought he had cartoonishly large ears!

On 6/1/2022 at 7:09 AM, Steve said:

Oh, and thanks for all of the "greetings", coin-gang ... I have lurked from afar during the past few years and I have missed all of your little faces!! (big smooch to all of my old and new coin-friends)

Heyho, Steve-o, good to see you here! 😀

ROMAN REPUBLIC
AR Denarius. 3.87g, 18.5mm.
Rome mint, AD 116-115. Crawford 286/1.
O: Head of Roma right; ROMA and XVI monogram behind; EX S C before.
R: Helmeted horseman galloping left, holding sword and severed Gallic head in left hand; Q (for Quaestor) below; M.SERGI, SILVS in exergue.

Next: an ex stevex6 coin (sorry, couldn't resist!)

Juno and her pet rooster... 😕

JULIA DOMNA
AR Denarius. 2.43g, 19mm.
Laodicea ad Mare mint, AD 200-207. RIC IV 640 var. (peacock); BMCRE V 602 var. (same).
O: IVLIA AVGVSTA, draped bust right.
R: IVNO REGINA, Juno standing front, holding patera in right hand and sceptre in left; on left, in front of her, rooster standing left.
Ex A.K. Collection (Triton XX, 9 Jan 17, Part of Lot 614)

Wow, congrats on both scores!  Your first with the facing head of Hektor is much nicer than my grotty example. 

One of my favorite pickups this year features the greater Ajax, depicting the unfortunate scene of his suicide (thanks, Athena 😠). 

CARACALLA
AE Diassarion. 7.45g, 24.4mm.
BITHYNIA, Prusa ad Olympum, AD 198-217. SNG Cop 596 (same dies); SNG von Aulock 873 (same obv die); RG 102.
O: AYT•K•M•AYP•ANTΩNINOC•CЄ KA•, laureate head right.
R: ΠPOYCAЄΩ/N, Ajax the Telamonian, nude but for helmet and balteus, falling on his sword; before, pile of stones; on ground line, shield.

I always post the same wretched coin when this topic comes up, so I think many here might have seen this one before.  For those who haven't, apologies in advance... 😊

CRETE, Gortyna
AR Stater. 11.77g, 29.8mm.
CRETE, Gortyna, circa 330-270 BC. SNG Cop -; Svoronos 36/62 (same obv die as 36, pl. XIII, 10; rev of 62, pl. XIV, 9); BMC Crete pg. 38, 7/8, pl. IX. 6 (same obv die) and 7 (same rev die?).
O: Europa, wearing chiton with short sleeves and peplos over lower limbs, seated right in platanus tree; right hand on tree, head resting pensively on left arm, which is bent and supported by her knee.
R: Bull standing to right, head turned back left to lick its flank.
Notes: Overstruck on a stater of Knossos, circa 425-360 BC (Svoronos 23), with visible undertypes of the Minotaur on obv and Labyrinth of Knossos on rev.

The combination of overstrike and visible undertypes from two different Cretan cities in addition to the worn state of the dies used make for quite a mess, but in a nutshell, the obverse shows the Phoenician princess Europa sitting in a tree (Gortynian type) struck over an archaic depiction of the Minotaur (Knossian type), and the reverse has the Cretan bull struck over the fabled Labyrinth of Knossos.  

It's far from the prettiest coin on the block, but to my mind it's certainly the most interesting and unique one I have in my collection, and it's the one that I would consider absolutely irreplaceable for me.  If I had to think of a coin I could ever get that would usurp its spot at the top of my favorites list, it would probably be an EID MAR struck over a CAESAR DICT PERPETVO.  One can dream, right? 😊

Wow, I love the new look!  Congrats, @Restitutor, and thank you for the time and effort you've put into this.  It's only been a week or so, but I think you should be very proud of what you've accomplished here. 

1 hour ago, Severus Alexander said:

Plus a wild imitation denarius.  Diana is not looking too sexy on this one:

On the other hand, that's a great Vitalik Buterin on the obverse!

7 hours ago, Roman Collector said:

Here you go, @Mat  I enjoy a Gordy ant every now and then.

 

LOL!  @Mat was the one who came up with "cockroach" as the term of endearment for our Gordies.  I have a few here for Mat as well. 😁

GORDIAN III
AR Antoninianus. 4.01g, 23.8mm.
Antioch mint, 2nd series, 2nd issue, AD 242-244.
Bland, Gordian III 82; RIC IV 216; RSC 319a; McAlee p. 316, fig. 28A (this coin illustrated).
O: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind.
R: SAECVLI FELICITAS, Gordian standing right, holding transverse spear and globe.
Ex Richard McAlee Collection

GORDIAN III
AR Antoninianus. 4.56g, 24.5mm.
Rome mint, AD 240. RIC 56; Cohen 386.
O: IMP CAES GORDIANVS PIVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
R: VIRTVS AVG, Mars standing facing, head left, holding branch and inverted spear; at his feet, grounded shield.
Ex St. Jean d'Ardieres Hoard, Rhône, France, 1995 (Guillaumont-Richard, 9 April 2016, part of lot 180)

GORDIAN III
AR Antoninianus. 3.95g, 22.6mm.
Rome mint, AD 243-244. RIC 147.
O: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
R: MARTEM PROPVGNATOREM, Mars, helmeted, in military attire, hastening right, holding transverse spear in right hand and shield in left hand.

The die engraver who did the LIBERATAS legend on the coin below possibly couldn't tell the difference between freedom (LIBERTAS) and free stuff (LIBERALITAS).

GORDIAN III
AR Antoninianus. 4.02g, 22mm.
Rome mint, early AD 239 - early 240. RIC IV 67 var. (rev legend misspelled LIBERATAS instead of LIBERALITAS, error not recorded in RIC, but cf. Gemini Auction IV (8 Jan 2008) lot 460 for another example from same rev die).
O: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, radiate, draped, cuirassed bust right.
R: LIBERATAS (sic!) AVG III, Liberalitas standing front, head left, holding counter in right hand and cornucopiae in left hand.