Steppenfool

Does the Pansa clan win the award for best moneyer? That serpent chariot is fascinating.

@ambr0zie I'm in the same boat with regards to being captivated by the interesting designs. I actually discovered this type because I was looking for a Silenos coin as I love the "Wisdom of Silenos" mythological event mentioned in Plutarch's Moralia and attributed to Aristotle. I quote it below: Midas, after hunting, asked his captive Silenus somewhat urgently, what was the most desirable thing among humankind. At first he could offer no response, and was obstinately silent. At length, when Midas would not stop plaguing him, he erupted with these words, though very unwillingly: 'you, seed of an evil genius and precarious offspring of hard fortune, whose life is but for a day, why do you compel me to tell you those things of which it is better you should remain ignorant? For he lives with the least worry who knows not his misfortune; but for humans, the best for them is not to be born at all, not to partake of nature's excellence; not to be is best, for both sexes. This should be our choice, if choice we have; and the next to this is, when we are born, to die as soon as we can.' It is plain therefore, that he declared the condition of the dead to be better than that of the living. In the midst of searching for a Silenos, I widened my search to "satyr" types. Then after losing out on one at Naville, I stumbled across this on eBay. I know that there is a Mask of Pan/Silenos variant from Pansa's father and I hope to get one of them eventually. They are very expensive however. Like you say, it seems Republican denarii represent a trove of historical and cultural knowledge if you don't assume they are all Head of Roma types! @jdmKY Your Pan coin is beautiful and looks a lot more human/life-like than my example. Mine definitely looks like it belongs in a theatre but yours for more serious religious rites! Lovely gold touch to it too gives it a divine air.

Every single coin in my collection is a Roman Imperial between the years of 70AD and 363AD. For the first time I have stepped out of this boundary, and even beyond the category of "Roman Imperial". This type has fascinated me for some time due to its historicity, but derives a piquancy from other aspects too! I paid £51 for this coin on an eBay auction (aulusplautius) and was surprised at the lack of competition I faced. I'd recently lost out on a lower quality example at the recent Naville auction, so I was keen to seize this opportunity. The date of 48 BCE should be enough to raise the interest of anyone concerned with history. This coin was minted in the same year that the Battle of Pharsalus occurred, the battle that proved decisive for a Caesarian victory in the Civil War. Caius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus was the the moneyer for this issue and was a supporter of Caesar during this time. He was able to secure the rank of aedile or praetor this year through his friendship with Caesar that had arisen due to serving under Caesar in the Gallic campaigns. Pansa would prosper in the coming years and was designated for consul by Caesar in 44 BCE (for the year upcoming year 43 BCE) . Despite his support of Caesar which was reciprocated, it appears that Pansa was a Republican at heart. After Caesar's assassination in 44 BCE, he opposed the increasingly tyrannic behaviour of Marcus Antoninus as Consul, despite still supporting Caesarian legislation politically. Spearheaded by Pansa and his fellow Consul Hirtius, the decision was made by the senate to legitimise Octavian's new army and take the fight to Antoninus who was besieging Decimus Brutus and his troops in Cisalpine Gaul.. Again a man of realistic compromise, Pansa prevented Antony being designated an Enemy of the State and appeared to be doing his best to avoid total chaos. In the ensuing conflict Pansa's forces suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Forum Gallorum, and Pansa himself received serious wounds in the fighting. The second stage of the battle between the Senatorial forces and Antony resulted in a victory for the former at Mutina. As Pansa was dying, he received news of this success and the death of his consular colleague. The deaths of the consuls left Octavian in charge of the senatorial forces and allowed him to act more freely and with more power in the ensuing political manoeuvring. As a result, Octavian was rumoured to have been involved in the death of Pansa. Allegedly, in his final hours, Pansa told Octavian not to trust Cicero or the Senate. A realistic and pragmatic remark from a man who lived his life in like fashion. The reverse depicts an interesting deity, Jupiter Anxurvs, the youthful protector of the town of Anxur. Perhaps related to the gens Vibia or Pansa's biological origin? Another reason I like the coin is that it is quite funny. It is thought that the mask of Pan obverse is simply a reference to PANsa's cognomen. Pansa's (adopted) father was a moneyer in 90 BCE and had made the same joke back then! These masks could be used as decorative items, worn in plays, or for religious purposes. I also had to research what exactly C.f and C.n mean. Turns out the coin communicates his ancestry and according to ForumAncientCoins, F and N are patronymics, F, filius, for "son of" N, nepos for "grandson of." Since Pansa's father shared his first name Caius, C.f means son of Caius. I couldn't find out his grandfather's name, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was Caius also. All in all, this is a beautiful coin that traverses the time period between the Republic and the Principate. It was minted under a key player who was involved in the machinations of the most famous Romans. It is an interesting design, combining religion, culture, humour, a specific locality and a family in-joke that whose provenance goes back 50 years! Post times you ventured out of your collecting niche and provide an explanation if you wish! Furthermore, if anyone has anything to add about my coin, it will be most welcomed! This is also my first attempt at taking my own pictures with a rubbish camera phone. I'll borrow my partner's iPhone for the next batch I think! C. Vibius C. f. C. n. Pansa Caetronianus AR Denarius. Rome, 48 BC. Mask of bearded Pan to right; PANSA below / Jupiter Axurus (or Anxurus) seated to left, holding patera and sceptre; C•VIBIVS•C•F•C•N IOVIS•AXVR around. Crawford 449/1a; BMCRR Rome 3978; RSC Vibia 18. 3.56g

RECOMMENDATION Affordable Nerva Denarius in decent condition with a historical reverse that perhaps reflects the messy post-Domitian accession of Nerva that required the balancing of various power blocs. One of the "agreements of the armies" included the adoption of Trajan. https://www.ma-shops.co.uk/schepers/item.php?id=6811 €49

@kapphnwn I had no idea such a book existed. Bought it second hand immediately from eBay. 😃

I agree with your conclusions and I think the portrait looks too young to be Vespasian and lacks his signature jowl as well.

I vacillated on my opinion that it had been cleaned heavily or corroded. I think the surfaces look quite poor and my brain kept seeing "streaks", especially on the reverse. The low weight (2.34g) was the deal breaker for me and the final piece of evidence that there was indeed some not insignificant corrosion/cleaning. That was the reason I eventually passed, but it was a close call!

Good post, but please make an exception for Severus Alexander. 😁

This was listed today on Den of Antiquity for £160 ad sold within a few hours. I pondered it for an hour or two but decided against it. Congratulations if one of our forum members nabbed it. https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/den_of_antiquity/48/product/commodus_ar_denarius/1777342/Default.aspx

@madhatter The coin has been removed from sale thankfully. Did you contact the seller?

My only Commodus. Minted before his reign, his beard and his coinage turned messy. I agree with @Orange Juliusthat his denarii are of noticeably lower quality than his predecessors in terms of metal, engraving and strike, which is why I don't often see coins for sale that are immediately appealing. I do want a Commodus as Hercules piece, but I want be wealthier first so I am not forced to buy a beat up version (which still demands quite a lot of money). I also desire a DIVUS SERIES Commodus as I think it is the most fascinating inclusion in the series. However, they are also very expensive and out-with my budget for a single coin. Commodus AR Denarius. Rome, AD 181. M COMMODVS ANTONINVS AVG, laureate head to right / TR P VI IMP IIII COS III P P, Roma seated to left, holding Victory and spear. RIC III 12; BMCRE 55; RSC 803. 3.28g, 19mm, 6h.

@madhatter Well researched, those dies are way too close for comfort for me, I'd say identical. Goes to show you should trust no-one, even those you trust. Deceptive enough to fool Kunker and someone with a £250 war chest! I see it's already up to £16 which is quite rare for those AC&B auctions as they usually shoot up in the final hour. Maybe it is worth contacting the dealer? A previous thread with some good insight into how deceptive they are. I actually remember reading this thread previously but had in my head they were all SPES types. I think it was because that was my Fausta reverse target. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/fausta-and-helena-antioch-nicomedia-forgeries.318092/

If so, he accidentally poured the whole bottle on . 😂 It's AC&B on UK eBay. They are a good dealer with weekly auctions (and then long breaks). I've bought from them before and I've only saw them sell real coins.

I say real but the stubborn encrustations have been quite clumsily cleaned (especially on the obverse) before the venture was abandoned.

My two budget Antoninus denarii, I don''t have any bronzes 😞

I think the minus is quite hard to pick out if you're in a flow state when reading. I would prefer a double minus like -- or perhaps (-) so my brain doesn't skip over it.

Reminds me of Robin Hood

I don't like the look of that at all, especially the edge and reverse lettering. He's also selling these which I wouldn't touch: This feedback should seal the deal. BUYER BEWARE: FAKE ancient coins. Seller claims they're authentic, "all coins checked prior to shipping". I submitted the tetradrachm to an independent expert, who marked it as a fake, even provided URLs to stores selling the exact same replica (cheaper than what I paid!) -- other coins aren't similar, but identical (even faults, background markings). Also: auction pictures differ from actual coin; coins supposedly obtained from Wigan, but seller cannot prove. DO NOT BUY. You've been warned.

If it is indeed ancient, I think this is the most likely explanation. SPECULATION AHEAD: The GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG antoninianus could be where the blunder originated from. The portrait head shape is similar, it provides the correct legend positioning, a radiate crown and the coins (if ancient) were allegedly contemporaneous with Gordian III and some other alleged Gordian specimens were found alongside them. S PIVS FEL AVG is compelling to me because the IV in PIVS could easily be mistaken for an N. Which would give us a reading of SPNS --- AVG. Could a forger either not being able to read FEL or not be familiar with the PIVS FEL title given to Gordian so assumed it was part of the rest of SPNS name and simply added a typical three letter Roman suffix of IAN. The fact that we have an inscription with SPONSIAN, might mean that it was a name the forger was aware of, and aided him in his guess for the missing letters. ROME MINT0 ANTIOCH MINT: A good example from ROME. Showing the potential IV = N even in good condition.

Thank you for the tips. I really should give taking photos a shot instead of recycling dealer photos.

I have been outbid on Siliquae more than any other type of coin. The reverse designs are never compelling enough for me to approach the prices demanded. Did you buy that coin on UK eBay? I remember being quite close to the winning bid on a similar one, but my concern about the flan crack accidentally resulting in a complete break during transit deterred me.

Link: Horse Trajan Decius AR Antoninianus. Rome mint, 249-250 AD. IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right / ADVENTVS AVG, Decius on horseback riding left, holding sceptre and raising right hand. RIC IV-3 11b; RSC 4; Sear 9366.

I vote for Justinian for the sole reason I've been going through that exact same thought process. 😂

T for Trier

It's absolutely the Claudius. If I came into a surprise inheritance from a long lost billionaire uncle, I'd ask you to name your price for it.