thejewk

That's a lovely coin @ambr0zie

Not yet, but I wouldn't be surprised.

And here is the Maximian as received, when I thought it was a mule of the more common Constantine type with the same reverse.

For reference, here are a couple of bad pictures I took of the coin on the day it arrived.

9 hours ago, Victor_Clark said:

The surface of the Carausius is flaking off, especially on the obverse on his face. It needs to be handled very carefully or else there will be more loss of the surface.

Thankfully those same patches were exposed when I purchased the coin in 2019, and there has been no change over time.  It is very stable.

30 minutes ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

I'm not sure how much you're wanting to clean them?  The first one is truly special with the patina.  Think of how many cleaned nummi we have.  We don't have that many on the market like that.

The Carausius could probably use some minor TLC.  I don't know much about cleaning, but at some point it might not be possible to get a significant amount of gunk off without damaging the patina.

What about enquiring around through UK dealers? 

The Maximian doesn't need anything fancy doing to it at all, like you said the patina is great. I just want the remaining dirt removed to ward against the potential for something unpleasant to happen underneath it.  It's not challenging to remove it compared to a lot of encrustations and the like, but it requires a sharp implement and a steady hand at this point and I have neither!

On the Carausius it's a similar story but spread over most of the coin and in all the details. You can see the patina on the high points of the face and the rim of the coin, and it is typical of the fabric of good Carausius coins. It's just too dense to move with easy and safe tools and needs something abrasive to work the areas that if done carelessly will lead to damage. 

I think contacting UK retailers and auction houses will be the next step, good idea.

Does anyone know a good coin cleaner who accepts customers? Preferably in the UK, but I'm getting less picky as my search remains without fruit.

I have these two coin:

LMCC 5.03.009 – Not in RIC

DN MAXIMIAN(O P) F S AVG

Laureate and cuirassed bust right

MARTI PACIF

Mars, in military dress, lunging left, right hand holding branch, left spear and shield

PLN – London Mint

4.64g, 26mm, 23mm beaded circle

November - December 307 AD

IMP CARAVSIVS PF AVG

Cuirassed and draped bust right, holding shield in left hand, spear in right

MONETA AVG

Moneta standing left holding scales and cornucopiae

20.5mm, 3.29g

The first is the third known of its type, one being in the ANS collection and another recently sold by CNG that was previously in the Vogelaar collection, and it is quite possibly the best known.  I received it in a considerably more muddy condition and I cleaned it to the point that you can see above but I do not have the skill to fully clean the coin without fear of marking it.

The second is a unique Carausius coin in very good condition, let down only slightly by a weak reverse strike.  The bust type with spear and shield is by itself incredibly rare, and this coin is one of the prides of my collection.  Again, I received it in a much muddier condition, and cleaned it to this point, but do not have the skill to fully clean it.

I would love to be able to pay to get these two coins properly cleaned of the remaining muck, but quite simply can't find anyone to do it.  Any pointers or references would be much appreciated.  

Lovely coin Donna, and an excellent write up.  In another life I could happily devote my whole collection to Hadrian denarii.

RIC VI Rome 73a

CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES

GENIO POPV-LI ROMANI R/S/(theta)

C. 297-98, 10.62g, 26.5mm

Apart from the slightly rough surfaces, this is in my opinion an excellent example of a relatively scarce type with an overall nice style, and it was a perfect bargain priced snack to take a spot in my First Tetrarchy 'one per mint' sub collection.

Show us your Constantius coins!

Another excellent interview, thanks both!

Goodness RC, only just seen the thread. Glad to hear you're back at home, and I hope you're comfortable for the time being. Take it easy!

Very nice, and quite attractive too. Well done!

Great write up and lovely coin. It is a big regret of mine that I discovered a love for ancient history only after my health had already prevented me from doing any travelling. 

When I read about different important cities, see monuments on coins, read of battles, I itch to go and have a look myself!

Nice interview and excellent idea. 

3 hours ago, eligri said:

It was a forgery!

Tried posting earlier, but comment appears to be stuck. The original coin has been found online, and this is a cast of it.

@Nemo did they send the buyers new, authentic, coins? Or did they just cover up their mistake afterwards and cancel all bids?

I commented on it having good eye appeal on Reddit eligri, I should have held my tongue about a type I know little about.  My apologies!

That's lovely.  

Here's Marcus in his younger days

Score.

I bet the winning bid on a rarity like that was gratifying!

@Severus Alexander That Constantius is wonderful, a truly special coin.  The portrait is perfect.

Edit: If you have the time and energy, is there a possibility that you could let me know the diameters of your set SA?

23 minutes ago, Al Kowsky said:

thejewk, Are you sure your coin isn't Maximinus II 🤔? Please compare your coin with one from my collection pictured below.

Definitely Galerius, you can see the A in MAXIMIANVS in the legend.

Your Maximinus coin there is quite rare I believe Al, if memory serves. 

29 minutes ago, hotwheelsearl said:

Dumb question but how do you tell if it was struck by Domitius?

Not dumb at all.  We know because this series of coins with these mint marks also contains a type featuring Domitius's name and portrait, with the same style.

Take a look here for a few examples: https://www.coinarchives.com/a/results.php?search=Domitius+Domitianus

Thanks @ominus1 and @Curtisimo.

I saw that Saturnalia thread Curtisimo and admired both sides of the exchange!  Interesting to see that your coin is also relatively short in diameter compared to other contemporaneous issues, but also on the heavier side.  Presumably the flans were quite dumpy in general.

I'm putting together a set of unreduced nummi of the First Tetrarchy, one from each mint, but I've only managed a couple of coins this year. The first, a very nice Galerius as Caesar from Cyzicus with the reverse legend unique to that particular mint:

RIC VI 9b/11b (Cyzicus)

GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES

GENIO AVGG ET - CAESARVM NN 

-/-/KA

9.5g, 28mm

I find the issue of separating RIC 9b from 11b slightly perplexing, and any input from my more experienced collectors would be appreciated.

The more exciting find was this mis-labled coin which arrived today:

RIC VI 18b (Alexandria)

IMP C MA MAXIMIANVS PF AVG

GENIO POPV-L-I ROMANI

Eagle/Gamma/ALE

10.49g, 25.5mm

This is the type minted under Domitius Domitianus, and while I had no expectations of being able to get a coin of the usurper himself on my budget, I had very little hope of getting one of the Tetrarchs either.  This was advertised as a second reign Maximianus, presumably due to the dumpy flan.  It is in wonderful condition and is even better in the hand than my poor pictures show, and is a good very fine at least, with a super clean strike and good condition dies.  I couldn't be happier with it.

This leaves me at just over the half way point in my little project, if we include the 'invasion coins' of Lugdunese style and a London mint style imitation as 'mints', with 9 coins acquired and 8 mints to go.  My next major target is an early Diocletian from Nicomedia with a big ole bull necked portrait, but they appear to be surprisingly uncommon, even if they don't fetch particularly large prices.  I also have the small problem that 4 or 5 of the coins are of Maximian, and I wish to have a little more balance, so Constantius and Diocletian are both priorities. 

11 hours ago, Coinmaster said:

How interesting and congrats with this acquisition!

Is anyone doing research on these coins? I believe the RICs are slowly updated via Spink Books.

Cloke and Toone's London Mint of Constantius and Constantine is now the standard reference for London mint coins of the period, published by Spink.  It's excellent.

Thank you @Claudius_Gothicus, just what I was after.

LMCC 7.01.021, RIC 143

CONSTANTINVS P AVG

ADVEN-TVS AVG N

-/*/PLN, 3.6g, 21.5mm, 311-312AD

This is my only current Adventus type, presumably marking the occasion when Constantine returned to Britannia to rally troops for his upcoming confrontation at the Milvian Bridge.