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17 mm, 2,14 g. Domitian 81-96. Æ quadrans. Rome. 84-85. Rhinoceros walking left / IMP DOMIT AVG GERM around large S C. BMC 498; Cohen 674; RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Domitian 251; Old RIC II 435; Sear RCV I (2000), 2835. Next - quadrans

A great coin. The toning is excellent, the only (minor) minus is the weak strike/worn die as the olive branch is not fully struck and the PAX exergue is off the flan. But again, MINOR. The attribution is correct. I don't think any other info can be provided. My Verus coins: 1. from the first lot I purchased 18,5 mm, 2,5 g. Lucius Verus 161-169 AD. AR denarius. Rome. 161-162. IMP L AVREL VERVS AVG, Head, bare, right / PROV DEOR TR P II COS II, Providentia standing left, holding globe and cornucopiae. RIC III Marcus Aurelius 482; Cohen 155; BMC 202. 2. a posthumous denarius 18 mm, 2,70 g. Divus Lucius Verus. Died 169 AD. AR denarius. Rome. DIVVS VERVS, head of Lucius Verus, bare, right / CONSECRATIO, funeral pyre in four tiers (ustrina), adorned with statues and garlands, quadriga on top. RIC III Marcus Aurelius 596B; RSC 55; BMC 503. 3. a sestertius 32 mm, 20,98 g. Lucius Verus 161-169 AD. Æ sestertius. Rome. 163-164. L AVREL VERVS AVG ARMENIACVS, head of Lucius Verus, laureate, right / TR P IIII IMP II COS II S C, Victory, winged, half-draped, standing right, fixing to a palm-tree with left hand shield inscribed VIC AVG RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1397; BMC 1116.

Link - lion hunting prey 23 mm, 10,8 g. Cilicia, Tarsos. Mazaios 361-334 BC. AR stater. Baaltars seated left on throne, head facing, holding lotus-tipped sceptre, grain ear, grape bunch and eagle; 'BLTRZ' Aramaic legend to right / Lion left attacking bull left; Aramaic legend above 'MZDI' = Mazaios, Aramaic letters below. Casabonne Series 2A; SNG France 338-347 (controls); SNG Levante 101 var.

Here is the first coin I ever bought individually from an auction 20 mm, 2,43 g. Titus, as Caesar under Vespasian. AR denarius. Rome. 77-78. T CAESAR VESPASIANVS, head of Titus, laureate, right / IMP XIII, sow left, with three piglets. RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Vespasian 986. Next - pig, sow, or a closely related animal

I have this Geta denarius from Laodicea with an interesting rainbow toning. 19 mm, 3,28 g. Geta as Caesar 198-209 AD. AR denarius. Laodicea ad Mare. 198-200 AD. L SEPTIMIVS GETA CAES, bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right / SPEI PERPETVAE, Spes advancing left, holding flower and raising hem of skirt. RIC IV 96; BMC 688; RSC 192a.

Link - a coin showing animals on both sides. 8 mm, 0,52 g. Caria, Mylasa. AR hemiobol. Circa 450-400 BC. Facing forepart of lion / Scorpion within incuse square. SNG Aulock 7803; Klein KM 429 (Milet); SNG.Kayhan.935; Rosen 403.

A similar type of coin - but issued a little later. 18 mm, 2,4 g. Fausta. Augusta 324-326. Ӕ follis. Nicomedia. 325-326. FLAV MAX FAVSTA AVG, bust of Fausta, waved hair, mantled, right / SALVS REI – PVBLICAE, Fausta, veiled, draped, standing front, head left, holding two children in her arms (Constantine II and Constantius II). Mintmark MNA. RIC VII Nicomedia 130. Next - same theme.

Pegasos with curled wings 20 mm, 7,85 g. Corinthia, Corinth. AR stater. Circa 478-458 BC. Pegasos, bridled, with curled wing, flying right, koppa below / Head of Athena right, wearing Corinthian helmet and necklace. Ravel 217; BMC 72; Calciati, Pegasi 70/1.

Here is my favorite coin with an altar 30 mm, 13,72 g. Pontus, Amasia. Geta, as Caesar 198-209. Ӕ. 208-209. Π CЄΠTI ΓЄTAC KЄCAP, draped and cuirassed bust of Geta, right / AΔP CЄY ANT AMACIAC MH NЄ ΠP ΠO / ЄT CH, altar of Zeus Strateus, on the altar a dead bull with its legs up; on the bull, an eagle, standing facing, head left, with wings spread, holding a crown in its beak; tree to left. RG 96. Next - Geta, provincial coin.

A good, honest coin and most collectors (including me) will envy you for it. The centering is decent (especially on the obverse but the reverse is good as well, the design is intact), name is (very) readable, so can't ask for much more. My attempts to get Galba imperial coins failed, for now, as the examples I tried to get were inferior but also too expensive for my tastes. I settled with an Alexandrian tetradrachm.

Aurelian, Fortuna Redux reverse, Siscia mint https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7215276 Arcadius, Victory crowning emperor reverse, Nicomedia mint https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=12225005

28 mm, 11,42 g. Moesia Inferior, Marcianopolis. Septimius Severus, with Julia Domna 193-211 AD. Pentassarion Æ. 210-211. Flavius Ulpianus, legatus consularis. AV K Λ CEΠ CEYHΡOC IOYΛIA ΔOMNA CEB, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Septimius Severus and draped bust of Julia Domna facing one another / ΥΦΛ ΟΥΛΠΙΑΝΟΥ ΜΑΡΚΙΑΝΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ, Tyche standing left, holding rudder and cornucopia; Є (mark of value) to left. H&J, Marcianopolis 6.15.35.4; AMNG I 601; Varbanov 868; Moushmov 411. Next - Moesia

My favorite tripod coin is this Pius dupondius. 27 mm, 12,01 g. Antoninus Pius 137-161. Ӕ dupondius. Rome. 158-159. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XXII, head of Antoninus Pius, radiate, right / VOTA SVSCEPTA DEC III COS IIII S C, Antoninus Pius, standing left, sacrificing with patera over tripod, left arm at side. RIC III Antoninus Pius 1020.

21 mm, 3,33 g. Postumus. Usurper in Gaul 260-269. AR antoninianus. Cologne. IMP C POSTVMVS P F AVG, bust of Postumus, radiate, draped, right, or bust of Postumus, radiate, draped, cuirassed, right / SERAPI COMITI AVG, Serapis, draped, standing left, raising right hand and holding sceptre in left hand. RIC V Postumus 329; RSC 360a. Next - Sarapis

Trajan 18 mm, 3,91 g. Lydia, Thyateira. Trajan AD 98-117. Ӕ. ΑΥ ΝΕΡ ΤΡΑΙΑΝΟΝ, laureate head of Trajan, r. / ΘΥΑΤΕΙΡΗΝΩΝ, Tyche standing facing, head l., holding rudder in r. hand, cornucopia in l. RPC III, 1826; BMC 75.

Good coin, especially the reverse. I have 2 of this type, both from Heraclea and both from Constantine II - first, from my very first lot 20,1 mm, 2,86 g. Constantine II, Caesar under Constantine I. Ӕ follis. Heraclea. 329-330. CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C, laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right / PROVIDEN-TIAE CAESS, campgate, eight layers, two turrets, star above, no door. Star in left field.Mintmark SMHA. RIC VII Heraclea 107. Second was a coin I found really beautiful, with a flan crack that did the trick because I think, without it, the price would have been too much for what I wanted to pay. 20 mm, 3,13 g. Constantine II, Caesar under Constantine I. Ӕ follis. Heraclea. 317 AD. D N FL CL CONSTANTINVS NOB C, bust of Constantine II, laureate, draped, left, holding sceptre in right hand and mappa in left hand / PROVIDEN-TIAE CAESS, camp gate with three turrets, without doors, with six stone layers. MintMark: -/-//MHT∈ RIC VII Heraclea 20.

Great coin with intriguing reverse. Here is something similar (or at least I find the situation similar). I always wanted a Philippi provincial with statues of Octavian and Julius Caesar reverse. The types are not rare. I am a budget collector and generally I have no issues with worn coins, but I try not to lower the standards too much. So I wasn't 100% sure if I want to buy this one or wait a little for a more presentable specimen, but in the end I decided that 20 euros hammer price is a good deal. The surprise was when I attributed the coin and found it's an unlisted variety - RPC I 1654 var. (reverse legend COL IVL AVG instead of COL AVG IVL). The variety is not dramatically different but I still think it should have a separate RPC entry. I submitted it to RPC and they added under 1654 though. Another example where I did not perform a proper research, simply because time did not allow this as I saw the coin a few minutes before going live in auction. A modest Nero or an Otho? It was indeed Otho. 27,7 mm, 14,97 g. Syria, Seleucia Pieria, Antioch. Otho. 69 AD. Ӕ. IMP M OTHO CAE(S) AVG (clockwise), laureate head of Otho, r. / S C, inscription in a laurel wreath of eight leaves. Countermarked - Howgego 245 - Athena facing right with shield and spear. RPC I 4318; BMC 207; 209–11; McAlee 321c. There is a very big chance this will remain my only Otho as I don't want to pay the price for an Otho denarius, even in low condition and also the prices for presentable provincials with more interesting reverses are high.

Alexandria 24 mm, 11,94 g. Egypt, Alexandria. Galba 68-69 AD. Billon tetradrachm. Dated RY 1 (9th of June – 28th of August 68 AD). [ΛΟΥΚ ΛΙΒ ΣΟΥΛΠ] ΓΑΛΒΑ Κ[ΑΙΣ ΣΕΒ ΑΥ(Τ)], LΑ, laureate head of Galba, right / [ΕΙΡΗ]ΝΗ, veiled bust of Eirene wearing olive wreath, with caduceus over shoulder, right. Köln 219; Dattari 302; Milne 309; Emmett 171; RPC I 5328.

16 mm, 4g. Islands of Thrace, Thasos. AR drachm. Circa 500-480 BC. Ithyphallic satyr advancing right, carrying off protesting nymph / Quadripartite incuse square. Le Rider, Thasiennes 3; HGC 6, 332. Next - quadripartite incuse square

Not sure what you mean. I am pretty sure that April Fools is recent, historically speaking (some sources mention 1582). Also it was strictly in the Western world. I heard about this "celebration" only after 1990. I live in Eastern Europe. Also, remember that Catholic and Protestant are not the only Christian churches. I am Orthodox, I will celebrate Easter on 5th of May. The dates of Easter are variable every year and the rules are complicated, anyway, there is no such rule as Catholics celebrate Easter on day X and Orthodox Church on day Y.

That is an excellent goal, @Parthicus I will stick to ancients, but I will completely change my tactics. For more than 3 years I buy from auctions and usually get common budget coins, sometimes good deals. Like you, I was interested in history, geography, various events, animals, religion. NO MORE. I will stick to ancients like I said, but from now on I will buy only rarities because I want to build a collection with rare or very rare coins (I already sold my entire collection as there was no rarity there so this doesn't fit my collecting goals anymore). The first coin I bought is Description - Ultra Rare Coin ( Estimated Lydia). Experts don't even know what it is, no one has ever seen anything like this. Found in Turkey in Manisa. Well, if the experts don't know, good enough for me.

This is what I also mentioned, except that my clues were the older appearance + the beard.

I think the portrait is Philip I, not II, as Philip II is depicted younger and beardless from what I checked. Your coin should be similar to https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/29061 Philip II variety with the same bust type: https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/47998

A coin showing two wrestlers. When I first saw the type, I thought the reverse also shows an athlete - a javelin thrower. 21 mm, 10,90 g Pamphylia, Aspendos. AR stater. Circa 415/10-400 BC. Two wrestlers grappling within a dotted border / Slinger discharging sling right, triskeles in right field, ethnic EΣTEE to left, all within incuse square. Countermarked. Tekin Series B; SNG Aul. 4525; SNG BN 45ff. Next - triskeles

Pietas: 19 mm, 2,68 g. Trajan 98-117 AD. AR denarius. Rome. 112-114. IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, laureate bust right, slight drapery on far shoulder / SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI, Pietas standing left, sprinkling incense over lighted altar to left and holding sceptre. RIC 262; BMCRE 481; RSC 201.