ambr0zie

Another augusta with Ceres 

28 mm, 11,55 g.
Julia Titi 80-81 AD. Æ dupondius. Rome.
IVLIA IMP T AVG F AVGVSTA, bust of Julia Titi, draped, right; hair bundled high in front and wrapped in bun (sometimes small bun) in back / CERES AVGVST S C, Ceres standing left, holding corn-ears and torch.
RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 392.

20 mm, 7,20 g.
Egypt, Alexandria. Maximianus 286-305. Billon tetradrachm. 287-288.
A K MA OVA MAΞIMIANOC CEB, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / Homonoia (Concordia) standing left, raising right hand and holding double cornucopiae, L – Γ in fields (date). Milne 4855v; Curtis 2091; Emmett 4141.

8 minutes ago, Ryro said:

LOVE your new creepy face avatar!

There's a lot of LCE (little coin energy) on this board and some great coins this far. 

Here's a few little fellas:

 

 

 

Aegina fraction?

Yes, they are shockingly small (for me, an obol is already almost average size). But I see this as an advantage. 

... I lied. This is a thread about small coins. 

While I am waiting for the last auction package to arrive to me (where I made quite a lavish purchase, for my wallet) I keep admiring the coins I got from the previous one. I noticed that the general interest for small coins (obols or smaller denominations) is not usually great. What was very surprising, in a pleasant way, was the prices I paid for these. 9 and 11 euros. I was expecting a little more. 

Every time I see a small silver fraction from Greek cities I really admire the artistry and the attention to details. Especialy since they have another advantage, in my opinion - any defect is MUCH more visible in pics than in hand. The down side is that I have difficulties in getting correct pictures (especially the colors are distorted). 

So, here are the 2 fractions I recently got, both from Mylasa, under the satrap Hekatomnos. 

7 mm, 0,36 g.
Greek satraps of Caria, Mylasa. Hekatomnos. AR hemiobol. Circa 395-377 BC.
Forepart of a roaring lion, left / forepart of a lion, with both forelegs facing.
Klein 506; SNG Keckman 837-840; SNG von Aulock 7805.

My only comment is that the only thing better than a lion are .... two lions. 

I disagree with the idea this is Apollo on the reverse and I am pretty convinced this is an ancient depiction of Marylin Manson. 

5 mm, 0,19 g.
Greek satraps of Caria, Mylasa. Hekatomnos. AR tetartemorion. Circa 395-377 BC.
Forepart of a roaring lion left / laureate head of Apollo facing slightly left.
SNG Helsinki 848 (as uncertain); Klein 507; SNG Keckman 849.

These new additions complement my other small coins. Difficult to beat my smallest and lightest coin

5 mm, 0,08 g.
Ionia, Miletos. Possible Caria, Mylasa. AR hemitetartemorion. Circa 525-475 BC.
Head of a roaring lion l. / Quail standing l. within incuse square.
Cf. Rosen 407/8; Klein 430; SNG Tubingen 3001.
 

Also a good companion for my other small coins with animals on each side, such as 

8 mm, 0,18 g.
Mysia, Kyzikos. AR tetartemorion. Circa 525-475 BC (other sources - 480/450-400 BC). Forepart of boar left, tunny to right / Head of roaring lion left, star to upper left, all within incuse square. Von Fritze II 14; SNG France 375.

As for spooky facing portraits, this one is no longer lonely 

7 mm, 0,30 g.
Lesbos, Methymna. AR hemiobol. Circa 400 BC.
Bearded head of Silenos facing / Tortoise in dotted square frame.
Aufhäuser 14, 127; Lanz 117, 112; G & M 196, 1632. Cf Traité 2263 (circular frame).

Let's see small coins - hemiobols or smaller. 

26 mm, 11,75 g.
Lydia, Tralleis. Magistrate Time. Cistophoric AR tetradrachm. Circa 133 BC.
Cista mystica with serpent, within ivy wreath / TΡAΛ to left of bowcase between two coiled serpents, TIME above, cult image of Artemis Anaitis standing front in right field.
BMC 31-32; SNG von Aulock 8287; SNG Cop 661; Paris 2700-2701; SNG Leipzig 1269; Mionnet IV, 1026; Pinder 160; Whittall sale 1325b; GRPC Lydia S470.

Next - coiled serpent

18 mm, 2,89 g.
Lucilla 164-182 AD. AR denarius. Rome. 164-180.
LVCILLA AVGVSTA, bust of Lucilla, bare-headed, hair waved and fastened in a bun on back of head, draped, right / VENVS VICTRIX, Venus, draped with right breast bare, standing left, holding Victory in extended right hand and resting left hand on shield set on ground.
RIC III Marcus Aurelius 786; Sear 5492; RSC 89.

Veiled 

21 mm, 4,05 g.
Q. Cassius Longinus. AR denarius. Rome. 55 BC.
Q CASSIVS VEST, veiled head of Vesta right / Curule chair within circular temple of Vesta between urn and vota tablet inscribed AC.
RSC Cassia 9; BMC 3871; Syd. 917; Craw. 428/1.

Beautiful coin, @Salomons Cat. The price difference is not justified in my opinion. 

Riding goat 

20,6 mm, 3,72 g.
Mn. Fonteius C.f. AR denarius. Rome. 85 BC.
MN·FONTEI – C·F Laureate head of Apollo Veiovis r.; below, thunderbolt and below chin, RA ligate / Cupid on goat r.; above, pileii. In exergue, thyrsus. All within laurel wreath.
Babelon Fonteia 9; Sydenham 724; RBW 1350; Crawford 353/1a.

Yes, @CPK, adding a Geta as Augustus is a good milestone. Congratulations! 

What is interesting and a piece of puzzle to understand the rivalry between the two brothers - apparently Geta wanted to be seen as the true successor of Seprimius Severus as there are a lot of portraits where the ressemblance is very straight forward - 

(not my coin)

Speaking of appealing portrait, I bought this one as I really like the portrait (and the bust type) + a reverse with a proud Mars 

21 mm, 3,56 g.
Probus 276-282 AD. Æ Antoninianus. Siscia.
IMP C M AVR PROBVS P F AVG, bust of Probus, radiate, cuirassed, left, with spear and shield / VIRTVS PROBI AVG, Mars, helmeted, walking right, holding spear in right hand and trophy in left hand. Mintmark: -/P//XXI.
RIC V Probus 810.

Victory advancing right

17 mm, 1,65 g.
Caesarea, Cappadocia. Vespasian 69-79. AR hemidrachm.
ΑΥΤΟΚΡ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΟΥƐϹΠΑϹΙΑΝΟϹ ϹƐΒΑ , laureate head right / Victory advancing right, holding wreath and palm. RPC II, 1659.

Sword

20 mm, 3,76 g.
Ti. Veturius. AR denarius. Rome. 137 BC.
[TI·V􀺏E􀺏T], helmeted and draped bust of Mars right, behind X (mark of value) / ROMA, Oath-taking scene: youth kneeling left, head right, between two soldiers, each of whom holds a spear and sword that touches a pig held by the youth.
Crawford 234/1; RBW 969; RSC Veturia 1.

23 mm, 4,80 g.
Aelia Flaccilla. Augusta 383-386. Æ follis. Constantinople.
AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG, bust of Aelia Flaccilla, with elaborate head-dress, draped, necklace, and mantle / SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, Emperor, head right, standing facing, arms folded on breast, Christogram to right. Mintmark CONSϵ.
RIC IX Constantinople 82.

Next - another Roman empress, on any Imperial bronze coin 

Last weekend I was in an auction and, against my expectations, I managed to win a respectable number of interesting coins. All budget indeed and nothing extremely spectacular, but all of them were on my wish list and on some of them the price was a pleasant surprise. 

But one of the highlights for me was that I managed to add not one, not two, but three provincial tetradrachms - this was unexpected.

Here they are in the order I bought them in

25 mm, 13,22 g.
Syria, Seleucis and Pieria, Antioch. Nero 54-68 AD. AR Tetradrachm. Struck 56-57 AD.
ΝΕΡΩ[ΝΟΣ ΚΛΑΥΔΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΥΙ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ ΣΕΒ], head of Nero with oak wreath, right / ΑΓΡΙΠΠΕΙΝΗΣ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΗΣ, Γ (regnal date) above ΕΡ (civic date), draped bust of Agrippina II, right.
McAlee 253; RPC I 4175; Prieur 74.

I wanted a coin from the early reign of Nero but the imperial coins are prohibitive and I haven't seen a provincial coin to fit my tastes and budget. This coin is worn (but a little better in hand - not sure what was wrong with my camera today as the colors were very wrong and it took me a lot of attempts to take decent pics). A coin with young Nero and his dearest mom is a large bonus. 

Although the coin is modest, I was expecting a bigger price. It wasn't the case and I got it for much better than expected. 

29 mm, 11,57 g.
Syria, Seleucis and Pieria, Antioch. Billon tetradrachm. Gordian III 238-244 AD. Struck 242-244.
ΑΥΤΟΚ Κ Μ ΑΝΤ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian III, right, seen from rear / ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞ ΥΠΑ ΤΟ Β, eagle standing facing, head left, with wreath in beak; tail to left; between eagle's legs, ram running right with head turned back; crescent above ram's head.
Bland 1991b, 24; Prieur 302; McAlee 874; RPC VII.2, 3520.

Nothing extremely spectacular about this Gordian III tetradrachm. But I couldn't let it pass because I wanted a coin with this reverse (ram under the eagle). Gordian's portrait is pleasant, so why not. 

24 mm, 11,01 g.
Egypt, Alexandria. Claudius 41-54. AR tetradrachm. Dated RY 4 – 43-44 AD.
ΤΙ ΚΛΑΥΔΙ ΚΑΙΣ ΣΕΒΑ ΓΕΡΜΑΝΙ ΑΥΤΟΚ(Ρ), laureate head of Claudius, right, L Δ (date) below chin / [MEΣΣAΛINA] KAIΣ ΣEBAΣ, Messalina, veiled, standing left, leaning on column, holding two children in outstretched right hand, grain ears with left.
Köln 81; Dattari (Savio) 125; K&G 12.35; RPC I 5145; Emmett 74.4.

This coin was attributed as Nero. But I quickly realized it's Claudius. And the reverse is very interesting (well, more or less on my example) 

A much better specimen reverse:

Although RPC doesn't specify this, the two children in Messalina's hand should be Britannicus and Claudia Octavia. 

Of course I would have preferred Messalina's name to be readable and, especially, the two children on the flan, but the price would have been very, very different. In the end, not a top 10 coin but not junk either, especially since it was cheap. 

Let's see freshly added provincial tetradrachms from your collections. 

Kantharos

11 mm, 2,38 g.
Boeotia, Thebes. AR hemidrachm. Circa 395-338 BC.
Boeotian shield / Kantharos; above, club right; battle axe to left; Θ-EB across lower field; all within incuse square.
BCD Boiotia 411.

18,6 mm, 2,8 g.
Byzantine Empire, Syracuse. Theophilus 829-842. Ӕ follis.
+ ΘEOFI / LOSbASI, diademed bust facing, wearing chlamys and holding globe cruciger / Large M at l., XXX, at r., NNN, above, cross, below, Θ.
DOC 30; Anastasi 548; Spahr 431; Sear 1681.

Next - Syracuse, but an ancient coin. 

A recipient for wine 

17 mm, 3,73 g.
L. Censorinus 82 BC. AR denarius. Rome.
Laureate head of Apollo right / L·CENSOR, Marsyas walking left, naked with right arm raised and holding wine-skin over left shoulder; behind, column bearing statue of Victory. Banker’s marks on legend.
Crawford 363/1d; Marcia 24; Sydenham 737.

Not easy to beat this one in grumpiness

25 mm, 12,22 g.
Syria, Seleucis and Pieria, Emesa. Caracalla 198-217. AR tetradrachm. 215-217.
AΥ•T K M ANTΩNEINOC CE•B•, laureate bust right / ΔΗΜΑΡX ΕΞ VΠΑΤOC TO Δ, eagle standing facing, head left, with wreath in beak; H under beak; radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Shamash left between legs.
Prieur 983.

6 hours, no Epirus here so I will post a similar reverse 

16 mm, 4,45 g,
Kings of Cappadocia. Eusebeia-Mazaka. Ariobarzanes I Philoromaios 96-63 BC. AR drachm. Year 27 (69/8 BC).
Diademed head r. / Athena standing l., holding Nike and spear, hand resting on shield at her side; monogram to inner l., ZK (date) in exergue.
Simonetta 37b; HGC 7, 846.

Next - any coin from Cappadocia

26 mm, 10,95 g.
Macedon, Philippi. Claudius 41-54. Ӕ.
TI CLAVDIVS CAES AVG IMP P M TR P P P, bare head of Claudius, l. / COL IVL AVG PHILIP, DIVVS AVG (on base); statue of Augustus in military dress crowned by statue of Divus Julius Caesar wearing toga on central base; altar, l. and r.
RPC I 1654 var. (reverse legend COL IVL AVG instead of COL AVG IVL); SNG Copenhagen 307-8 var.; Varbanov 3774 var.

An exceptional coin, especially the obverse. Congratulations!

My favorite Neapolis

13 mm, 1,68 g.
Macedon, Neapolis. AR hemidrachm. Circa 425-350 BC.
Facing gorgoneion with protruding tongue / N-E-O-Π, head of the nymph of Neapolis to right, her hair coiled around her head and with a bun at the back.
SNG ANS 430-454.

My favorite MFB

22 mm, 4,78 g.
Akarnania, Oeniadae. Ӕ. Circa 219-211 BC.
Laureate head of Zeus right, Λ below, eagle behind head / OINIAΔAN, head of the river-god Acheloös right, trident above.
BCD Akarnania 349; BMC 12; SNG Copenhagen 403.

21 mm, 3,77 g.
Trebonianus Gallus 251-253. AR antoninianus. Rome.
IMP C C VIB TREB GALLVS AVG, bust of Trebonianus Gallus, radiate, draped, cuirassed, right / LIBERTAS PVBLICA, Libertas, draped, standing left, holding pileus in right hand and transverse sceptre in left hand.
RIC IV Trebonianus Gallus 70; RSC 68.

Next - another emperor with beard 

The paper says Faustina II ("Jnr") wife of M Avr (Marcus Aurelius)

But the coin is a Salonina antoninianus. Salonina was a different empress, in the next century. 

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=11266121

Wheel 

13 mm, 2,16 g.
Thrace, Mesembria. Ӕ. Circa 420-320 BC.
Crested Corinthian helmet facing / META between four spokes of wheel.
SNG BM 272-274; SNG Stancomb 225; Serdica CCCH IX, 14-18; Karayotov II, 47-54; SNG Cop. 653.