Finn235

I have an elaborate web of saved queries set up on ebay to try to catch almost any combination of keywords used to describe Indo Sassanian coinage, and I try to check for new hits at least once a day. This far into my collection, most of what I see is just the same thing over and over again, but a couple weeks ago I struck (figurative) gold! India, Chahamanas of Shakambhari Present-day Rajasthan in NW India Somalladevi, queen consort of Ajayaraja II (1110-1135 AD) Billon Dramma Obv: Imitation of Gadhaiya Paisa (ca. Series 1.4.4) Rev: Nagari legend Sri SoMa/ LaDeVi in two lines Not a whole lot of time for a full write up, so I'll just link back to the thread on the "other" coin forum 😉 https://www.cointalk.com/threads/indo-sassanian-holy-grail-ar-dramma-of-sri-somalladevi.386367/ Unlike that specimen, which was far and away my most expensive Indo-Sassanian at $250, I spotted this one at a starting bid of only $10, with $10 in shipping! Except I blinked and realized it wasn't bid at all... I smashed the Buy It Now button so fast I'm pretty sure I gave my knuckles whiplash!

Thanks all! Interesting - the coin was in a Roma lot of mostly Vandal, late Roman / pseudo imperial, and early Byzantine nummi, so I had just assumed that they were all found more or less together. How thick is that Sri Lankan imitation? They are usually fairly thin, if I recall correctly?

Had intended to get this one out in 2022 but life got the better of me. For the most part, I was able to stay focused on my two main focuses (Roman and Indo Sassanian) but sometimes a deal just falls into your lap... Most of these were either incidental lot finds, a type I had been eyeballing for some time, or else was a total impulse buy! 1. Turk Shahis, Shahi Tegin or "Tegin of Khorasan" AR drachm Obv: Portrait of Shahi Tegin 3/4 right, Bactrian Sri Shaho before, Brahmi legend around CCW: sri-hitivira kharalava parame – svara sri sahi tiginadeva karita ("His Excellency, Iltäbär of Khalaj, worshipper of the Supreme God, His Excellency the King, the divine Lord Tegin had minted this coin") Rev: Iranian fire-god Atar facing, Pahlavi around: hpt-hpt t’ ("[year] 77 PYE = 728 AD") tkyn’ hwl’s s’n MLKA ("Tegin, King of Khorasan") Why it made the top 10: Obviously aside from being, IMO, one of the most outlandish and alien-looking coins ever minted, it represents a fascinating snapshot of the Turk Kahaganate, which was briefly a central Asian superpower that checked the expansion of the Arabs for more than a century. 2. Kidarite Huns, Buddhamitra (or Buddhatala) AR drachm, ca late 4th century AD Obv: Sassanian-style bust 3/4 right Rev: Bahram V-style fire altar with attentants, BhuDaTaLa beneath Why it made my top 10: Besides being an excellent deal and in fantastic condition for the type, this represents an important and overall rare chapter in the history of NW India, and also serves as an interesting preface to the Indo Sassanian coinage, as it is after defeating the Kidarites that Peroz adopted his 3rd crown with victory wings, evidently modeled after this one. 3. Uncertain Central Asia, imitative Peroz drachm Why it made the Top 10: This coin is not Indo-Sassanian, official Sassanian, nor does it fit any of the molds of the "official" Hephthalite imitations with pellets outside the obverse margin. I bought it because sometimes in order to articulate what an Indo-Sassanian *is*, you have to start with what it *isnt*. 4. Late Arab-Sasanian, "Eastern Sistan" BI drachm Anonymous, ca early 8th century AD Why it made the Top 10: I've found the slow demise of Sassanian coinage design under the Caliphates to be fascinating, and this rare series was the last drachm-sized Khusro II imitation to be minted in Iran proper, outlasting even the Umayyads into the reign of the Abbasids. It also has a very distinct and charmingly simple artistic style. 5. Migration period, pair of AE4s imitating "cross in wreath" but with swastikas instead of crosses Why it made the Top 10: I love post-Roman coinage. I love the rare rulers and obscure varieties thar come with the "cross in wreath" series. These were a surprise find from a Roma lot of Itty bitty AE4s, and as far as I can tell, they are unpublished and I can't find anything really even remotely similar to these two. 6. Seuthes III, King of Thrace AE Chalkous Why it made the Top 10: This was 100% lot bycatch that grew on me once I had it in hand. Seuthes was a contemporary of Alexander the Great, initially a client king, but he managed to wrestle independence from the Macedonians while Alexander was busy with more pressing matters. It's a somewhat scarce coin, but more importantly it's one of only a few dozen coins to depict a king's portrait from before the Hellenistic age. 7. Gaul, Santones AE quadrans or semis Bare male head right, CONTOVTOS Wolf crouching beneath small tree This was one of my favorites from a larger lot, and had, IMO, very intriguing iconography. It is a very welcome addition to my scant Celtic collection 8. Gaul, Ambiani AE unit Disjointed crested helmet Rider on horseback with knife or small sword This was one of the most challenging attributions from the Celtic lot, and apparently imitates - of all things - a Celtiberian denarius! 9. Saint Helena halfpenny, 1821 I dont often go for random world coins these days, but this one caught my interest. Commissioned by the EIC to provide small change needed by the remote island's booming economy due to the arrival of Napoleon, his entourage, and the soldiers stationed there to ensure he did not escape again. Of course, Napoleon died before these coins could be shipped to his island, and everyone left when he did. Of the 704,000 St Helena halfpennies minted, a majority were sent back to be recycled, and the rest circulated on the island. 10. Vandal kingdom of N. Africa, Gunthamund AE4 "denarius" While not the most exciting of the Vandal coins, I always found this one interesting as the D apparently is likely intended to stand for Denarius, which otherwise had not been minted since the late 3rd century, but legally was still a denomination too worthless for coining, since Diocletian's monetary reforms of the 290s. Further evidence is his silver coins, which are evidently tariffed at 50 "denarii" per siliqua. Honorable mention: Western Satraps, Vijayasena as mahakshatrapa, I think SE 166 = 244 AD Before starting on Indo Sassanian, I tried to collect the Kshatrapas, before realizing that other than the ~20 in the middle of that dynasty, most of them are extremely rare. I still enjoy the series, and snapped up this Vijayasena that is remarkable for having a 100% complete reverse inscription - his coins are usually the best of the entire series, but finding a perfectly centered reverse is still quite a feat!

Stunning coin - I literally cannot even imagine having that kind of money to blow on a single coin, though! There were a lot of rarities in that auction that I actually thought were going fairly cheap. I'll need to check back and see what the hammers ended at.

Very nice! Flavian bronzes usually seem to wear out very gracefully

Missed the time frame for Caligula so I'll add both! Caligula - I went with a rather "pedestrian" Vesta as in the nicest condition I could get without spending too much An As for his grandfather, Agrippa - probably my favorite Julio-Claudian portrait on this one - a very early departure from the "idealized" style of the time. A provincial bronze of his father and mother - Germanicus and Agrippina Sr (both posthumous) A hideously beat up commemorative of Nero and Drusus, his older brothers (they only appear on this horseback issue in imperial coinage) And a controversial SAL AVG issue from Carthago Nova - long touted as Caesonia, in a recent thread it was discussed that Caligula's titles don't add up, as this coin was minted years before their marriage... which possibly makes it the only *lifetime* Antonia in numismatics?! And the crown jewel... an unambiguous and authentic Caesonia with their daughter Julia Drusilla ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And then Claudius IMO the most artistically pleasing portraits of his in any medium other than marble are the cistophoric tetradrachms, so I splurged on this for about 1/3 of the price of a comparable denarius And just for fun, a Claudius anti-portrait! His family, placed on coins in a desperate bid to restore his public reputation as a stammering half-wit His father, Nero Claudius Drusus His mother Antonia His brother Germanicus And in provincial - His very rare infamous second wife Messalina And their son Britannicus (notice the family resemblance?) Britannicus with his sisters Antonia and Octavia (hideous, ugly coin!) His niece and second wife Agrippina II And his adoptive son Nero as Caesar Upon his death, Claudius was deified, but instead of being welcomed into the Imperial cults, he was a laughingstock, and was one of only two deified emperors whose consecration was ignored by the time of Trajan Decius

Maximinus Thrax issued only a single Liberalitas approximately 6-12 months into his reign. The coins only bear his second portrait (after the modified Alexander bust, but before the jutting forehead). Given that his German campaign was not yet complete, and he did not particularly care for the senators or populace of Rome, the leading theory is that these coins were issued as a succession bonus to his army that had just murdered their former emperor - setting the dangerous precedent for the coming half-century that regicide would not only go unpunished, but would be rewarded handsomely.

My actual coins of Tiberius and fam... I personally hope to eventually collect at least one "tribute penny" denarius, but every time I'm in a bidding war, it just never seems like a good idea to keep going, since there are usually like 2-10 in every auction. So, I have two main Tiberius asses - First, as "caesar" under Augustus - the TRP isn't visible on this coin (its XII, 8 AD) but the AVGVST F is clear, indicating that he is the son of the (mortal) Augustus On this one as Augustus, he is Divi Avg F, son of the divine Augustus And of course most coins of Livia seem to date from the reign of her son, I chose this one because it is one of the few who showed her actual character - positively ruthless in her quest for power And the only imperial coin that is almost certainly her (low grade, but it was a lot find) And his first two Caesars, Germanicus and Drusus (both lifetime, a tough feat for Germanicus) Drusus alone Drusus' Pietas.... possibly Livia, possibly Livilla, possibly Vipsania, possibly just Pietas? And his two sons, Tiberius and Germanicus Gemellus His next two Caesars, Nero and Drusus (elder brothers of Caligula) Then his final Caesar, Caligula (This is the only type of Caligula in the position of Caesar, extant in only 3 denominations, and perhaps less than 200 examples total in all 3!) And a personal tragedy - when I bought this one, it was commonly believed to depict Tiberius Gemellus as a teenager, but alas! An example of the type was found with CEBACTOY in front of the portrait, making it just an unusually youthful Tiberius. I sold some very rare and interesting coins to be able to keep this coin out of the CNG lot 😞

Sorry, couldn't help it 😉

I hope someday to get some early (Imperatorial) issues of Octavian, but this cistophorus is my "main" Augustus - the perfect balance between price, size, and condition Also a posthumous issue by Tiberius with a lovely portrait as well. And the rest of the family Livia (this is my only sole portrait that is certainly attributable to Augustus' reign) Gaius Lucius (an incredibly rare figure to find solo) Livia with Julia the Elder Agrippa QUINCTILIUS VARUS, WHERE ARE MY EAGLES?!?

For me, it's a toss up between two, on opposite ends of my collecting spectrum. For Roman: Judaea, Caesaria Panias AE18 of Herod Agrippa I, for Caesonia, with Julia Drusilla, wife and daughter of Caligula Dated Year 5 = 40-41 AD Obv: KAIΣΩNIA ΓYNH ΣEBAΣTOY, Draped bust of Caesonia left Rev: ΔΡOYΣIΛΛA ΘYΓATΡI ΣEBAΣTOY LE, small figure of Julia Drusilla, robed, holding Nike and branch This is the only unanimously accepted portrait of Caesonia, wife of Caligula, and certainly the only surviving image of their daughter Drusilla in any medium. Coupled with the extreme rarity of the type, this will certainly remain a crown jewel of my "every member of the Imperial families" collection. And on the opposite side - India, Pratiharas Indo-Sassanian "Sri Vi" series, ca 700-800? Unpublished three letter legend, Sri ViPra? This is, as far as I am aware, the only extant example of this new series, which is a big deal considering the (comparatively) static nature of most Indo-Sassanian designs.

Someone should tell them that the Macedon tet belongs to Macedonia, not Greece. Says so right on the coin.

2022 has been a somewhat subdued year for me, as double digit inflation + mandatory back-to office during $5 gas season + kids in competition dance classes has done a number on the coin budget! I have made a few calculated purchases to advance my Roman set, however, and am thrilled with the new additions. For those who aren't familiar with my approach to collecting Roman Empire, I am one of those fools who is obsessed with getting every possible person who appears on (or issued) coins, from about the time of Sulla through Justinian. That includes Republican Imperators, Dictators, Emperors, their wives and children, and even the scant few governors and other important citizens of the provinces. Worse, I also became obsessed with getting a variety of titles for each, including: - As Caesar or a similar junior position beneath a reigning emperor - As Augustus/Augusta - Posthumous issues, whether specifically deified or not. As may be expected 7 years into this journey, I don't have very many targets left to snag, certainly not without venturing into 4-digit territory for the first time. Therefore, any new add is thrilling, and nearly all are objectively rare coins! First up, completely new Roman personalities: 1. Milonia Caesonia, with Julia Drusilla, wife and daughter of Caligula Judaea, Caesarea Paneas, under Herod Agrippa II, 40-41 Easily my top acquisition of the year, an incredible rarity that I never dared dream I would own! Apparently included with the Damnatio Memorae, the overwhelmingly vast majority of this issue (being the only unambiguous image of Caesonia, and the only image of Julia Drusilla) were also lost or destroyed, leaving only a few dozen examples in the hands of collectors and museums today 2. Brutus, as Imperator AR Denarius, military mint in the East, mid-42 BC Easily my most overdue acquisition, I had always felt the lack of a proper Brutus as a gaping hole in my collection of ancient Rome, and this fit the bill quite nicely. While it won't win any beauty contests, the price was right, and it has full legends and nice centering on both sides. This also comes from the post-assassination period when Brutus was actively engaged in civil war with Antony and Octavian, rather than being from his moneyer phase as a junior politician in the 50s BC. 3. Sextus Pompey AE As, Sicilian mint, ca 43 BC As with Brutus above, my coverage of the Imperatorial period arguably could use a lot more attention than it has been getting! I got this one on the cheap in a group lot, with IMO decently strong details for the type. This is also a good stand-in for a posthumous Pompey the Great (the jury is still out on whether the Pompeiopolis provincial is lifetime or not) and also I believe is the last Janus/prow type As ever struck. 4. Annius Afrinus, governor of Galatia, ca 49-54 AE of Claudiconium Many thanks to @Spaniard for assistance with shipping difficulties on this one! During the very early Principate, it was somewhat common for provincial governors to appear on local coinage with special permission from the emperor; Annius Afrinus was evidently the last to be granted this honor. He issued coins with his own name and portrait, as well as those of Claudius and Agrippina II, placing his governorship after their 49 AD marriage, and before the rise of Nero in 54, for whom he did not issue coinage. He then slips into over a decade of obscurity before appearing as suffect consul back in Rome in 66 AD under Nero, after which he disappears. 5. "Anonymous" AE quadrans, possibly depicting Annius Verus Caesar, younger brother of Commodus, possibly posthumous issue The "four seasons" quadrans series is somewhat controversial, with some claiming the young boy is a representation of Commodus' younger brother Annius Verus, and others maintaining that he is nothing more than an allegory, and possibly that the coins were minted as early as the time of Trajan or Hadrian. Regardless, this "Winter" quadrans is quite rare and I am thrilled to have it, whether it represents Annius Verus or not. 6. "Germanus Indutilli L.", client king or Governor of post-Celtic Gaul Another somewhat obscure issue, this semis dates from the early reign of Augustus, at a time where most Gauls over 30 remembered being free and autonomous Celts. The presence of a diadem indicates royalty, possibly indicating that the portrait is of a Gallic king who retained some local power acting as a Magistrate for Rome. The name Indutilli is Gallic in origin, whereas Germanus is not, leading some to question whether "Germanus Indutilli" is even a complete name, or whether Germanus was the freedman of Indutilli. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Next up, are some figures I already had in my collection, represented by new titles. 1. Volusian, as Caesar under Gallus and Hostilian, AE As I consider coins like this to be the epitome of why I love rare titles - they serve as a testament to the most fleeting moments of ancient history, and stand as reminders that history was once "current events". Following the deaths of Decius and Herennius Etruscus at the hands of the barbarians they were supposed to be subduing, the panicked legions proclaimed the nearby Trebonianus Gallus as emperor, even though the title rightfully belonged to the young Hostilian back in Rome. In an unprecedented show of humanity, Gallus formally adopted Hostilian and named him co-Augustus, while he bestowed the title of Caesar on his adult son Volusian. Hostilian died less than six months later, apparently a victim of the plague that was ravaging the empire, and Volusian rose to become emperor for merely two years before being murdered along with his father in favor of Aemilian. Coins of Hostilian as Augustus are rare, but those of Volusian as his Caesar are exceptionally rare, seldom coming to auction in any denomination. 2. Matidia, niece of Trajan (mother of Sabina), as Augusta While I purchased a posthumous Matidia a couple years ago, I have been on the hunt for a lifetime issue before snagging this one back in January. All coinage of Matidia is more or less equally rare, although her imperial denarii frequently stray into 4-digit territory, which made this provincial very appealing. 3. Vespasian, as Usurper v. Vitellius BI Tetradrachm of Alexandria, RY 1 (July-September 69) I admittedly only learned of this distinction last year - Alexandria dated her emperors' regnal year according to the ancient Egyptian calendar, which marked the new year in about September in the Gregorian calendar. Thus, as Alexandria declared for Vespasian on 1 July 69, his "Year 1" coinage would have been minted for the last two months of the Egyptian calendar, with Year 2 beginning in September 69. Since Vitellius was the "official" emperor in Rome, this technically makes him a usurper; only Vespasian and Julian II minted coins during a time period where they were technically usurpers before becoming bona fide emperors. 4. Divus Nerva AE of Perinthus, Thrace Although Nerva was deified by Trajan when he assumed power, the coinage of the deified Nerva was restricted to only the reverse of special commemorative aureii, and a handful of provincial issues. He did not get a proper imperial consecration type for himself until a century and a half later, under Decius. 5. Posthumous Tiberius BI tetradrachm of Alexandria, under Nero Despite expecting to get the divinity treatment, Tiberius was passed over unceremoniously by Caligula, and did not appear on coinage at all until this issue under Nero from Alexandria, where he is simply presented as "Tiberius Caesar" and not "Divine Tiberius". He would again feature on Flavian restitution coins, which I need to get around to collecting someday! 6. Maximian, issued by Carausius from London Not a beauty by any means, but still important and rare! The PAX AVGGG series was issued by Carausius from his base in Britannia while he was still attempting negotiations with Diocletian and Maximian to gain recognition and turn their then-duo into a proper threesome. Negotiations of course failed, and Carausius declared that London was Better Rome, anyway. And that's a wrap for ancient Rome 2022! I'm waiting for a few more coins to hopefully arrive in time to make separate posts for the other categories. Which are your favorites?

Very nice one, Paul! I really need to round out my Caracalla portrait set - I have one of him as Caesar where he's a little kid Then it jumps to where he's about 18-20 I need to get a couple where he's Augustus, but still an innocent little kid!

Fascinating discovery! I agree that the style matches up with the Rome mint issues under Felicissimus. Certainly not everyday that a new type is discovered! I would definitely consider submitting this one for publication!

Superb pick-ups; Boran is an incredible rarity! And a side note on the Japanese yen, the "gin" inside the circle was applied to the coin at the facility in Osaka (Tokyo countermarked on the right) prior to them being sold as bullion in 1897. I've been meaning to pick one of these up but haven't found a "good" price on one yet.

See y'all in Auction 25!

Currently in the lead for 3 lots which I know I won't win. Haven't won anything from Leu since auction 16, and I don't think I've gotten a "bargain" from them since pre-covid.

Nah, Ganga numismatics is almost always absurdly overpriced, often by a factor of 3-5 what the coins would fetch in an open auction.

Over here watching my bids get curb-stomped like

Central Asia and India offer some very unique cross-cultural coins This copper unit from post-Mauryan Taxila technically predates the arrival of Greeks in the area, but the influence is already there, especially in the dynamic pose of the horse The Indo Greek kingdom is famous for being a Hellenistic culture that assimilated into Indian society, and at least a few rulers even took up Buddhism. All Indo Greek coins are bilingual in Greek and Kharosthi A drachm minted to Indo Greek standards by the contemporary Kuninda king Amoghabuti A Scythian imitation of a Hermaios tetradrachm And a more Scythian styled drachm And an Indo-Parthian tet styled after the Indo-Scythian prototype The Scythians survived the rise of the Kushans as a rump state in Gujarat. Nahapana reinstated the Greek-style drachm, trilingual in Brahmi, Kharosthi, and a Greek language transliteration of Brahmi - PANNIW ΣΑHAPATAC NAHAPANAC He was killed by the Satavahana empire of the Deccan, who intermittently also made Greek-styled drachms When the Kshatrapas were reinstated under Chastana, they resumed minting drachms, dropping the Kharosthi and the Greek quickly degrading to nonsense The Kshatrapas were finally overthrown in ca. 415 by the Guptas, who continued to mint the denomination for about another century However, at the first sign of struggle, the Maitraka governor/general Bhatarka created a quasi-independent kingdom at Vallabhi in ca. 475 and minted the drachm in his own name and types His successors froze the design and it stagnated, possibly until the conclusion of the kingdom in 776. Thus closed nearly 1,000 years of Greek influence on India

Thought it would be fun to post here - I got back into the numismatics hobby in college when I was working as a cashier and would periodically find old coins in my till, and swap pocket change for them. That was a gateway drug into Coin Roll Hunting (CRH) - buying boxes of coins from the bank to pick out collectibles at face value. I eventually burned out on the hobby (2 hours of work to find maybe $2 worth of collectibles), but still periodically pick up a few rolls if I happen to be by my bank during business hours. Last week I happened by and bought the last two rolls of half dollars they had on hand, and lucked into the remnants of somebody's dumped collection For those unfamiliar with US coinage, the 1969 is 40% silver, 1987 was only released in mint sets and is a major rarity, and ditto with all halves from 2002-2020 - they were released in sets and in collectors' rolls. The 2006 displays the 'satin' finish, which indicates it came from a mint set rather than a roll.

They are out there. I've been hunting for one since I got serious about collecting Roman coins - finally snagged this one early in summer from Roma for I think $200ish - not great eye appeal, but the legend is all there and it has the full BRVTVS which was the most important part.

I watched some of the live bidding and noticed the same problems. Only put one bid out, which I expected to get blown out of the water but surprisingly won - A very welcome upgrade to my ratty hole filler Pertinax, which I hopefully can now break even on! I also am curious to know if anyone has any insights into the very last lot, which had no images or useful descriptions except that it was a large lot of 650ish coins from the Steffanelli collection. 650 LRBs and byzantine trachys? 650 denarii? At less than $10 each, I almost was tempted to take the gamble, but decided against it. Auction houses really do themselves a disservice when they can't even be bothered to take one picture of lots that are expected to fetch multiple thousands of dollars/pounds - it restricts the pool of bidders to only those who are physically present at the auction to observe the lots in hand.

Could have sworn that was a T and not an L! 🙂 Thanks for that - makes sense why I didn't find it under Diocletian!