Qcumbor

You kill me @Alegandron, those are fantastic

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12 hours ago, Alegandron said:

RR 234-231 BCE AR Heavy Denarius - Didrachm Apollo-Horse prancing Crawford 26-1 Sear 28 R

That one drives me crazy @Alegandron, it's so beautiful, and should really stand together with my two own heavy denarii !! 😄 

BTW, one of them reaches the OP requirements : it shows its age and I love it as it is

Roman republic, anonymous didrachm (heavy denarius) - Rome mint c. 240 BCE
No legend, Head of youthful Mars to right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet decorated with a griffin springing right
ROMA Head of a bridled horse to right. To left, sickle
6,33 gr - 19 mm - 6 h
Ref : Crawford # 25/1, RCV # 26, RBW # 38, RSC # 34, Sydenham # 24 Albert # 50

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2 hours ago, JayAg47 said:

Finally added an aureus. My pride and joy! 

Now you have me really jealous !

Very nice addition, and the wear is even enough to not distract from the coin. I have yet (after 50 years of collecting) to get my first aureus.

The closest I can contribute with will be electrum :

Bosporan kingdom – El stater, dated 491 (194-195 CE)
BACIΛΕωC CAVPOMATOV (anticlockwise). Draped and diademed bust of Sauromates II right
Laureate head of Septimius Severus right. Star in right field. Retrograd VPA at exergue (year 491)
7,69 gr – 20 mm
Ref : MacDonald # 502/2, Sear # 5476 var, RPC IV.1 # 3818-3820

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Nice acquisition.

I too have a "poor man's version" of a Brutus coin

M. Junius Brutus, Denarius - Rome mint, 54 BCE. 
BRVTVS Bearded head of L. Junius Brutus to right
AHALA Bearded head of C. Servilius Ahala to right
Silver, 19 mm - 3.48 g - 6 h
Ref : RCV # 398, RSC, Junia # 30, Babelon (Junia) # 31. Crawford # 433/2. RBW # 1543. Sydenham # 907.

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23 hours ago, David Atherton said:

Does anyone remember when Roma was on VCoins?

Sure. I think the only time I bought from them was off of Vcoins, more than a decade ago

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On 4/30/2024 at 10:22 PM, Broucheion said:

I once had a dealer say that rarity was a relative term because “there are only 3 known specimens of that coin, but the two people who collect that issue already had one.”

Absolutely. I have several coins from the Dombes principality about which no one on earth would give a shit (apart from me), including two unique to date gold ones, that would make me a millionaire were they 19th century US

And I'm glad no one cares, as I couldn't aford them otherwise

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1 hour ago, Broucheion said:

Next: Any Alexandrian bronze.

Ptolemy II Philadelphos : Obol (Bronze), Alexandria, circa 260-246 BC.
Diademed head of the deified Alexander III to right, wearing elephant skin headdress and aegis around his neck, and with horn of Ammon on his forehead.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ Eagle with open wings standing left on thunderbolt ; between the eagle's legs, Λ.
24 mm, 10.43 g, 1 h
Ref : Lorber # B250, Sear # 7780v.

Next : elephant skin headdress

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Funny !

Here's a scarce one semis

Trajan Decius, Semis - Rome mint, AD 249-250
IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG Laureate and draped bust right
Mars standing left, holding spear and shield. S|C in field
19 mm, 4,71 gr
Ref : RIC # 128, Cohen # 102, RCV # 9433

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4 minutes ago, Shea19 said:

Next: Pietas

Theodora, AE4 - Posthumous issue under the reigns of the sons of Constantine the great
Trier mint, 2nd officina
FL MAX THEODORAE AVG, draped and diademed bust right
PIETAS ROMANA, Pietas standing holding child. TRS at exergue
1.54 gr
Ref : Cohen # 4, Roman coins # 3911

Next : 4th century

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The item I'll write about is both not coin related AND coin related.

During the first half of the 40's in then occupied Corsica, while there was a shortage of about everything, my grandad built a kind of weird tool to cut out stripes of pasta in order to get tagliatelle in the end. Nowadays you would use something like that for your DIY tagliatelle :

Back then he had the brilliant idea to save 20 holed 25 cts coin that were in use at the moment, like the one below

Then he had to wash them (hopefully), file them to have them sharp enough to cut pasta and arrange them as follows

I still have it with me, together with the sestertius he found at Verdun battle (pretty sure he wasn't the one who shot @DonnaML's grandad 🙂 , and he got shot himself during that battle).

I swear I've never used that "thing" to cook !

... and I made sure there's no key date in it (they would be ruined anyway 😄 )

Bon appétit !

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7 minutes ago, ambr0zie said:

Next - Diocletian

Diocletian, Follis - Alexandria mint, 2nd officina, c. 304-305 CE
IMP C DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG, Laureate bust of Diocletianus right
IOVI CONS CAES, Jupiter standing left, holding victory and spear. B in right field S | P in lower field, ALE at exergue
11.21 gr
Ref : Cohen # 173, RCV # 12805 (180), RIC VI # 41

Next : tetrarchial. Bonus point for a deep chocolate patina like the above (I love chocolate !)

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The coin is excellent @CPK and your discoveries about it fascinating. And beautiful picture BTW !

I can't but post again my own Commodus sestertius (sorry folks for those who have already seen it so many times)

Commodus, Sestertius -  Rome mint, 192 CE
L AEL AVREL CO---MM AVG P FEL, Laureate head of Commodus right
HERCVLI ROMANO AVG, Hercules facing, head left, holding club and lion's skin, resting on trophy. SC in field
21,01 gr
Ref : RCV #5752, Cohen #203, BMC # 314. RIC # 640.

This is the very first roman coin I have ever possessed, gift from my grand father who found it digging a trench at Verdun battle during WWI

The following comment is taken from the description of a similar example (in far much better condition) in NAC auction 54, # 477 :
Few Roman coins excite as much commentary as those of Commodus, which show him possessed of Hercules. Not only do they present an extraordinary image, but they offer incontrovertible support to the literary record. The reports of Commodus’ megalomania and infatuation with Hercules are so alarming and fanciful that if the numismatic record was not there to confirm, modern historians would almost certainly regard the literary record as an absurd version of affairs, much in the way reports of Tiberius’ depraved behaviour on Capri are considered to be callous exaggerations. Faced with such rich and diverse evidence, there can be no question that late in his life Commodus believed that Hercules was his divine patron. Indeed, he worshipped the demigod so intensely that he renamed the month of September after him, and he eventually came to believe himself to be an incarnation of the mythological hero. By tradition, Hercules had fashioned his knotted club from a wild olive tree that he tore from the soil of Mount Helicon and subsequently used to kill the lion of Cithaeron when he was only 18 years old. Probably the most familiar account of his bow and arrows was his shooting of the Stymphalian birds while fulfilling his sixth labour. The reverse inscription HERCVLI ROMANO AVG (‘to the August Roman Hercules’) makes the coin all the more interesting, especially when put into context with those of contemporary coins inscribed HERCVLI COMMODO AVG, which amounts to a dedication ‘to Hercules Commodus Augustus’.

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On 4/26/2024 at 3:12 AM, Valentinian said:

Some coins of Roman Alexandria are attributed to the Rome mint:


Severus Alexander, Roman style Alexandria tetradrachm
28-25 mm. 13.89 grams. Year 5
Obverse legend: A KAI M AVP CEOVHR AΛEΞANΔPOC EVCEB 
L ΠEMΠTOY MAMEA CEB, bust of his mother Julia Mamaea right
Fifth year. Mamaea Augusta 
Sear II 8134. 

I have a web page on the unusual Alexandrian coins of "year 5" of Severus Alexander.
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/SevAlex/

I hope this thread continues with members showing Roman provincial coins of Severus Alexander. 

I've learned that very recently, when I posted the coin below and @Valentinian pointed me to his excellent web page

Severe Alexandre ( 222 - 235) - Tétradrachme de l'atelier d'Alexandrie, AD 225-226 
A KAI M AYΡ CЄOΥΗΡ ΑΛЄΞΑΝΔΡΟC ЄΥCЄΒ, Buste lauré et drapé à droite vu par l'arrière
L ΠЄΜΠΤΟΥ (5° année de règne), Serapis debout, la tête à gauche, vetu de la Kalathos, levant la main droite et tenant dans sa main gauche un sceptre.
28 mm - 13.47gr - 12 h
Ref : Emmett # 3134/5 (R1), Kampmann # 62.70, RPC VI online # 10333 (temporary), Dattari (Savio) # 4357
Provenance : Leu webauction # 29/1523
Pour aller plus loin et en apprendre un peu plus sur ce type inhabituel (en style, en diametre, en légende), voir ici

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7 hours ago, Octavius said:

next , Sol....

Not sure of the intended meaning of "sol" 😄 but here's 1 Sol

Convention - Sol aux balances 1793 D• (Atelier de Dijon)
REPUBLIQUE FRANCOISE, la table de la loi, avec gravé LES HOMMES SONT EGAUX DEVANT LA LOI en six lignes, de part et d'autre une grappe de raisin et des epis de blé, a l'exergue L'AN II
LIBERTE EGALITE, balance surmontée d'un bonnet phrygien, entourée d'une couronne de chêne, au centre I . S . a l'exergue D. 1793 en deux lignes
11,90 gr - 29 mm
Ref : Gadoury 2003 # 19

Next : scales

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Some shots taken in our garden, and the hill seen from our garden late afternoon in autumn

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Good idea for a thread. I don't usually upgrade, since I try to buy (as much as possible) the right coin in first place. Well, of course it's not always possible

Here's a modest Gordian III denarius :

That has been replaced by the following, much, much better, but also ex @Severus Alexander's collection : a real gem

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Terrific examples so far all along this thread. I particularily like the OP for its portrait of young Nero.

Here's a young portrait of the rather nice dude he was then, before, well the rest of the story

Neron Cesar (25/02/50-13/10/54) - Hemiassarion de l'atelier de Thyateira (Lydie), 50-54 CE
NЄΡΩN KΛAY[ΔIOC] KAICAP ΓЄP, Buste drapé de Neron tête nue à droite
ΘYAT-ЄIPH/NΩ-N, Francisque
17 mm - 3.54 g - 1 h
Ref : GRPC Lydia # 143. RPC I # 2381

Did you know Victory was playing in the NBA ?

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Very cool boxes !

My "N" version of the coin. No box here

Napoleon I° Empereur - Décime 1814BB - Monnaie obsidionnale - Atelier de Strasbourg (BB)
N couronnée dans une couronne de chêne
UN / DECIME. /1814. / BB en quatre lignes dans une couronne de chêne
Tranche inscrite DIEU PROTEGE LA FRANCE
32 mm - 21 gr
Ref : Le Franc 10 # 131/1 (180261 ex.)

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5 hours ago, DonnaML said:

What did people keep inside them? Snuff?

Gold coins I guess 

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Nice ones Brian, thanks for sharing them.

By the way, Nice to see you posting 😀

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Fabulous coin indeed. 

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1 hour ago, maridvnvm said:

I have to wonder looking at the range of portraits illustrated here whether anyone has created a progression of portraits of Severus Alexander based on the progression of facial hair, from sideburns through to bearded. I know that this has been done for Geta as Augustus....

Interesting idea. I couldn't do that myself, having only two denarii of his. The one I've shown on page # 1 was minted 232 CE, while the following was struck earlier, 225 CE, showing a much more juvenile portrait :

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Excellent example @CPK, and others as well

A favorite Sev-Al of mine 

As stated above, the second quarter of the third century was a kind of golden age for celators. Here are some other examples

13 hours ago, Amarmur said:

I still can't find a decent portrait of Vespasian on a denarius.

And, yes, decent portraits of Vespasian can be found 😉 

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Despite Tiberius coinage being on the boring side with very few different types, those pictures prove a high diversity in portrait styles

Mine :

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12 hours ago, John Conduitt said:

More ancient on modern.

And here's what it refers to :

Next : follow up with ancient design on modern coins

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