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Last September I was at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France. It was part of a two week vacay in Europe. I saw the Patera of Rennes but knew nothing about its rather more colorful history. This is my pic taken at the time

Ar Denarius of Augustus 19 BC Rome P. Petronius Turpilanus Moneyer Obv Head of Augustus right Rv Crescent and star. RIC 300 4.08 grms 18 mm Photo by W. Hansen This coin represents a rather short lived "Republican Revival" seen on the silver coins of Rome. For a few year the moneyers were allowed to strike designs based on the family histories rather than simply striking coins with just the program of Augustus.

Ar Denarius of Marc Antony and Octavian 41 BC Mint moving with Antony Obv Head of Antony right. Rv Head of Octavian right, Crawford 517/2 CRI 243 3.83 grms 18 mm Photo by W. Hansen This coin is part of a series which advertises the alliance between Antony and Octavian. Though the obvious picture is that of Antony showing his support for Octavian one can see a somewhat more nuanced subtle message. Antony is depicted as a mature individual with strong masculine features. His eye is alert he has a strong jutting chin confident expression and a strong neck highlighted by an Adam's apple. On the other hand Octavian is depicted with a small receding chin and a thin feminine neck with no Adam's apple. It seems clear that Antony is presenting himself as the more capable of the pair.

I will try again. Unfortunately I do not have the Stockholm SNG so I cannot confirm or deny the attribution. Unlike most of the successor kingdoms which have had rather extensive studies of their coinages (I am referring to the Seleukid Coins (SC) and the Coinage of the Ptolemaic Empire CPE) Among others ) the Kingdom of Thrace or Lysimachos has not been studied all that much over the last few decades. The last attempt to organize the coinage of Lysimachos was done by Margaret Thompson back in 1968 and published in the Essays Robinson. I believe this article may have been in preparation for a book but that did not happen. I do not know how readily available the article in Essays Robinson is. This article is an extremity abbreviated look at the coinage and many types including the one listed above were omitted. She does list the types with the cornucopia in the left field but not with the letter lambda on the throne. Thus when cataloging a coin in this series people have been forced to use other sources such as the Stockholm SNG as a reference. On the whole I would be less concerned about the coin being a die match than perhaps being the same type. My coin of Lysimachos Ar Tetradrachm of Lysimachos Lampsakos 297/6-282/1 BC Obv Head of Alexzander the Great right diademed with horn of Ammon Rv Athen seated left holding Nike who is seen in the act of crowning the name Lysimachos. HGC 1750b Thompson 61a 17.22 grms 30mm Photo by W. Hansen I should note that the Thompson article notes that 61 can either have the MT monogram with either a crescent or a star, Mine has the crescent hense the "a".

I got up early, much too early for bidding on my lot. Decided I needed a nap and slept through the coin that I was interested in. I will say the nap was good.

In response to @Limes Yes your coin is drachm struck at Kolophon circa 310-301 BC. It is Price 1797 In coin archives one can find something like 70 of these coins listed. I do plan to discuss the mint a Kolophon in my thread sometime in the future. Nice coin

Ar Denarius of Julius Caesar 49 BC Obv Elephant advancing right trampling on serpent. Rv Priestly implements Crawford 443/1 3.82 grms 19 mm Photo by W. Hansen I guess we could see this issue as the lead off single of the Imperatorial series.

Just to be clear THIS IS NO LONGER MY COIN For many years I owned this coin Constantine I Ae Follis Alexandria 325-326 AD Obv Head right laureate Rv Campgate RIC 34 18 mm 3.5 grms What always attracted me to this coin is the large full facing eye which dominates this image. It is as if Constantine is looking directly at the viewer. The eye appears even bigger when compared to the very tiny mouth,

Ar Denarius of C. Hostidius Geta 68 BC Obv Bust of Diana Right bow and bow case behind. Rv Boar standing right being harried by hound. Crawford 407/1 3.99 grms 20 mm Photo by W. Hansen This I think is one of the more attractive issues struck during this period. The reverse features a boar at bay, already pierced by one spear and being harried by a hound. We know very little about Geta thus it is difficult to assess the meaning behind these types. One interesting theory is the image on the reverse depicts the hunt for the Calydonian boar, a fearsome animal the object of a hunt that predates the Trojan War. It is thought that many cities on the italian Adriatic were founded by the victor of that hunt Diomedes. If this is true then Geta in an effort to further his political ambitions may be hinting at the origins of his family

My Answers 1. Very unlikely, especially if that is the only additional selling feature of the coin. 2. I may. but that might depend on how key the coin is to me. What I have done in the past is; should I find a coin I like but I think is too expensive .... I put it on my "rot list" and let it sit there for a few months. Then I will call and see if the dealer is interested in making some concessions. 3. Most likely not. It would depend on the reasons I like B more than A. Also I tend to monitor auctions when ever possible. If it becomes clear that B is going beyond my limit, then I may look at A 4. Most likely not. In the past I have purchased sestertii with the same reverses as denarii currently in my collection. I generally sell the denarii.

Ar Denarius of C. Licinius Macer 84 BC Obv. Diademed Bust of Vejovis left preparing to hurl a thunderbolt with his right hand. Rv Minerva driving a galloping quadriga right Crawford 354/1 3.82 grms 20 mm Photo by W. Hansen This god seems to combine some of the attributes of Apollo with that of Jupiter.

Actually got one (I think as the price realized hit my max at the last second or so.) One of @Julius Germanicus coins. I got this one. I liked this coin. Sestertii of Postumus are rarely very nice and this one is better than most. Yesterday I bid on three coins from the "Hadrian" collection (Two Provincial tetradrachms and One eastern denarius) and got stomped.

Ar Denarius of M. Porcius Cato 89 BC Obv Draped bust of Female right Rv Victory seated right Crawford 343/1b 3.90 grms 19 mm Photo by W. Hansen The reverse probably refers to a shrine to Victory built by an ancestor.

Ar Denarius of L. Memmius Galeria 106 BC Obv Head of Saturn left laureate Rv Venus driving biga right being crowned by Victory, Crawford 313 3.97 grms 19 mm Photo by W. Hansen

AR Denarius of M. Iunius Obv Helmeted head of Roma right behind head of donkey. Rv on horseback right charging with leveled lances. RIC 220/1 4.13 grms 17 mm Photo by W. Hansen The head of a donkey.... is Iunius making a political statement?

Yes Happy Independence Day. Half my US collection Seated Liberty Dollar New Orleans Mint 1860. (I always liked the design of this coin)

Anonymous Av 20 Asses Sicilian Mint 211-210 BC Obv Helmeted head of bearded Mars right. Rv Eagle standing on thunderbolt right below corn ear. Crawford 72/2 RBW 303 1.11 grms 11 mm Photo by W. Hansen This is the smallest denomination of a gold coinage instituted by the Romans during the Second Punic War. Like the Denarius it is marked thus making in a 20 As coin or a double denarius.

Anonymous Ar Quadrigatus 225-214 BC Obv Janiform head of the Dioscuri Rv Juppiter about ready to hurl a thunderbolt being driven by Victory in a quadriga right. Crawford 28/3 6.70 grms 22 mm Photo by W. Hansen The quadrigatus was the most heavily produced silver coin struck by the Romans prior to the introduction of the denarius. This coin is in a style that is outside that of the main issue of the quadrigatus, and while Crawford still gives this series to the mint of Rome it is possible that this coin was minted outside of the city limits.

I called in a favor and got this image Hope it is the right one.

Probably a lack of logistics. In order to move anywhere they would need fuel food and ammunition. I would not be surprised if the Russian military only supplied these guys with only the bare minimum for operational requirements. Thus in very short order the 30,000 men (if the numbers are accurate) would be not much more than a badly armed mob.

Very interesting coin. @Kaleun96 I do believe it would be possible that a coin struck in Amphipolis circa 331 BC could have been seen by a die cutter at Damaskos circa 325 BC and possibly copied. Once the war with Sparta was concluded many of the men hired by Antipater would probably be looking for employment elsewhere and there was a lot of potential in the newly conquered territories of the east. However However I am am somewhat concerned about the treatment of the eye. I have only one coin of Alexander from the mint of Damaskos Alexander III Ar Tetradrachm Damaskos 326-323 BC. Obv Head of beardless Herakles right wearing Lions skin headdress, Rv Zeus Aetophoros seated left holding eagle and scepter. HGC 910j Taylor Group 2.2.2. A11/P/1 This coin referenced 17.20 grms 25 mm. Photo by W. Hansen Taylor makes the hypothesis that this mint may have been in operation for about a year. it may have been a bit longer as the length of time needed to strike this coinage would require fairly intensive production. I tend to favor a slightly later date of circa 325-324BC as the production of coins from this mint would coincide with the return of the army from India. Interestingly only tetradrachms are known to have been struck at this mint,

Barcids in Spain Ar Quarter Shekel Carhago Nova 221-209 BC Obv Beardless head of Melkart laureate left with club behind. Rv Elephant advancing right MHC 47 1.65 grms 14 mm Photo by W. Hansen The image of Melkart on this coin is often cited as being a portrait of Hannibal. It might be, but if it is he has adopted some of the adjunct symbols of the god Herakles. Interestingly the reverse features the image of the animal Hannibal is most associated with the elephant

Congrats. You actually got one of my coins which I had placed in CNG E auction 540 Lot 326. This is my pic of that coin Photo by W. Hansen Good to see that it remains in the community

t Last week I had embarked on a bit of an experiment. I wanted to see if after an extended forced hiatus caused by the pandemic I was capable of handling a long distance drive. So I chose two target destinations that were roughly 14 to 15 hours from home. The first was Vancouver and I found to my intense relief that it was little problem. The second drive was somewhat more challenging. It involved about 10 hours on winding mountain roads. Ugggh no fun. However while I was at both destinations I also was allowed to peruse a large number of FPL's and auction cats that can not be found on line. I will say that before I embarked on this trek I had thought of all the FPLs and auction cats ever printed that there were something like 20% could be found on line. I now believe that number is perhaps 1-2%. However enough of that. Back in September of 1991 after a rather uncomfortable night sleeping in a car near their headquarters I was sitting in the viewing room of Munzen& Medaillen then located in Basel Switzerland, I had saved money for about 2 years and decided I would like to purchase an aureus. I asked to see what they had in shop and they brought out 5 all of Antoninus Pius. I looked them over carefully and found this one. Aureus of Antoninus Pius 152-153 AD Obv Head right laureate Rv Pius togate standing left holding globe in his outstretched right hand. RIC 226 7.28 grms 20 mm Photo by W. Hansen When I was sitting there I had actually hoped for somebody other than Pius. But I was there, they were there and more importantly I had the money to purchase. I liked this coin. It had the best combination of grade, style and price of all of them so after a lot of negotiations which included paying in multiple currencies I managed to purchase the coin. At the time that is all that I knew. When I got home I did check the M & M FPL to see if my coin was illustrated but it wasn't so I simply assumed that they did not list it because it had already been sold. That is more or less how things remained for many years. However about 5 or 6 years ago I began to realize that the issue of pedigrees might impact the salability of my coins. As this coin had nothing but my memory of it being purchased, I realized that while I knew it was the truth it was not provable. About a year ago I was asked to do a lecture in a neighboring city on guess what .... The Lifetime Coins of Alexander. I was unable to go last year but made a concerted effort to do so a few weeks ago. From there I went into the US to visit a friend. Both the organizer of the talk and my friend had prodigious collections of Auction cats and FPLs. While going through some FPL's issued by Munzen & Medaillen (Basel) that were issued in 1991 I found my coin. It was no 27 in Liste 541. Now where did they get it from??? Never ending. Show any coins of Antoninus Pius and /or any new discoveries of pedigrees.

Fathers Day Perhaps one of the more unpleasant ones. Sestertius of Septimius Severus 195-196 AD Obv Bust right laureate drapery on far shoulder. Rv Fortuna standing left holding rudder and cornucopia RIC 706 26.26 grms 32 mm Photo by W. Hansen Yes one of the more ruthless dads. Always remember his advise to his two children Love each other enrich the army.... despise the rest. Charming