CPK

It's been a treat seeing you upload your collection over at FORVM @Sebastian. You have an exceptional collection both in quantity and quality.

2 hours ago, Victrix said:

Sweet coin! I do wonder how you came to the conclusion that CONCORDIA PROVINCIARVM issue share the same obverse dies as yours. As far as I know the salus humani  were minted in Rome and the CONCORDIA PROVINCIARVM in Tarraco. I might be missing something :P.

This coin is an obverse die match to mine:
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=10054271

"Galba, 68-69. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.16 g, 6 h), Rome, 68. Laureate head of Galba to left. Rev. CONCORDIA PROVINCIARVM Concordia standing left, holding branch in her right hand and cornucopia in her left. BMC 2. Cohen 42. RIC 183. Light scratches, and a scrape on the reverse, otherwise, good very fine.
From the Eliasson collection, acquired in March 1981."

Most of the Concordia types were struck in Spain or Gaul, but according to RIC there were a few struck in Rome as well.

12 minutes ago, Ancient Coin Hunter said:

The entire zodiac series of Antoninus Pius struck at Alexandria. So far I've bid on an Aries and a Leo and have been completely outgunned. There were a few examples in the Leu auction featuring the Rhakotis collection and I bid on them only to see the prices rise by thousands of dollars in the last couple of minutes.

The dream coin of this series is the coin that features the entire zodiac, which interestingly enough, resembles the zodiac painted on the ceiling at the Temple of Hathor at Denderah. So there is a real archaeological connection from the time. This temple was extensively embellished during the late Ptolemaic and Roman eras. They seemingly never come up for sale and the last example I saw (in VG condition) sold for around $8,000.

 

(PDF) The Egyptian "Zodiac Coins" of Antoninus Pius and the Sothic Cycle | Nick Vaneerdewegh - Academia.edu

A Leo example (sold, of course)

 

 

This one sold last year. I had it on my watch list, though I was more interested in just seeing what it brought than actually bidding on it. Hammered for 910 EUR:

biddr - cgb.fr, Live Auction June 2023, lot 809650. ANTONINUS PIUS Type: Drachma Date: year 8 Mint name / Town: Alexandria, Egypt...

7 hours ago, Ancient Aussie said:

WOW what a fantastic coin, one I would dearly love myself. Sorry you missed, I know how you must feel. How much did it hammer for?

About 300 USD. That's what hurts - it wasn't out of my budget at all. Though who knows how much higher the other bidder was prepared to go.

This one is still painful to think about, almost exactly one year ago. I lost the opportunity to acquire an extremely rare and interesting architectural type As of Septimius Severus. Thought my pre-bid was high enough, and there didn't seem to be much interest, but I was outbid. I couldn't find another example anywhere online. 

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=10987719

Nice coins! Even though I don't generally collect Byzantine coins I can see why you went for that Justin I. 

Neither looks artificial to me.

Great coin - love the Minerva on the reverse!

I almost always prefer toning on my silver - preferably, what is called 'old cabinet' toning. Iridescent toning can be really attractive too, but is easily overdone.

Here's a coin that would look worse (IMO) if it were shiny blast-white:

GREAT BRITAIN, King George II (1727-1760)
AR Shilling (26.08mm, 6.00g, 6h)
Dated 1745. Tower of London mint
Obverse: GEORGIUS · II · DEI · GRATIA ·, laureate, draped, and cuirassed old bust of King George II left; LIMA below
Reverse: ·M·B·F·ET H·REX· F·D·B ET·L·D·S·R·I A·T·ET·E· 17-45 (date), crowned cruciform coats-of-arms of England and France, Scotland, Ireland, and Hanover around rayed central Garter star
References: Numista 13121
Attractive old cabinet toning.
This coin was struck from silver captured from the Spanish treasure galleon Nuestra Señora de Cavadonga, off the coast of Peru in 1743. The British warship Centurion, commanded by Commodore George Anson, encountered the treasure ship as it left the port of Lima. After an intense, 90-minute battle, the Spanish vessel surrendered. In its hold were more than 1.3 million silver 8-reale coins, plus an additional 35,000 ounces of silver bullion. When Anson brought the plunder back to England, it was decided to use the captured silver for minting coins, each of which was stamped with the word "LIMA" on the obverse to commemorate the great victory.

On 5/13/2024 at 6:11 PM, kirispupis said:

...After Althepos came Saron, who was on the verge of a tremendous upheaval to ancient mythology when he asked Hephaistos to forge nine rings of power. However, what Saron had in cunning, he lacked in common sense. One day while hunting a doe, it ran into the water and Saron gave chase. The doe kept going farther and farther, so Saron drowned and Hephaistos didn't know what to do with all those rings, especially since he'd completed all the engravings, so he just found the guy with the closest name...

Hahaha! This made me laugh. 🤣

I thoroughly enjoy your entertaining write-ups @kirispupis - they're both fun and informative. Please keep 'em coming!

Nice coins, too. 😉

That cameo is beautiful! 

Supposedly, I'm also descended from - or at least related to - William Bradford. Long-lost cousins, eh? 😉

Happy birthday FF! I wish you many more trips around Sol. 🙂

I think this is my only coin with Sol (at least, the only one I've photographed.)

SEVERUS ALEXANDER, AD 222-235
AR Denarius (20.28mm, 3.95g, 6h)
Struck AD 233. Rome mint
Obverse: IMP ALEXANDER PIVS AVG, laureate and draped bust of Severus Alexander right
Reverse: P M TR P XII COS III P P, Sol, radiate with cloak over left shoulder, advancing left, holding whip in left hand and raising right hand
References: RIC IV 120, RCV 7915
A superb specimen, with lovely old cabinet toning, sharply struck on a broad and heavy flan.

And just for you, here is a coin with Victory: 😉

TRAJAN, AD 98-117
AE Sestertius (34.59mm, 24.59g, 5h)
Struck AD 103-111. Rome mint
Obverse: IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, laureate head of Trajan right, slight drapery on far shoulder
Reverse: SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI, Victory, draped, stepping left holding palm in left hand and with right hand setting a trophy upright left; trophy has two oblong shields at base; S C in exergue
References: RIC II 523
Lightly toned orichalcum color.

Now THAT would be something to find metal detecting! How about it, @galba68? 😄

If one of Trajan's soldiers found that hoard in a plundered temple, he might be able to buy, say, a complete set of top-quality arms and armor, plus a good mount, and still have some left over for drinking and gambling.

Nice scores!

I enjoy coins primarily for their historical significance and aesthetic appeal, so I'd say I lean more towards the "collector" end.

18 minutes ago, Shea19 said:

..(which of course they paired with the oldest reverse die they could find).
 

It almost seems like they went out of their way to do this. 🤔

That is a great portrait!

That medal is actually very well-done! Scale it down a bit and it could pass for a Paduan.

That is definitely a stand-out portrait among a sea of mediocre ones, @Claudius_Gothicus, proving that there was still artistic talent to be found even in those chaotic times!

Though they are quite rare, the middle AE's of Gallienus also feature some impressive portraiture. I would love to add one like this to my collection:

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=5050268

"Gallienus Æ As. Rome, AD 253. IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / VOTIS DECENNALIBVS SC in four lines within laurel wreath. Cf. RIC 250 (Sestertius); MIR 36, 40gg. 10.22g, 24mm, 1h.
Very Fine. Scarce.
From the collection of V.B., United Kingdom."

Wow, impressive coin and provenance!

I like some more than others, but I'm not really ashamed of any of them.

Thank you everyone! It really is interesting seeing the wide variety of Galba portraits - makes me wonder what the man really looked like. 🙂 

17 hours ago, Finn235 said:

Superb example!

Mine is a right-facing portrait, but same reverse - possibly even a die match - I can't quite tell. Pulled this one out of a Naumann lot of "better" type coins a number of years ago.

It is indeed a reverse die match. Nice coin!

9 hours ago, DonnaML said:

Congratulations, @CPK. Here's my only Galba denarius. I really like the portrait.

Galba AR Denarius, Aug-Oct 68 AD Rome Mint. Obv. Bare head right, IMP SER GALBA AVG / Rev. S P Q R/ O • B/ C S [OB CS = OB CIVES SERVATOS (For Saving the Citizens)] in three lines within oak wreath. RIC I 167, RSC II 287, Sear RCV I 2109 (ill.). 18.33 mm., 3.29 g. Purchased from Marc R. Breitsprecher, April 7, 2020.

That's a very solid, mid-reign portrait - a beautiful coin!

5 hours ago, lordmarcovan said:

Very wholesome looking example, @CPK!

Nice portrait, decent centering, and Galba's name is well placed on the flan.

I recently added Galba to my Twelve Caesars set, with this middling example from Ritter.

Nicely styled portrait and an interesting reverse type, too! 👍

40 minutes ago, GERMANICVS said:

These are the Galba denarii in my collection. I am posting these just to compare the wide range of bust styles found in Galba's denarii. See how much they vary. 

@CPK 's new denarius and also that posted by @Limes are specially distinct, in my opinion.

 

 

Wow that does illustrate the variety! The top and bottom portraits remind me more of the standard Roman style, whereas the middle portrait is quite distinctive and individual. Thanks for posting!

Yes we saw them here too, in central MO! A beautiful sight. Crazy that you got to see it even farther south!

Last Wednesday we experienced some truly torrential rainfall - got about 5" of rain in an hour and a half. Plus hail - not terribly large, but more than I've ever experienced. There was some major flash flooding throughout the area. Later that evening, we walked down the road to a bridge and saw that the water had been over the guard rails - probably about 10' above the water level by then, which was still very high. There were quite a few places where it had scoured the gravel road surface clean down to the 6" base layer, and even washed some of that out, too, leaving huge drifts of gravel/sand out in the middle of the fields.

A lovely coin @lordmarcovan and one I had my eye on as well (glad you got it though, as it was probably a bit much for my budget at the moment 😉 )

As the dealer says, a nice problem-free example, which isn't as common as it should be on these coins. Incidentally, the dealer's attribution is off. It's RIC I 54, a scarcer variant with a different obverse legend.

That's a nice one @kirispupis - congrats!

My, Claudius: 😉

CLAUDIUS, AD 41-54
AE As (29.19mm, 10.34g, 6h)
Struck AD 50-54. Rome mint
Obverse: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP P P, bare head of Claudius left
Reverse: LIBERTAS AVGVSTA S C, Libertas standing facing, head right, holding pileus in right hand and extending left
References: RIC I 113, RCV 1860
Smooth dark brown patina. Well-centered and struck, with an excellent portrait in fine style. Detailed reverse.
Ex Galata Coins, Feb. 1979