CPK

1 minute ago, Hrefn said:

Just received an invoice from Roma from the latest E-auction confirming they are ceasing operation May 24th.  It is official.  

The whole business is shutting down, or just the e-auctions?

Nice coin with a great patina!

21 minutes ago, ominus1 said:

..for a long time i was under the prejudice view that less expensive coins weren't forged ....but that was wrong and i would reckon we must assume that  a percentage of our own collections stand a good chance of being forged ..

Depressing thought.

2 hours ago, Qcumbor said:

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’.

Q

Thanks Qcumbor!

And thanks for posting your coin - I for one will never get tired of seeing it and the story behind it! 👍

A great trio @Furryfrog02! That Titus especially!

Congratulations on a major collection score! Funny, I was also looking into coins from Cyprus just recently - although the period I'm interested in is much later, early Roman times.

Becker was certainly an accomplished artist, if a dishonest one! Beautiful coin, @KenDorney.

Rarity with ancients is difficult to define. Going with a number count of specimens found in online databases like ACSearch and Coryssa gives a pretty good idea, but that can be skewed, as you pointed out. A rare coin type that is very popular often shows up more often in archives, references, etc. simply because more effort is made to acquire them.

However I would say that your coin is rare. Partly because those hammer prices indicate that it isn't really an obscure type, i.e. that there are enough people who actively pursue them to bring them to the market and drive prices up pretty high. And 19 specimens total, across archived sales history and references, isn't very many at all. Congrats on the acquisition!

Great first gold @ambr0zie! Byzantine gold is about as affordable as you can get, and they're chock full of history and interest. I don't know enough to comment on the official vs. Germanic issue, but it's a very nice specimen either way, with great detail!

12 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

How cool!  I bought a Trebonianus Sestertius from the VOTA collection, for the patina.

That's very cool to have a Sear plate coin.  Maybe Jeff Clark was an important collector?  Yours also has a pretty nice patina.

You've been sticking to your goal of getting good quality coins.  I've been in the budget gold pool, which are low-grade by AV standards, but still enjoyable and an upgrade to little nummi.

I don't have many pictured coins of Commodus, and very few in general.  I don't really collect the Antonines that much.

The only pictured ones I have are a couple of low-grade ones with nice patinas.  Many times I'll buy a coin for the patina and the type which it's on is fairly irrelevant.   I didn't copy and paste the platform scene one.

Commodus
� Sestertius
22.96 g / 32 mm

M COMM ANTON AVG PIVS BRIT
Laureate head right
R/ VOTA SVSCEP DECEN PM TRP VIIII IMP VII COS IIII PP  S-C
Commodus sacrifying over tripod left

C.988 (6 fr), RIC.441
scratch on reverse
green patina

Nice coin, and a great patina! That's the same type as mine, just a different denomination and year (TR P VIIII instead of X.)

9 hours ago, Curtisimo said:

Wonderful coin Connor and congratulations on the truly awesome discovery! You are on a roll with great additions lately.

Several of my Commodus coins have special provenances. I posted about my newest provenance discovery here.

This coin is special because it came from the collection of my friend Jamesicus who passed away and is still very missed.

Roman Empire
Commodus (AD 177-192)
AR Denarius, Rome mint, struck ca. AD 187
Dia.: 18 mm
Wt.: 2.77 g
Obv.: M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT; Laureate bust right
Rev.: AVCT PIET P M TR P XII IMP VIII COS V P P; Pietas standing left, sacrificing over altar with incense and patera, holding box.
Ref.: RIC III 146, scarce
Ex James Pickering Collection of Britannic Coinage; AMCC 1, lot 158 (Dec. 1, 2018)

This coin is begging for more research. It was purchased in the 1960s from Prof. Luigi De Nicola. I suspect it is published in one of his fixed price lists but I currently don’t have access to any of his lists and I have not come across any for sale. Some day I’ll find it though.

Roman Empire
Commodus (AD 177-192)
AR Denarius, Rome mint, struck ca. AD 192
Dia.: 17 mm
Wt.: 2.66 g
Obv.: L AEL AVREL COMMA VG P FEL; Commodus bust right wearing lion skin on head.
Rev.: HER-CVL RO-MAN AV-GV; Club in wreath
Ref.: RIC III 251, Scarce
Ex W.F. Stoeckin Collection, Amriswil (1888-1975†), acquired in the 1960s from Prof. Luigi De Nicola (Rome), Obolos 9, lot 329 (March 25, 2018)

Thanks Curtis! Great coins & provenances, especially the Commodus-as-Hercules denarius - that is some eye-catching toning on the reverse! 🤩

4 hours ago, Marsyas Mike said:

Great coin and great sleuthing, @CPK.  I really like the coins of Commodus - I do not have the as/dupondius, but I do have a sestertius of this VOT type.  The condition is poor, so I am unsure of the attribution because I cannot make out the TRP number. 

Commodus  Æ Sestertius (c. 184-185 A.D.) Rome Mint M COMMODVS ANTON AV[G PI]VS BRIT, laureate head r. / VOTA SVS[CEP DECEN P M TR P VIIII (or X?) IMP VII], [COS II]II PP in exergue, S-[C], Commodus standing l. at tripod. RIC III 441; BMCRE 552 note; Cohen RSC 988.  See notes. (21.03 grams / 29 mm) eBay Nov. 2018 $14.00 BIN  

 RIC 441c:  TRP VIIII 184 A.D.

RIC 454Aa:  TRP X 184-185 "

 Obverse die-match has unclear reverse, so I am not sure about VAuctions RIC 441 attribution. Die-Match Obverse:   VAuctions Auction 268; Lot 166; 18.08.2011

 Here is a VOT denarius from very late in his reign.  Promises, promises!

Commodus  Denarius (191-192 A.D.) Rome Mint L AEL AVREL COMM AVG P FEL, laureate head right / VOTA SOLV PRO SAL PR, Commodus standing left, sacrificing out of a patera over tripod altar, prostrate bull left RIC 262; RSC 984; Sear 5725.  (2.60 grams / 17 mm) A-Z Aug. 14, 2017 $18.00

 

 

 

Thanks! Nice coins. I guess the vows were fulfilled by the time that denarius was struck, but it wasn't to last much longer! 

2 hours ago, Roman Collector said:

That is a gorgeous coin! It has a very well-executed portrait and a lovely patina. Frankly, I'm surprised it didn't fetch more attention at the NFA auction back in 1980, but the medium bronze denominations are often ignored, with the well-heeled collectors preferring pretty (by which I mean smoothed and tooled) sestertii. What a surprise provenance that one has!! 

While I haven't found a forgotten Sear provenance, I have researched coins only to see the same specimen in RPC. This first happened with a coin from Bizya:


Otacilia Severa, 244-249 CE.
Roman provincial Æ 23.5 mm, 6.89 gm, 7 h.
Thrace, Bizya, 244-249 CE.
Obv: M WTAKEIΛIA CEBHPA CEB, diademed and draped bust, right.
Rev: ΒΙΖVΗΝΩΝ, Artemis standing right, holding arrow and torch; stag at her feet.
Refs: Tachev, Bizija 5 (this coin); RPC VIII, (unassigned; ID 48718); Moushmov 3514; Sear GIC 3991; Varbanov 1592; Lindgren II 759; Jurukova 147; Mionnet Suppl 2, 193.
Notes: Double die-match to RPC specimen and to Lindgren II 759.

It turns out to be the same specimen illustrated in Tachev's Bizija, the plate of which was reproduced at RPC:

This one turned out to be an exemplar at RPC, too. I was researching the coin after its arrival in the mail and saw it was the same specimen as one illustrated in RPC.

Faustina II, 147-175 CE.
Roman provincial Æ double unit, 6.47 g, 20.5 mm, 6 h.
Thrace, Trajanopolis, 154-175 CE.
Obv: ΦΑVϹΤΕΙΝΑ ϹΕΒΑϹΤΗ, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: ΤΡΑΙΑΝΟΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ, Homonoia standing left, holding patera and cornucopiae.
Refs: RPC IV.1, 1931-4 (temporary; this coin); Corpus Nummorum 54271 and 3791; Moushmov 5000; Schönert-Geiß, MATT p. 163, nr. 16-17; von Aulock Phryg. II, 1484 (corr.).
Notes: Ex-Frank Sternberg Auction 25, lot 352, 25 November 1991.

The photo at RPC was cited from a Frank Sternberg auction from 1991.

Thanks Roman Collector! Yes I thought it interesting the hammer was half the estimate, but then again $100 in 1980 would be worth about $400 today. A decent amount of juice even for a nice portrait coin. Makes me wonder if the coin has any prior provenance history.

Great provincial coins, by the way - not just for the plate provenance but they're quite attractive by themselves!

That's a nice example of a historic type! Congrats!

An excellent specimen David! Congrats on acquiring such a rarity.

Been awhile since I was this excited about a coin! 😁

I was browsing the new inventory of a well-known dealer and saw an as of Commodus listed for sale. It was the excellent portrait which first caught my eye. I kept browsing other coins, but made a mental note to go back and take a closer look later.

(dealer photo)

In addition to the portrait, the coin is beautifully patinated. I also noticed that it was an interesting VOTA type, from the Jeff Clark VOTA Collection. As a collector of unusual as types, I did what I usually do when interested in a Roman coin – reach for the appropriate volume of Sear’s Roman Coins and Their Values and look it up.

My eyes nearly popped out when I saw this! 😮

Is that the same coin?? I could hardly believe it! The listing did not mention anything about it being a plate coin. Could I be mistaken? I scrutinized both coin images. No question about it – it was the same coin! How on earth could a Sear plate coin lose such a provenance?? No matter, that was enough to push me over the edge! I bought the coin.

Being so caught up in the excitement of discovering a plate coin, I hadn't noticed before that the rarity rating given in the dealer listing was 8/10. It's not even listed in RIC (that reference only recognizes this type as a dupondius.) There is one specimen in the British Museum collection, No. 566:

coin | British Museum

I did an exhaustive search on ACSearch and other archives but only found three other specimens. It was while searching Coryssa, the database created by our member @rasiel, that I came across this:

Coryssa - The Coin Auctions Database - Coryssa - The Coin Auctions Database

The same coin! Apparently, it was auctioned off by Numismatic Fine Arts on December 10, 1980. Turning to rnumis (thank you @rNumis!) I found the complete auction catalog. There was the coin – lot 537 – misdescribed as a dupondius, which hammered for $100 on a $200 estimate:

Ancient coins. Auction IX : 10 décembre 1980 / Numismatic Fine Arts | Gallica (bnf.fr)

How did this coin end up being illustrated in RCV? Thanks to a CT thread by our valued member @Curtis JJ, I learned that David Sear was a cataloguer for a number of NFA auctions, and used some of the coins in his RCV reference books. Check out the thread and Curtis's awesome Philip I plate coin here:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/finding-provenance.403741/page-2

So to make a long story short, I am now the proud owner of a Sear plate coin – which also happens to be an extremely rare type, has a terrific portrait, a beautiful patina, and an interesting collection provenance. Doesn’t get much better than that! 😁

Feel free to comment/post your own surprise plate coins, provenance discoveries, Commodus coins, or anything else!

COMMODUS, AD 180-192
AE As (24.84mm, 7.59g, 11h)
Struck AD 185. Rome mint
Obverse: M COMM ANTON AVG PIVS BRIT, laureate head of Commodus right
Reverse: VOT SVSC DEC P M TR P X IMP VII, Commodus, togate, standing left, sacrificing over tripod-altar; COS IIII P P in exergue, S C across fields
References: RIC - , BMC 566, RCV 5897 (this coin illustrated)
An extremely rare type, with a fine portrait and rich emerald patina. This coin is the illustrated plate coin in David R. Sear's popular reference series Roman Coins and Their Values (Vol. II, p. 411)
From the Jeff Clark VOTA Collection.

5 hours ago, Meander said:

Hi, not really my most recent purchase, but due to export licensing requirements in France I received this coin only 4 months after the auction. Still worth the wait. An issue of Trajan honoring Nerva and Trajan's father on the reverse. In addition, a nice pedigree to the collection of a famous tenor Enrico Caruso.

Trajan, with Trajan Pater and Nerva. AD 98-117. AV Aureus. Rome mint. Struck AD 112-113. IMP TRAIANVS AVG GER • DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / DIVI • NERVA • ET • TRAIANVS • PAT, laureate bust of Nerva right, slight drapery and bareheaded and draped bust of Trajan the Elder left, vis-à-vis. Calicó 1138a

From the Enrico Caruso collection, Canessa, 28 June 2023, lot 296, and J. Tyszkiewicz, R. Serrure, Paris 25.6.1901, lot 78

 

Wow, what a coin! 🤩

Very interesting coins and a terrific article, @Roman Collector! Thank you for sharing.

Here is a recent purchase, picked up in one of the latest Artemide auctions. I had slapped on a lowish bid and didn't really expect to win, but apparently all the other bidders had bigger fish to catch because when the lot went live, there were no additional bids.

I thought it was a very handsome portrait of Hadrian, nicely centered, with an interesting reverse type that is also well-struck. Plus, the coin is nicely toned. Choice VF, I'd call it. 😉 

HADRIAN, AD 117-138
AR Denarius (17.73mm, 3.00g, 6h)
Struck AD 137. Rome mint
Obverse: HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, bare head of Hadrian right
Reverse: VOTA PVBLICA, Hadrian, togate, standing left, sacrificing from patera over tripod-altar
References: RIC II 2326, RCV 3550
Attractively toned with a fine portrait. The reverse of this coin depicts Hadrian performing one of his many duties as Emperor - offering votive sacrifices on behalf of the public well-being (VOTA PVBLICA).

9 minutes ago, 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 as above) 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. 

That is fascinating! I had no idea that Rome issued Alexandrian coins like these. Thanks for sharing!

That is a terrific specimen @kirispupis! Great to see you branching out into Roman coins. 😉

Here is my only Nero denarius, from the other end of his reign:

NERO, AD 54-68
AR Denarius (17.24mm, 3.47g, 7h)
Struck AD 68. Rome mint
Obverse: IMP NERO CAESAR AVG P P, laureate head of Nero right
Reverse: Legionary eagle between two standards
References: RIC I 68, RCV 1947
A scarce type. Lightly toned with an excellent portrait.
From the T. R. Hardaker Collection (1942-2019)
"This type, among the last coins struck by the very unmilitary Nero, would seem to be an attempt to curry favor with the Roman legions of the provinces, which were beginning to rebel against his capricious rule. It did not work." - Classical Numismatic Group (lot description)

21 minutes ago, Anaximander said:

@CPK: A lovely coin in a handsome presentation. I love your coin background. In five years of posting my coins online, I never received any comments -much less a complement- for my coin backgrounds, so my efforts have ebbed. The plan for my Roman coins, never implemented, was to use sepia-toned maps appropriate to the era of the coin. My coins are now mostly posted on a white background, though shot on 18% gray and then masked. I did try to use some unfamiliar photo editor features (selective focus, lights) to replicate your chiaroscuro and bokeh, to no avail so far.

MARS VLTOR keeps popping up in this thread. I have one too, the upgrade coin for my collection. Like Salomons Cat, I shoot for one-of-each in my collection, with some small propensity to go for a second where I can rationalized it. My first Severus Alexander is now consigned for sale. When I bought my third Severus Alexander I had to go back to my dealer and admit, shame-faced, that I already had a MARS VLTOR and didn't need yet another one.

@rasiel: You are too humble by half! Your Severus Alexander is better than 'serviceable.' It has that all-important obverse portrait, perfect lettering, and good centering.

@Nerosmyfavorite68: well spotted, "fantastic toning, large flan, and full beading" makes for a true EF.

Thank you for the kind words! Your photo background idea looks/sounds neat. I've often thought it would be cool to try to photograph ancient coins as they might have appeared in ancient times - in a scene with props, etc. The trick would be getting the right balance of subject/background.

Lovely coins, by the way!

7 minutes ago, Anaximander said:

Those are some wondrous AI imaginings.  I was reading a Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS) E-Sylum post https://www.coinbooks.org/v27/club_nbs_esylum_v27n14.html#article29 of a robbery at a California cash vault to which a Copilot AI-generated image was attached. Is there a man alive that can actually pick up one of the gold bars?

  

If those are normal-sized dollar bills, yes. But in that case the burglars must be about 3 feet tall. 😆

1 hour ago, Severus Alexander said:

That's a fabulous SA, @CPK!  I would add one thing to its list of virtues: the reverse style.  Not only is the detail excellent, Sol was engraved exceptionally well.

I have a bunch, of course, but mostly middle bronzes.  Of those, my avatar coin (a dupondius) is probably my favourite:

For denarii, coins that are a bit unusual always attract me.  That's why I bought this coin, which has an attractive but rarely seen portrait style:

This coin definitely goes all-in on the 'burns and the 'stache!

Given how many of his coins are dated, yearly throughout the reign, this would be pretty straightforward, at least for the basic progression.  (Within years would be tricky and probably not consistent.)

Thank you!

Both of your coins are remarkable - the denarius portrait especially. I agree that Severus Alexander's sideburns must have made a deep impression on whoever engraved that die. 😄

Lovely landscaping @panzerman - and that torte looks delicious!

33 minutes ago, rasiel said:

Funny how these things go! At one point a couple years back I was wrestling with whether or not I should get one of these for engraving metal. CO2 lasers you can get off Amazon pretty cheaply but are finicky and don't do a great job (or maybe not at all when it comes to metal) but the cheapest fiber lasers ran nearly 5k. In the end I decided not to and just outsourced the job and glad I didn't but the nerd in me still wishes I had one to fart around with 😅

Rasiel

That's interesting! We used to have a CO2 laser, but now all we have are fiber lasers. Fiber is just so much faster than CO2 and way more efficient. Of course, they're more expensive up front, too.

As a matter of fact, I'm doing an etching job right now on our smallest laser, a 6KW which probably cost somewhere around $600K. 😉 These are stainless steel parts:

Nice! It's always fun to discover new and interesting aspects to coins already in your collection. That happened to me with this coin here:

SICILY, SYRACUSE
Time of Agathokles, 317-289 BC
AE14 (14.22mm, 2.14g, 7h)
Struck 305-295 BC
Obverse: Head of Athena left, wearing crested Corinthian helmet
Reverse: ΣΥΡΑ-ΚΟΣΙΩΝ above and below winged thunderbolt
References: CNS 118, Favorito 38a (this coin illustrated)
Attractive green patina. This coin is the illustrated plate coin in Emilo N. Favorito’s reference manual "The Bronze Coinage of Ancient Syracuse", published in 1990 by the Society Historia Numorum. Notated as being from the collection of Favorito himself.

I bought this coin in a group lot with little to no description, and only much later found that it is actually a plate coin. I now own a copy of Favorito's reference catalog, which itself happens to be autographed by the author for one of the contributors.