CPK

No doubt, Carthage produced some spectacular coins!

Totally my coin:

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4575650

Actually, I don't think I have any coins from Carthage. They're on my lengthy wish-list, though.

Lovely coin!

Apollo right

SICILY, SYRACUSE
Time of Timoleon and the Third Democracy, 337-317 BC
AE (15.09mm, 3.00g, 8h)
Struck 336-317 BC
Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo right
Reverse: ΣΥΡΑ, Pegasus flying right
References: SNG Munich 1185
A very rare variant. Timoleon was a Corinthian general commissioned to aid the Syracusans against both the Carthaginian invaders and the local ruling tyrants. Timoleon brilliantly accomplished both objectives, ushering in the period of cultural and economic renewal and recovery known as the Third Democracy.

Beautiful photography @HipShot Photography - I really like your work and website. (And looking forward to your book!)

1 Kilo coin?? That is wild!

I've noticed that too. It seems that if there is a price difference between the two platforms, MA-Shops is always slightly higher. My guess is that the cost of listing on MA-Shops must be a bit higher and the dealer is passing that extra cost along to the customer. But I could be wrong.

Trident & dolphin

MARCUS AGRIPPA, died 12 BC
AE As (29.08mm, 11.54g, 6h)
Struck under Caligula, AD 37-41. Rome mint
Obverse: M AGRIPPA L F COS III, head of Marcus Agrippa left, wearing rostral crown
Reverse: Neptune, draped, standing left, holding dolphin in extended right hand and trident in left
References: RIC I 58, RCV 1812
Rich brown patina. A characteristically stern portrait of Marcus Agrippa, loyal friend of Augustus and grandfather to the emperor Caligula.

LYSIMACHOS, 306-281 BC
AR Tetradrachm (28.30mm, 16.15g, 12h)
Struck 297 - 281 BC. Alexandreia Troas mint
Obverse: Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, with the horn of Ammon
Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΛYΣIMAXOY, Athena Nikephoros seated left, left arm resting on shield, transverse spear in background; cornucopia to inner left, Λ under throne
References: SNG Stockholm 845 (same dies)
A rare variant. Toned with scratches on reverse. Well centered portrait of Alexander the Great in fine style.

Next: another Diadochi tetradrachm

A Tetrarch

CONSTANTIUS I as Caesar, AD 293-305
AE Follis (25.21mm, 9.06g, 12h)
Struck AD 304/5. Alexandria mint
Obverse: FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB CAES, laureate head of Constantius I right
Reverse: HERCVLI VICTORI, Hercules, draped in lion skin, standing facing, head left, leaning on club with right hand and holding apples in left; Δ / S / P in fields, ALE in exergue
References: RIC VI 40, RCV 14078
Well centered and well struck. An extraordinary portrait, in a style more reminiscent of the earlier Flavian/Antonine coinage than that of the Tetrarchy. Detailed reverse.

1 minute ago, theotokevoithi said:

Concave coins are very difficult to be photographed (even lighting of the surface).

If we must accept the use of software editing, Photoscape is the simplest freeware solution i think.

But if we accept software editing , we must accept artificial toning too.

It is like removing wrinkles from a photo using photoshop.

The danger is to buy coins that are totally different than the photo of the seller, but it can be considered a form of art and a collector must play with his coins (hobby).

A post of unedited photo of a coin and the software edited photo of the same coin is a good idea.

I don't think it needs to be that way. Image editing programs, properly used, help bring a photo closer to a coin's real-life appearance. The OP is interested (as most of us are) in getting a photo that is as close to reality as possible and using software tools to achieve this end is not being deceptive at all.

After all your digital camera uses its own image building software to adjust and create the photo internally. What's the difference with using an external program to further adjust the same parameters?

What is better than a new pachyderm coin? A great new acquisition, @DonnaML!

My own hippo is pretty worn, as seems to be the case for most of this type.

EGYPT, ALEXANDRIA
Time of Claudius
AE Diobol (22.41mm, 5.79g, 1h)
Struck AD 41-46
Obverse: ΤΙ ΚΛΑV ΚΑΙ ϹƐΒΑϹ ΓƐΡΜΑ, laureate head of Claudius right, star to lower right
Reverse: ΑVΤΟΚΡΑ, hippopotamus standing right, [uncertain] date in exergue
cf. RPC I 5124
Worn surfaces with edge irregularity. A decent hippopotamus.

I do occasionally, if the service was particularly good, or if I am extra pleased with the coin.

9 hours ago, DonnaML said:

Some wonderful coins in this thread! I have very little to show for Severus Alexander: only a couple of denarii and a sestertius. On the second and third coins, he's clearly smiling -- not something often seen in his portraits.

Severus Alexander AR Denarius 225 AD Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, IMP C M AVR SEV ALEXAND AVG. / Rev. Fides standing facing, head left, holding standard in each hand, FIDES - MIL - ITVM. RIC IV-2 139, RSC III 52, Sear RCV II 7864. 19 mm., 2.9 g.

Severus Alexander AR Denarius 232 AD Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate and draped bust right, seen from front, IMP ALEXANDER PIVS AVG/ Rev. Mars Ultor (“Mars the Avenger”) advancing right in military dress, holding transverse, spear and shield, cape flying behind, MARS VLTOR. RIC IV-2 246, RSC III 161a (ill.), Sear RCV II 7882 (ill.), BMCRE 831. 20 mm., 2.91 g.

Severus Alexander AE (Orichalcum) Sestertius, AD 232, Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate bust right with slight drapery on left shoulder, IMP SEV ALE – XANDER AVG / Rev. Victory standing right, left foot raised to rest on helmet, inscribing VOT / X in two lines on shield set on trunk of palm tree, VICTORIA AVGVSTI; S – C [Senatus Consulto] across lower fields. 33 mm., 21.95 g. RIC IV-2 616, BMCRE VI 643, Sear RCV III 8021, Cohen 567. Purchased 22 Oct. 2023 from Carthago Numismatics (Kefi Mansouri), L'Isle Adam, Ile de France, France; ex Tunisian hoard.* 

*Issued to commemorate decennial of Severus Alexander’s reign, as well as to celebrate initial victories in campaign against Sassanian Empire.

"very little to show" - perhaps quantity wise, but you are certainly not lacking for quality! That middle coin is especially fine, and again shows outstanding quality of production.

8 hours ago, Octavius said:

 You've got one great looking coin with fantastic toning. You aced this one!

 

Here are two sestertii and three denarii of Severus Alexander...

Hitting it out of the park as always Octavius! Thank you!

5 hours ago, Herodotus said:

Nice!

I have this variety...

SEVERUS ALEXANDER (AD 222-235). Denarius. Rome.

O: IMP SEV ALEXAND AVG. Laureate head right.

R: VIRTVS AVG. Severus Alexander (as Romulus) advancing right, holding spear and trophy.

RIC 225

 

Thanks! That is a great example with some really sharp detail!

Interesting coin. I'll bet @galba68 could point you to some resources for cleaning!

3 hours ago, robinjojo said:

Quite a few years ago there was another runup on the spot price of gold and silver.  I was working for the county at the time, and sometimes I would take the bus from my workplace during lunch and visit my local coin shop.  On one visit I noticed a box of scrap silver destined for the smelter.  I found this object among the flatware, trays, candle holders and other objects, both sterling and plated.  I immediately recognized the elegant form as Georgian silver, a creamer, rather worn but still very attractive.  It was produced by a silversmith, Hester Bateman, around 1787.  She was one of only a handful of female silversmiths in London, and while her pieces generally do not command the premium prices of other contemporary silversmiths, I am still happy to have rescued this charming creamer from oblivion, probably to emerge in the form of a silver round!

 

Not Modern Dutch, I presume? I don't know if you are a fan of P.G. Wodehouse, but this brings irresistibly to mind his novel The Code of The Woosters, and the silver cow creamer. 😄

11 hours ago, Furryfrog02 said:

Holy smokes @CPK! That is a great looking denarius! Congratulations!

My Severus Alexander examples are pretty ratty in comparison. 

Thanks! 🙂 

11 hours ago, Qcumbor said:

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

 

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

Q

Thank you! Those are beautiful coins - I think your Sev. Alex tops mine. 👍 And that Pupienus is exquisite!

11 hours ago, rasiel said:

Nice to see so many high end Severans. Also nice to see OP treating himself to a top coin 😉

Here's mine, not the best but serviceable.

Now that is a lovely coin! I love Jupiter's dynamic pose, about to hurl his thunderbolt.

4 hours ago, seth77 said:

I wonder if it wouldn't work easier getting rid of the original background with the likes of removebg and then pasting the new transparency image onto the new background? 

Perhaps. I did try an online background remover, and Paint 3D has a tool they call "magic select" which is the same thing. It worked, but sometimes it would trim the coin a bit too much, or not enough. I found I can do a better job manually, even though it takes more time.

Such gorgeous coins! 🤩

I'd love to get an aureus someday but I doubt it will happen. Ditto an Alexander the Great AV.

That would be called a brockage for ancient coins (I suppose the term applies to moderns as well?)

I've never seen this type of error on a modern coin, though. Interesting!

18 minutes ago, singig said:

This is my last purchase, a Nero type that I have been searching it for a long time.
It's from the Rome mint with the emperor portrait in high relief.

Nero. Orichalcum sestertius, Rome mint, 64 AD. RIC 149    
NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR P IMP P P, laureate head right wearing aegis / 
S C, triumphal arch surmounted by statue of Nero in quadriga, Victory on left holds wreath and palm, Pax on right holds caduceus and cornucopia, wreath in archway, statue
of Mars, naked and helmeted, in niche.  35 mm / 26.2 g

An interesting reverse type with a great high-relief portrait. Very nice!

8 hours ago, Valentinian said:

It's a beauty! 

Readers, has it occurred to you that Roman coins of Severus Alexander and especially Maximinus Thrax are among the highest-quality Roman coins? Almost every Maximinus coin is well struck. My website on them shows some nice coins:
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Maximinus/Maximinus.html
but the point is that coins of Maximinus are almost all nice.

When it comes to Severus Alexander, the many coins shown earlier in this thread show his coins are often high-quality without being very expensive. I can add a couple of my own:



20-19 mm. 3.64 grams. Struck 232 according to BMC
MARS VLTOR
RIC 246. Sear II 7882.



20 mm. Struck 232 according to BMC.
SPES PVBLICA
RIC 254d.  Sear II 7927



19 mm. VICTORIA AVG. An early issue, struck 222 (his first year) at Antioch. 
RIC 215. Sear II 7930.

The point is not that Severus Alexander and Maximinus has some well-produced coins. It is that they have many well-produced coins. The fraction of their silver coins which are well-produced is high--higher than for other, more famous, emperors.

That is an interesting observation. What @JAZ Numismatics says about the alloy being more wear resistant is doubtless part of it, but I think it goes beyond that. As you say, it's not just the wear, but the overall quality of production. Compare that to the sort of dumpy, ragged flans that are so typical with, say, Marcus Aurelius or Commodus's coinage, and it really is remarkable.

2 hours ago, Ryro said:

LOVE your new creepy face avatar!

There's a lot of LCE (little coin energy) on this board and some great coins this far. 

Here's a few little fellas:

That little turtle is really cool! I didn't know that Aegina made such small fractions.

18 minutes ago, KenDorney said:

Working on a collection of Roman ladies and their hairstyles, just picked up some of the easiest for far (trying to get decent EF if possible).  

I'd say you're off to a fantastic start! I especially like the Faustina coins. I have one coming that I'm pretty excited about.

1 hour ago, Amarmur said:

Very nice Severus Alexander. The engravers at this time period were really top notch I noticed. The Severans have really great portrait quality vs the Flavian Dynasty which was all other the place. I still can't find a decent portrait of Vespasian on a denarius. Idk if it's the high silver content or they were too mad about taxes to make Vespasian look less constipated.

I don't know, to me it would hardly be Vespasian without that constipated look! 😆

Thank you everyone! Lots of beautiful coins posted here! 🤩

7 hours ago, seth77 said:

Hi @CPK how do you do these very aesthetic backgrounds for your pics?

I do all of my editing using GIMP - a free image editing program. Basically, I cut the coin out of the original photo and paste it onto a different background. I've not found a satisfactory way to do this automatically so it takes a bit of time carefully tracing around the edge, but it works for me. It takes a little time to get familiarized with using GIMP, but IMO it's worth it for those who don't want to spend $$$ on other programs like Photoshop.

6 hours ago, Roman Collector said:

That's a gorgeous example!! Heavy one, too! Here's one from my numophylacium.

Severus Alexander, AD 222-235.
Roman AR denarius, 2.95 g, 19.4 mm, 1 h.
Rome, issue 12, AD 231.
Obv: IMP SEV ALEXAND AVG, laureate head, right, with drapery on left shoulder.
Rev: ANNONA AVG, Annona standing left, holding corn-ears in right hand over modius at feet and holding anchor in left hand.
Refs: RIC 188; BMCRE 674-76; RSC 29a; RCV 7859.

Thanks! A like that Annona.

1 hour ago, maridvnvm said:

My first ancient was a Severus Alexander. Here it is....

Severus Alexander denarius

Obv:– IMP ALEXANDER PIVS AVG, Laureate head right
Rev:– MARS VLTOR, Mars advancing right, holding a spear and shield
Minted in Rome, A.D. 232
References:– RIC 246, RSC 161a

This was my first ancient coin and is still one of my favourites.

Grey tone.

3.64gms. 19.91mm. 180 degrees

That's a beautiful coin! What a great first anicent. 😉 Incredible detail on Mars, and it's also a nice full weight!

15 minutes ago, David Atherton said:

Beautiful denarius! They don't come much better than that!

Thank you!