CPK

Ah, I remember that coin! It's a type I'd never seen before. A great pick-up!

Denarii of Severus Alexander are not hard to find in excellent condition, but even so this one struck me as something special.

- crisply and evenly struck on a wide flan of good quality metal, allowing full dotted borders on both sides

- very heavy, too, at nearly 4 (!) grams in weight

- a very fine, high-relief portrait

- the reverse is sharp as well (look at the detail in Sol's face!) with lustrous fields

- and to top it off, the coin is beautifully toned, highlighting the design and relief.

It may not command much attention among the EF aureii in a high-profile auction, but it's about as good as you'll get IMO! 😉 

Thanks for looking, and feel free to post your own quality favorites, coins of Severus Alexander, or anything else!

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.

Wow, that is a fascinating coin! Congratulations!

I know what you mean. I have only one ancient gold coin and it is tough to get the right balance. Either it's too pale, or too neon, or too orangey. Since I've got only one, I can't offer much helpful advice except that in my case a lower light angle helped highlight the coin's design without reflecting too much light. I'm still not 100% satisfied, it might be a little dark, but it's probably about the best I'll be able to do:

JUSTINIAN I, AD 527-565
AV Solidus (20.95mm, 4.32g, 6h)
Struck 542-565. Constantinople mint, 5th officina
Obverse: D N IVSTINI-ANVS P P AVG, helmeted and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing, holding globus cruciger in his right hand and with a shield over his left shoulder
Reverse: VICTORIA AVGGG E, angel standing facing, holding long staff surmounted by a staurogram in right hand and a globus cruciger in left; star in right field, CONOB in exergue
References: DOC 9e, MIB 7, SB 140

For comparison, here are two different auction house photos of the same coin:

Going with @DonnaML's theme of appealing portrait coins, here is one of my latest purchases - a scarce denarius of Geta as Augustus, complete with a very fine mature portrait. He really looks like a younger version of his dad on this coin!

GETA as Augustus, AD 209-211
AR Denarius (19.14mm, 3.39g, 7h)
Struck AD 211. Rome mint
Obverse: P SEPT GETA PIVS AVG BRIT, laureate and bearded bust of Geta right
Reverse: TR P II-I COS II P P, Providentia (?), standing facing, head left, holding torch in right hand and globe in left
References: RIC IV 81 (S), RCV 7252
Lightly toned. A scarce type, featuring an outstanding mature portrait of the ill-fated young Augustus.

Nice! I especially like the first one.

Looks like a nice portrait (although the picture is sideways for me.) Congrats!

I, Claudius is great. Have you read the sequel, Claudius the God?

Nice coins. Here are a couple of my favorite Constantine coins:

CONSTANTINE I, AD 306-337
AE3 (21.05mm, 3.61g, 12h)
Struck AD 320. Treveri mint
Obverse: CONSTA-NTINVS AVG, helmeted and cuirassed bust of Constantine I right
Reverse: VIRTVS EXERCIT, trophy, with two captives seated back to back at base; T|F in fields, STR in exergue
References: RIC VII 279, RCV 16313
Dark patina with areas of flat strike. Good style and details. From the Dieter Alten Collection.

CONSTANTINE I, AD 306-337
AE3 (19.92mm, 3.34g, 1h)
Struck AD 320-321. Treveri mint
Obverse: CONSTAN-TINVS AVG, helmeted and cuirassed bust of Constantine I right
Reverse: VIRTVS EXERCIT, vexillum inscribed VOT/XX in two lines, with two captives seated back-to-back at base; T|F in fields, •PTR in exergue
References: RIC VII 291, RCV 16318 (corr.)
Excellent portrait and reverse detail. From the Adrian Lang Collection.

From where we live it's a 3-4 hour drive southeast. We will be leaving shortly. Safe travels everyone!

VESPASIAN, AD 69-79
AR Denarius (19.05mm, 3.59g, 12h)
Struck AD 73. Rome mint
Obverse: IMP CAES VESP AVG CEN, laureate head of Vespasian right
Reverse: SALVS AVG, Salus seated left, holding patera in extended right hand and resting left hand at side
References: RIC II 513, RCV 2307 var. (obv. leg.)
Lightly toned. A well-struck specimen of good weight, with a fine portrait and underlying luster. Formerly in NGC holder (2119234-002), graded Ch VF.

Very nice coin, with a great portrait!

2 hours ago, Amanda said:

Do you think mine are worth anything?

If they are fakes (which seems the most likely) then probably no more than $10 - $20 as interesting replicas. Perhaps slightly more, if they're struck from real silver.

@Coinmaster That is a beautiful coin, and as you say it is always worth buying quality when you can!

Nice coin @rasiel. I love well-toned silver.

I don't think I have any real iridescent-toned coins...but here is a bronze issue of Constantine I with toned silvering which is one of my favorite coins:

CONSTANTINE I, AD 306-337
AE3 (20.86mm, 2.66g, 6h)
Struck AD 329-330. Rome mint
Obverse: CONSTANTI-NVS MAX AVG, rosette-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust of Constantine I right
Reverse: D N CONSTANTINI MAX AVG around edge, VOT • XXX in two lines within laurel wreath; RFP below
References: RIC VII 322, RCV 16226
Well-centered and struck. Area of flatness on reverse. A magnificent portrait with toned silvering.

Very nice Galba! The portrait is strong, and the reverse is an interesting type. Congrats!

FWIW, Sear narrows the date of this issue to Oct. - Nov., AD 68.

@Victrix Well done!

3 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

I confess that I never heard of Wojak memes.  Pudgy Penguins, yes.  Wojak no. I found the post funny because it was poking fun at the excesses of collectors of modern coins.

Furthermore, I bet no one at work has ever heard of them, either.  I'd be willing to be a lot on that one.  They'd recognize the latest rapper, what happened on Love and Hip Hop, who's going to win the latest sports bet, or something like that.  Wojak, nope.  We're much more concerned about being inconvenienced by the lovely eclipse (the traffic). About 25% of the people whom I spoke to weren't even aware there was to be one, when I was wailing about what a traffic disaster it might be.

With all due respect, I'm more worried about stress at work, a sick parent, and other things going on.  I work in a financial institution.  I'd be much more concerned about the multiple red flags of impending financial collapse, or something really serious like that.  The crummy illustations hardly made me want to start listening to Axis Sally (as a lifelong collector of old-time radio, I know who that was, as well as most of the Allied commentators) and go marching around.

I don't wish to come off as overly snippy, but I'm tired and cranky, coming off of an annoying day.  I just want to illustrate that most people would have absolutely no clue about such memes.

 

I also didn't know anything about the meme's origin, nor do I care. The OP's meme is hilarious and most of us are content to laugh about it and move on. I find it puzzling why some should feel the need to stop, dissect and analyze in order to come up with reasons we should find it objectionable.

Interesting coin!

Lovely coin!

4 hours ago, Spargrodan said:

Today I received my first Diadochi. A Posthumus of Alexander III by Cassander, I'm not really sure if I should spell his name with K or C? As Cassander never minted silver coins with his name I might add a bronze at a later stage to have that covered, but for now I’m focusing on getting my 5 first diadochi tets. Still waiting for my Antigonus to arrive in the post but probably will arrive any day. I was first thinking of going for a Philip II version like the one @Sulla80 posted earlier but when I found this hercules type in such a good condition I decided to go for this type instead. Is it only me or does the head of Hercules instantly makes you think of Buzz Lightyear. 🤣

 

Macedon, Kassander

AR Tetradrachm, Amphipolis, 305-297 BCE., 17.14g, 27.00 mm. 9h.

Obv. Head of beardless Heracles right wearing lion skin headdress.

Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus seated on stool-throne left, eagle on outstretched right hand, scepter in left hand. Symbols (Left Field): Λ, (Left Field): torch, (Beneath Throne): monogram

Price 484

🤩 That is a stunner! Wonderful style on the portrait, perfectly centered and crisply struck. Congratulations!

6 hours ago, Amarmur said:

This indo Greek coin of Menander I was an impulse buy it was relatively inexpensive and really beautiful. I like the Bhuddist wheel on the reverse or it could just be dangling clothes. The heroic bust type is also neat. It was inspired by the Heroic bust of Eukradites. Bactria seems like a very interesting field to enter but my wallet doesn't agree lol. 

Great coin! I've yet to add any Bactrian/Indo-Greek coins to my collection, but I would like to soon.

Nice coin, and in good condition, especially the reverse.

Nice! Wish I could be there. Never was at a coin show before.

Thanks everyone! @ambr0zie, great score on that Otho AE - that's a great portrait! And I like your COL IVL AVG from Philippi - it's a type I'd like to get someday.

@Roman Collector, congrats on that very respectable Faustina II AE! One of the fun things about ancient coins that you don't have with moderns is that there's so much unknown. There's always the possibility of discovering a new type!

You know how sometimes you see a deal that looks so good, you just buy it without doing your research? Yeah, most times that doesn't end well - but occasionally you get a happy ending.

I was browsing MA-Shops and spotted a coin labeled as a "Trajan As" but was unlike any type I'd seen before. The coin was worn and rough, but the price was so low - after doing some lightning searches on OCRE and ACSearch without results - I decided that whatever it was it must be rare enough to excuse an impulse buy.

After the coin was safely secured I started digging in for some serious attribution research. And I got nowhere - couldn't find anything even remotely similar. Then I realized that I'd been looking in the wrong spot - the coin was a provincial issue.

It still took me a long time searching but then, I found an entry on RPC Online - a perfect match! And no wonder the coin's identity had eluded me for so long. The coin is apparently a just-identified type, with the first specimen sold by Rex Numismatics in September of 2023. The auction house listing suggested it might be the first known example and it was submitted to RPC online, who created a post-publication entry for it: Vol III No. 2906A.

It would seem that RPC also could not find the type in any other reference; at least none were given in the RPC listing and I assume they would check available references. All RPC did was note that it was missing from "Dalaison & Delrieux, Néapolis-Néoclaudiopolis".

Aside from the extreme rarity, it's an interesting type design, depicting a bound captive (which RPC identifies, logically enough, as the personification of Dacia.) This motif of a bound, seated captive is found on a few other provincial coins of Trajan but it is not common. (Imperial issues are another matter.) The portrait is also decent. Although the coin has seen better days, I am happy to have acquired such a rare piece for what was essentially the price of a McDonald's meal!

Thanks for looking! Feel free to post your own "happy ending" impulse buys, lucky rarities, or any other comments you deem appropriate. 🙂 

GALATIA-CAPPADOCIA, NEOCLAUDIOPOLIS
Time of Trajan
AE (26.02mm, 11.44g, 6h)
Struck AD 109/10
Obverse: ΑΥΤ ΝΕΡ ΤΡΑΙΑΝΟϹ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ϹΕΒ ΓΕΡΜ ΔΑΚΙΚΟϹ, laureate and cuirassed bust of Trajan right, seen from rear
Reverse: ΝΕΟΚΛΑΥΔΙΟΠΟΛΕΙΤωΝ ΕΤΟΥϹ, Dacia, bound, seated on rocks right; ΡΙΕ in exergue
References: RPC III 2906A.2 (this coin)
An interesting and extremely rare type, apparently unknown except for this coin and one other specimen, both cited by RPC Online.