David Atherton

Recently a seemingly unlisted and unpublished Domitian quadrans came up at auction. https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=7485&lot=455 At first glance it seems to be something to take note of, but there is something fishy going on here. Yes, Domitanic quadrantes are recorded with this reverse design paired with the emperor's portrait facing right with no drapery. https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=53917# The Naville coin however actually uses a die from a rare denarius variety! https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1449716 Plus the reverse is clumsy looking, likely tooled and smoothed to create the desired design. Compare with the style of the CNG example linked above. The only conclusion is that the piece is a modern concoction of some kind combining an obverse cast from the above denarius die with a tooled reverse. A fantasy coin that cost someone dearly. Caveat emptor! Thanks to @Aleph for bringing this lot to my attention.

I've only seen one of these in trade in nearly 20 years. Needless to say I had to have it! The provenance isn't too shabby either. Vespasian Æ As, 8.68g Tarraco(?) mint, 70 AD Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: CAESAR AVG F COS CAESAR AVG F PR; Heads of Titus, bare, r., and Domitian, bare, l., confronting; below, S C RIC 1321 (R2). BMC 748B. BNC 797. Ex Harlan J Berk BBS 225, 30 November 2023, lot 84. Ex Curtis Clay Collection. Ex Baldwin's, June 1970. Ex Glendining & Co. The V.J.E. Ryan Collection part V, 2 April 1952, lot 2745 (part). Spain declared for Vespasian late in 69 after the second battle of Cremona in October. Spanish mints immediately began striking coinage in all metals for Vespasian, with perhaps Tarraco being the primary mint of the province. The early aes coinage copied many of the reverse designs seen on the precious metals at Rome, as is the case with this dynastic type featuring the confronting busts of Titus and Domitian (copying RIC 16). All the coins from the issue are quite rare indicating they were not struck for any great length of time, perhaps only to address a shortage of bronze coinage in the region. In hand. Dynastic coin types were as important to the new Flavian dynasty as Judaea Capta or Pax. Even in a farflung Spanish province the message was clear - 'we are here to stay'. As always, thank you for looking!

Your #1 would be mine as well, but it's a great list all around. Congrats!

Wow! Both of those are enviable wins. Fantastic JC portrait and that Elagabalus stone denarius is about the best I've seen. Congrats!

This is my preferred method too. I would love to keep them in trays of course, but the bank box is only so big! BTW, I have an inordinate hatred of saflips! They are brittle, difficult to remove coins from, and expensive. Envelopes, to my way of thinking, are more traditional, practical, and aesthetically pleasing.

If ever a year-end list had the axiom quality over quantity it's that one. My God all of them are stunners! If I had to choose just one out of the group it would have to be Antony's legionary denarius. Superb in every way!

The annulet was likely employed as a control mark of some kind, which was probably more important for precious metal coinage than bronze.

The rather small issue of imperial bronze coins struck under Vespasian somewhere in Asia Minor are difficult to find in trade. I count myself lucky whenever I can add one to the collection! Vespasian Æ27, 10.94g Ephesus (?) mint, 77-78 AD Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIAN AVGVSTVS; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: PONT MAX TR POT P P COS VIII CENS; S C in field; Jupiter stg. l., with thunderbolt and sceptre RIC 1501 (R2). BMC 893. BNC -. RPC 1474 (1 spec.). Ex Harlan J Berk BBS 225, 30 November 2023, lot 91. Ex Curtis Clay Collection. Ex Leu E17, Pt. 2, 15 August 2021, lot 2361. Late in Vespasian's reign an exceedingly rare series of orichalcum bronze coins were struck in Asia Minor at an unknown mint. Although imperial in appearance, the style, weight system, and metal used all point to a mint other than Rome. Due to their extreme rarity today, they could not have been struck for any great length of time (the date cannot be narrowed down any further than Vespasian's COS VIII, 77-78 AD). The types consist of ones variously copied from either Rome or local provincial issues. A stylistic similarity with the earlier 'o' mint denarii possibly struck at Ephesus has been noted by both RIC and RPC. This Jupiter standing type may have been intended to circulate as a dupondius (BMCRE attributes it as such). In hand. Compare this near contemporary 'o' mint denarius in similar style. Vespasian AR Denarius, 3.06g Ephesus (?) mint, 76 AD Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r., 'o' mint mark below neck Rev: PRINCEPS IVVENTVT; Spes, draped, advancing l., holding up flower in r. hand and with l. holding up her skirt. RIC 1479 (R2). BMC 492. BNC -. RPC 1455 (2 spec.). RSC 393a. Ex Harlan J Berk BBS 224, 14 September 2023, lot 124. Ex Curtis Clay Collection. You be the judge! Thank you for looking!

I'm glad to hear it had a happy ending!

Super year end list! #1 is my favourite.

Curtis, I always look forward to your posts and this latest is a prime example why. In depth and endlessly fascinating with a fantastic coin to boot!

Well, if you're only going to acquire and keep 10 coins for the year you did a fine job. What a great list! #1 would have to be my personal favourite.

I missed out on this rare and unique coin in 2022. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-new-portrait-sestertius-of-divus-vespasian.396376/ It pays to be patient. Divus Vespasian [Titus] Æ Sestertius, 24.21g Rome mint, 80-81 AD Obv: DIVVS AVGVSTVS VESPASIANVS PATER PAT; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r. Rev: PAX AVGVSTI; S C in field; Pax stg. l., with branch and cornucopiae Cf. RIC 369/370 (for obv./rev.). BMC -. BNC-. Ex Harlan J Berk BBS 225, 30 November 2023, lot 116. Ex Curtis Clay Collection. Ex Biga E9, 24 April 2022, lot 533. Portrait sestertii of Divus Vespasian are exceedingly rare. Here we have a unique and unpublished variant of the Divus Vespasian Pax type RIC 370. This new variety combines an obverse legend previously known from one specimen (RIC 369) with a variant of a unique Pax reverse type (RIC 370 with AVGVST instead of AVGVSTI). Curtis Clay assigned this issue to Titus' Thracian mint, but I agree with RIC that the style (similar to contemporary Rome mint denarii) and fabric (the reverse flan is concave, a hallmark of the Rome mint) suggests Rome rather than an Eastern provincial mint. Although Vespasian died in June 79, his Divus coins struck under Titus date to 80-81. Nathan Elkins has proposed that Vespasian's consecration was delayed until the Colosseum was completed with the opening games dedicated to him. The Divus coins would have been struck to commemorate the event after mid 80. In hand. Do you have a second chance coin? An interesting Divus type? Please share! As always, thank you for looking!

Look OK to me. Is there reason to doubt it?

It took a bit of detective work to figure this one out. Die matching this coin with a specimen from my own collection was the eureka moment. It's always a great feeling making a new discovery! Titus as Caesar [Vespasian] AR Denarius, 2.78g Ephesus mint, 71 AD Obv: IMPERATOR T CAESAR AVGVSTI F; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: AVG in oak-wreath, no mint mark Cf. RIC 1426(5A)4/1426(5A)1. BMC -. RSC -. RPC -. BNC -. Acquired from André Cichos, September 2023. Ex Olympus Numismatik Auction 2, 2 April 2023, lot 271. A unique and unpublished Titus Caesar AVG in oak wreath denarius from Ephesus struck without a mintmark. This reverse type was previously only attested for the no mintmark issue from an extremely rare Vespasian denarius (recorded in the Addenda as RIC 1426(5A)1). The Ephesian denarius issues struck under Vespasian all have mintmarks, save for the first issue and this tiny issue dated COS III, which is not represented in the new RIC II.1. Ted Buttrey wrote in the RIC II Addenda the following concerning the no mintmark issue: 'I’m not terribly happy about this. It’s a convenient way to draw together several pieces which lack the mintmark, placing them after the completion of the ΘΙ and ΘΥ Groups 3-5 and the inception of Group 6 with ΕΡΗ. But why should they have given up on a mintmark in mid-course, when all of Groups 2-9 are marked? The choices are – (i) mintmark on coins worn away; (ii) engraver forgot to add mintmark to the dies; (iii) issue deliberately produced without mintmark. Assuming (iii) for the moment, the new Group takes the place of fnn. 46-47, pp.162-3, and fits here nicely with V’s title for Groups 5-6, and T’s for Group 6, But I have no fixed opinion, and await the appearance of others of this variety.' I lean towards iii being the likeliest option - if accidental, why do we not see no mintmarks specimens throughout the series? Why are they only dated COS III? IMHO, the likeliest explanation is the no mintmark denarii were deliberately struck, albeit rather briefly (perhaps only for a few days), prior to or just after the COS III ΘΥ issue and before the much larger EPH issue was struck. In hand. NB: The coin shares an obverse die with my RIC 1426(5A)4 denarius: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=66543 As always, thank you for looking!

I would leave it alone. It's a perfectly respectable denarius as is.

Thank you for the extremely kind words. 🙏 It's flattering to know the gallery write-ups are of some use to others. And yes, a backup of the info from the gallery is in my Google Drive.

High praise indeed! 👏

I had a similar problem with a package this time last year. The issue was with the address, which, for whatever reason, was incomplete and the USPS system kept reading it incorrectly. The package bounced around from state to state and finally made it to my local USPS distribution centre and ended up at a nearby city as undeliverable! Suffice to say, I never received it and have no idea what happened to it. Give USPS a call and ask them if they can determine what city the package is addressed to. Perhaps the address barcode is damaged?

Thanks everyone for the kind words, despite the fact it isn't a 'sexy' coin!

IMHO, when a questionable coin is posted here by a member sending a PM is the polite thing to do. And I only do that when certainty is 100% with evidence.

Here is my latest coin from the Curtis Clay Collection. Admittedly, the Spes reverse is pretty bog standard Flavian fare, but this sestertius variety from 76 is pretty rare. Titus as Caesar [Vespasian] Æ Sestertius, 24.10g Rome mint, 76 AD Obv: T CAES VESPASIAN IMP PON TR POT COS V; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r. Rev: S C in field; Spes stg. l., with flower RIC 908 (R). BMC -. BNC 760. Ex Harlan J Berk BBS 225, 30 November 2023, lot 47. Ex Curtis Clay Collection. Acquired from Subak, April 2000, CICF. Spes is a common Flavian reverse type connected to future dynastic hope and harmony and was often struck for all three Flavians. This rare Titus Caesar variety is missing from the BM. In hand. As always, thanks for looking!

Wow. What a great list, especially the top 5! Added bonus that your personal favourite is #1. You had a fantastic year!

Ok, got it. What do the different tiers equate to?

I know any list like this is subject to personal opinion and biases...but a Colosseum sestertius (the second highest ranked roman coin on Harlan Berk's top 100 list) ranked along with Roman coins from Sri Lanka and an Otho coin ranks the same as tooled specimens? Stunning, to be honest. I'm curious about the criteria.