Marsyas Mike

Most of my collection consists of plug-uglies. But rather than share a slick, here is one - a sub-category for off-center strikes, perhaps. I'm afraid the guy working the anvil-end lost a thumb when this one was struck:

I just got one like this, and had a tough time finding others like it (RIC 24 - all of which seem to be a "variety"). I was pleasantly surprised to find yours on NF. Here is mine, just came in yesterday: Valerian I Antoninianus (257-260 A.D.) Cologne Mint VALERIANVS · P · F · AVG, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / VIRTVS AVGG, soldier (Virtus/emperor/Mars?) standing left, holding Victory and spear (points up). RIC V 24c var. (rev. descrip.); Göbl MIR 36, 887d. (2.85 grams / 20 x 18 mm) eBay Oct. 2022 Everything I know about this coin comes from a CNG auction, which had this very helpful information - note that your coin, and mine, have a definite spear, point upwards - this CNG example has more of a sceptre-looking thing, although it could just be a weakly-struck point: The identity of the figure on the reverse is again uncertain, although most catalogues list him as a personification of Virtus. RIC describes him as a soldier. Descriptions also vary from one catalogue to another. RIC 24 has the figure holding Victory, but without sceptre. MIR does not mention the sceptre either. In the Cunetio and Stevenage reports the figure is described as holding ‘Victory on globe and long vertical spear (points up)’. On this coin the figurine of Victory does not stand on a globe, and the vertical item has no points, so is presumably a sceptre, not a spear. The main figure wears a crested helmet and, apparently, armour, with part of a cloak hanging down behind him. He may, therefore, be Mars, but could equally be the emperor. Since all coin iconography is essentially about the emperor, I favour the latter interpretation. https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=379481

Nice upgrade, @Ryro. I have but one Titus "restitution issue" and it could use a bit of an upgrade too. Not Drusus, but Germanicus, keeping it all in the family (with an attribution note via the late Jamesicus): Titus Æ As Germanicus Restoration Issue (80-81 A.D.) Rome Mint GER[MANICVS CAESAR TI AV]G F DIVI AVG N, head of Germanicus, bare, left / IMP T CAES [DIVI VESP F] AVG REST · around large S-C. RIC 442 (RIC [1962] 228) (Titus) (8.25 grams / 23 mm) eBay May 2020 Notes: "The 'restored' series of Titus served a double purpose; it preserved the memory of famous coins of the early Empire which were becoming obsolete and it emphasized in the public mind the continuity between the Flavian dynasty and its predecessor." (Harold Mattingly via Coin Talk, Jamesicus) For those unused to reading low grade stuff, a visual enhancement via my shaky hand and "paint":

Thank you RC! I'll update my attribution, once again piggy-backing off your research...😇

Terrific presentation as always, @Roman Collector. Someday I hope to scrounge a Diana type for Faustina II, but for now all I have are the Lucifera types. However, I do have a single example of the FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AVG PII F obverse inscription (but Pudicitia, not Diana). You note the date of issue as Jan-Aug. 156 AD: The single example in my collection of this obverse inscription came my way earlier this year, and I used a post of yours on CT by you to attribute it. Since 2018, I think you have narrowed down the date range - IF I'm interpreting these things correctly. Here's that post: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/everything-you-never-wanted-to-know-about-a-common-denarius-of-faustina-ii.308398/#post-2951693 Anyway, I thought I'd tighten up the attribution on this one (the issue date in particular). My current attribution is below (based on the '18 post): Faustina II Denarius (148-152 A.D.) Rome Mint FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AV[G P]II F, bare-headed and draped bust right / PVDICITIA, Pudicitia standing left, sacrificing over lit altar to left. RIC III Antoninus Pius 508a; BMCRE 1092; Cohen 184. (3.20 grams / 18 x 16 mm) eBay Apr. 2022 Assistance greatly appreciated, as always!

Very interesting, RC. I found a single one in my collection - as far as I can tell, it is from around the Antonine period, but no emperor/empress - an inferior copy of that nice one posted by @shanxi- : Nacrasa, Lydia Æ 16 (c. 98-161 A.D.) Semi-autonomous Markos Iounianos, Strategos EΠI [CTΡA] MA[Ρ IOYNIA]NOY, Bearded head of Herakles right / NAKΡA[CI]TΩN, serpent coiled around omphalos, head right. RPC III 1812; SNG Cop 295. (2.76 grams / 16 mm) eBay April 2020

I do enjoy fly-specking and identifying scarce varieties, as @Roman Collector generously suggests. But I am not really systematic in my search for that kind of material - I like to be surprised, and a lot of my motivation is base bargain-hunting. Sometimes I get lucky. This is why eBay is such a pleasure for me - so much junk, so much of it unattributed (and so much of it fake). Here is a recent example of my collector's "thinking" (if that's what it could be called. This coin was described as an as of Faustina I - it even came with a very detailed flip insert. The seller wanted $45 "buy-it-now" which is more than I pay for about anything on eBay (I operate on a small budget). You don't need to be an expert like @Roman Collector to see this is not Faustina. Here are photos when I got it, and a picture of the flip info: Notice any problems, besides the attribution? Bronze disease! This thing was almost fuzzy with it. The seller's photos rather muted this lurid green of it, but it was obviously afflicted in a bad way. So why did I go for it? Well, Severan middle bronzes are scarce in general (posts by @maridvnvm and @Severus Alexander and others whet my appetite for these). So I tried to attribute it, just for fun; when I started poking around and found a die-match, and a correct attribution - this was not, as I first thought, Julia Maesa, but rather her daughter, Julia Soaemais (mother of Elagabalus). Uh oh, I was starting to get that falling-in-love-with-the-wrong-gal feeling! I knew I wouldn't pay $45 for it, but the seller accepted offers - so after mulling it over for days, I low-balled it at $27, which he accepted, and shipped it right away. I immediately dropped this diseased thing in distilled water and I have to say I got lucky - this is what it looked like after soaking only an hour, with some gentle scraping. My guess is, from the old pitting, that this had BD years before, was treated, and it came back, mostly on the surface. It's been soaking for the past several days and is actually cleaner than this now. Julia Soaemias Æ As/Dupond. (218-222 A.D.) Rome Mint IVL[IA SOAEMIAS AV]G, draped bust right with stephane / / VENVS CAELES[TI]S, S-C, Venus standing facing, head left, apple in right hand, grounded scepter in left; star in right field. RIC IV Elagabalus 403 / 404. (9.63 grams / 24 x 22 mm) eBay Oct. 2022 $27.00 BO BIN Attribution: This looks like an orichalcum dupondius? OCRE lists as / dupondius separately: RIC IV Elagabalus 403 (dup.) RIC IV Elagabalus 404 (as) Obverse Die-Match: British Museum, Number 1867,0101.2176 Described as as/dupondius but ref: RIC IV Elagabalus 404 (as); BMCRE 385, p.597 Here's the British Museum specimen with mine: Given its condition, I doubt this was a good "deal" at all, but this is an empress I'd never be able to afford from the usual auction/dealer channels, and I am actually quite pleased with its appearance, despite the problems. Although the reverse is rough too, the entire legend is visible, as well as the star in the right field; with some re-toning, it might actually look pretty good in a hundred years or so!

Here's a hammer (rev.) and a chisel (obv.) used as die control-marks (I think) - carpenter's guild symbols for this abundant issue (with many types of symbols; probably a lot of tools of various trades): Roman Republic Denarius L. Papius (79 B.C.) Rome Mint Trade Guild: Carpenters Head of Juno Sospita right, wearing goat's skin; chisel behind / L PAPI in ex. Gryphon springing right; hammer below. Crawford 384/1, type 30; Sydenham 773; Papia 1. (3.60 grams / 17 mm) eBay Mar. 2019

Unattributed lots are a great way to find stuff I can't otherwise afford. I've never done the uncleaned LRB thing, mostly because I'm lazy and I figure I'll just screw up coins by trying to clean them. Below are some recent treasures (sort of) from an unattributed eBay lot - if anything, this lot was an overly-cleaned, rather than uncleaned lot, but as unappealing as it looks at first glance, I was surprised to find some rarities and/or interesting types. Here's the pick of the litter: As soon as I saw this portrait I thought it looked like Pompey the Great - but what's he doing on a Provincial Æ? It might be Pan, I thought, but I have a lot to learn. Thanks to a Google image search, I figured this one out pretty quickly (Google search for Pompey Nike Æ brought several up). Almost everybody selling one of these describes it as "rare" but there are so many of them that I rather doubt this. The Pompey obverse was issued from Pompey's time on into the Flavians, so there are a lot of variations of the same basic type; attributions are all over the place and mine has almost no reverse legends remaining beyond a ΔI in the field, a couple of which I found. Despite the worn reverse, the portrait on mine is quite nice compared to a lot of them I saw: Pompey the Great (era) Æ 18 Soloi-Pompeiopolis (c. 50 B.C.-50 A.D.) Bare head of Pompey the Great right / [ΠOMΠHIOΠOΛITΩ?], Nike advancing right, holding wreath; ΔI [ΛΑ ?] in right field. SNG France 1213-1217; SNG Levante 880-882 var. (5.50 grams / 18 mm) eBay June 2022 Attribution: Many varieties of this type; most online sources are vague about attribution. Reverse legends missing, except ΔI in right field. Others with ΔI have ΛΑ below. See: Numismatik Naumann Auct. 42; Lot 576; 03.04.2016 Roma E-Sale 31; Lot 212; Nov. 2016 (asiaminorcoins.com) Artemide Aste 45E; Lot 242; Dec. 15-16, 2018. A Diocletian follis from Carthage. It is a tad rough, but Carthage personified on the reverse is why LRB's can be so rewarding. The website Constantine the Great Coins has a terrific write up on the issues from this mint: http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/Carthage/ Diocletian Æ Follis (298-303 A.D.) Carthage Mint IMP DIOCLETIANVS PF AVG, laureate head right / SALVIS AVGG ET CAESS FEL KART, Carthage standing front, looking left, holding fruits in both hands, A in exergue. RIC VI Carthage 29a/31a. (9.08 grams / 27 x 24 mm) eBay June 2022 Attribution Notes: RIC VI 29a - small head type (298-299 A.D.) RIC VI 31a - large head type (299-303 A.D.) "RIC states "Elmer, N.Z.1932, divided this issue into two sections, with portraits small or less small and with Carthago thin or larger -- distinctions which are very difficult to maintain. It is likely that, if the issue was of any duration, these differences came about to some extent by natural variation and development."" Constantine the Great Coins http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/Carthage/ Pseudo-autonomous Æ 20 (Marcus Aurelius/Commodus) Germe, Mysia (see notes) (c. 138-192 A.D.) IEΡAC VΝΚΛΗ, unbearded, youthful head of Senate right / [Γ]E[ΡM]HNΩN, Herakles, naked, standing facing, head left, holding club and lion's skin. RPC IV.2, 11358 (temporary). (3.05 grams / 20 x 18 mm) eBay June 2022 Notes: Appears to be obverse die-match to eBay auction 371942123222, Seller arkadyn July 2022. Identified as: Ehling 403.5; SNG Copenhagen 126; SNG von Aulock -; SNG München -; BMC 5. RPC 11358 references: Ehling 382–4 ('Spätantoninisch') Notes: Both BMC and SNG Cop. place Germe in Lydia. Recent scholarship has discovered that it is actually in Mysia, on the river Rhyndakos. For further reading, see L. Robert, Villes d' Asia Mineure pp. 67-9, 171-201 and 37-411." Tom Mullally, FORVM This issue for Diadumenian from Sillyum (one of my favorite ancient town names) is apparently "unpublished" - I only know this thanks to Wildwinds, where the only other one I could find; it seems to be a die-match for mine. This is the only "unpublished" ancient I own, I think: Diadumenian Æ 17 Sillyum, Pamphylia (c. 217-218 A.D.) [...ANTΩ]ΔIAΔ[OVM...], bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right / CIΛΛV[Є]ΩN, Tyche standing left, holding rudder and cornucopia. Unpublished (see notes). (4.65 grams / 17 mm) eBay June 2022 Attribution Notes: Appears to be a die match for unpublished specimen on Wildwinds via Gitbud & Naumann Auction 38; Lot 568; 06.12.2015. Auction description: SNG von Aulock -; SNG Copenhagen -; BMC -; Isegrim -; apparently unpublished. Here's the Wildwinds die-match with mine (top): Here is one of those provincials with a very crude portrait - what a forehead! The Cremna mint was not hiring the best in the business, I'd say. Herennius Etruscus Æ 23 (251 A.D.) Cremna, Pisidia · IMP CAES · Q · ER · ETR · MES DECIVM, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / GEN COL CREM, Genius standing left holding patera and cornucopia, lighted altar left. RPC IX 975. (5.60 grams / 23 mm) eBay June 2022 Note: RPC states "Die-links 1-10: same pair of dies." But from examples online, it seems at least two dies used; this one matches Museum of Fine Arts Boston No. 63.888; the reverse die matches RPC IX 975 ex. 1. Dots not noted in obverse legend in RPC and elsewhere. RPC additional reference: vA Pisidien II, 1482–9 I'm saving the best for last - this one caused me a lot of difficulty to attribute: the POC on the obverse legend is usually found on Septimius Severus provincials, bet the portrait is clearly a boy. Caracalla? Geta? Severus Alexander? Elagabalus? After a lot of fumbling around online, I got a hit on acsearch: Vespasian, Jr.! Never heard of the guy, buy Smyrna issued some coins for him, and nowhere else. David Atherton posted one on Coin Talk: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/vespasian-the-younger.391901/ Here's mine: Vespasian the Younger Æ 16 Smyrna, Ionia (c. 94-95 A.D.) ΟΥƐ[ϹΠΑϹΙ]ΑΝ[ΟϹ] ΝΕΩΤΕΡΟϹ, bare-headed bust right / [ΖΜ]ΥΡΝ[Α]ΙΩΝ, Nike walking right holding wreath and palm branch over shoulder RPC II 1028; BMC 319; Klose, XLII, 1; plate 31, V1/R1. (3.02 grams / 16 mm) eBay June 2022 Attribution Notes: The portrait on this Smyrnian bronze.. (with) the inscription OYEC P ACIANOC NE W TEPOC (‘the younger Vespasian’), has been a subject of much debate...An accidental mulling of a Vespasian Junior portrait die and a reverse die (of) Nemesis intended for an issue of Domitian’s wife Domitia makes it clear that the subject must be Vespasian Jr. Beyond this single issue, no other coins are known to name or portray Vespasian Junior..." NAC AG Die Matches: Per RIC, there are two obverse dies, which looks to be the case from many online examples. For obv./rev. die match, see: Numismatica Ars Classica AG Auction 62; Lot 2031; 06.10.2011 For obverse die match (only), see RPC 1028, specimen No. 24 P.S. Anybody know what this one is - I could never figure it out:

That's a great-looking coin, Al. That cuirass on Septimius Severus is heavy-duty! Here is a less pretty one, with no cuirass, RIC 668b:

That is very interesting, @Roman Collector - and yep, I could see the "same day" theory being very plausible. As always, Faustina Friday sends me off to dig around my own collection, and here is my RIC 1192Aa. I don't want to get overly excited here, but my obverse looks an awful lot like the two OP's, but no die-break. Some of the lettering sans break looks very similar; if not a die match, perhaps the same celator, different day? Or is it a die-match before the break occurred in the die? The flans a bit squarish as well... 😲 Faustina I Æ As / Dupondius 1st Phase: funeral, deification (c. 140-143 A.D.) Rome Mint [DIVA] AVGVSTA FAVSTIN[A], draped bust right / PIETAS AVG, S-C, Pietas standing left, dropping incense onto candelabrum-altar and holding box of incense. RIC 1192Aa; Cohen 241. (11.97 grams / 28 mm) eBay Aug. 2019 Here's my RIC 1192Ab, which has a veiled bust; I really like these veiled types, but they don't come along in my price range very often. This one's pretty mangled, so my attribution may be off (is that an altar I see?). Here's a big sestertius to round out the group, also veiled, also cruddy: Die-match or not, thanks again for another fine, informative Faustina Friday.

Wow, this post made me nervous, @ominus1 😓 The reason being I just bought something off this seller in August. Here it is - he didn't know what it was, but I recognized the Apollo Salutari type of Trebonianus Gallus - unique to that emperor and thought to be connected to one of the horrible plagues afflicting the empire at that time. The flan is very square and underweight, but I really liked how it looked otherwise, and it was dirt cheap. In hand, I was quite pleased with it, despite all the missing legends. Trebonianus Gallus Æ Sestertius (251-253 A.D.) Rome Mint 6th Officina, 4th emission [IMP CAE(S) C VIB(IVS) T]RE[B(ONIANVS) GALLVS AVG], laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. / [APOLLO SALV]TARI, S-C, Apollo standing left holding branch and leaning on lyre set on rock. (11.74 grams / 24 x 21 mm) eBay Aug. 2022 (Spain) $14.40 Attribution: Based on more intact die-matches (which see): RIC IV 104a (sestertius); Banti 6; Cohen 21. RIC 103: APOLL SALVT... RIC 104a: APOLLO SALVT... "APOLLO instead of APOLL. This type is much rarer." "Four Bad Years" Note: not sure of this; quite a few on acsearch (see die-matches) Attribution Notes: Despite low weight, probably a sestertius based on bust and Apollo size: RIC 103: Long obverse legend with APOLL reverse. No As. RIC 104a: Long obverse legend, with APOLLO; Sest. and As. RIC 104b: Short obverse legend, with APOLLO; Sest. and As. Die-Match Characteristics: Obv.: Large, upwards ties. Rev.: Detailed lyre; S large, C small, at corner of lyre; narrow A, sloppy R in SALVTARI. Obverse (?) and Reverse: CNG, Inc. Auction 94; Lot 1193; 18.09.2013 Reverse only: CNG, Inc. Elec. Auction 286; Lot 370; 05.09.2012 Baldwin's Auction 100; Lot 847; 27.09.2016 This post made me question it, although looking at the seller's other auctions, I didn't see too many red flags. So I decided to do an acsearch for die-matches and found a few likely candidates - I am never entirely sure about die-matches on ancients, but here are some I found (obv./rev. and a rev. only) - these always make me feel a bit more secure when it comes to authenticity: So, I like your OP, and it doesn't look fake to me, at least in the usual Bulgarian pressed way that you see all over.

Donna, thank you so much for your thorough efforts to track this coin down - I do appreciate it. Your excellent reference library seems to confirm what my slogging through acsearch and the World Wide Web in general indicates - an unpublished, perhaps unique type. Your comment "assuming authenticity" is pertinent - as with most of my ancients, this came from eBay, from a seller I'd never heard of. The general feel and fabric and look of it looks okay to me, and I'm not sure why a counterfeiter would bother coming up with a brand new type, strike it, then low-ball it on eBay. But as we all know, eBay abounds with fakes and some of them are quite deceptive. And I've never understood the criminal mind! Anyway, thanks again - 😊

Thanks @KenDorney - that's what I will probably do, keep it general. I'm not very picky about such things, but I was kind of surprised I couldn't find any other examples. Most of my late-Roman tets have many, many examples.

This Roman Provincial Egyptian tetradrachm of Gallienus has been in my collection for a few years with a sketchy "BMC 2195" attribution that came I know not where. Recently I decided to check on this and see if I could get any other references... But I'm stumped! I can't find another one of these anywhere, acsearch, Wildwinds, MANTIS, etc.: Nike advancing right, LIE date in left field. Here it is (8.18 grams / 22 mm): I consulted Dattari online - I don't read Italian, so I'm having some difficulty here. The section on Gallienus Nike tetradrachms is here (at least I think this is all of it - online book browsing is not one of my talents): At first I thought it was No. 5257, but I think the "s" stands for left here (sinister left and dexter right, or something like that?), and the LI E is split across the fields. CNG auctioned a Dattari 5257, which looks like this - Nike advancing left, LIE date split across fields: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3294032 That CNG is the closest I could find - Nike walking left, split date in fields. Other than that, I found either wrong dates or facing Nike with shield; Nike walking right with LID date in right field is fairly common, so maybe mine is like that but a different (unlisted?) date in the right field. Here is one from FORVM: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?zpg=27605 Any help with this much appreciated. Feel free to toss some Gallienus tets in if you want; I like looking at them.

A very impressive collection of Neros in a short period of time - congratulations, @LONGINUS My latest Nero is not pretty at all, but it has a kind of interesting history - a Vindex rebellion countermark (I have since worked on the the bronze disease that afflicts it; the photo was how I received it): Nero / Vindex Rebellion Æ As (62-68 A.D.) (C/M March-June 68 A.D.) Lugdunum Mint NER[O C]L[AVD CAESA]R AVG GER P M TR P IMP P P bare head right, globe at neck / S C, Victory winged moving left, holding shield inscribed SPQR. RIC I 477; WCN 574; Lyon 150. (9.95 grams / 28 x 27 mm) eBay May 2022 Countermark: SPQR in rectangular punch (5 x 3 mm) Pangerl 26 or 27. "...these countermarks were applied by Gallic rebels circa 68 A.D., under the command of rebel governor Gaius Julius Vindex (who) swore allegiance to Galba... Interestingly, all of these civil war countermarks appear in the same location, directly across Nero's neck." Vcoins Incitatus listing

Great topic. Here are some musical instruments via ancient countermarks: Pamphylia, Sillyon Æ 17 (c. 300-100 B.C.) Laureate head of Apollo right / ΣΕΛΥΝ[ΙΥΣ] Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter, thunderbolt in field left. SNG France 956; SNG Cop. 437 Countermark: chelys (lyre) in 7 x 5 mm rectangle. No. ref. (4.07 grams / 17 mm) eBay Aug. 2020 Countermark: Found only one countermarked Sillyon but not a chelys. This countermark similar to those found on Bithynia Æs for Prusias "cf. SNG von Aulock 6881 (for countermarks)." (CNG Web Shop via acsearch) Two "goats" from Aeolis - these harp countermarks are fairly common on goats, but I've never found any information on them:

Those are lovely, @DonnaML I too have a Hadrian from Egypt with Serapis...let me know if you want to work out a trade 😇 Hadrian Æ Drachm Year 3 (LΓ) (118/119 A.D.) Alexandria Mint [ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙϹ ΤΡΑΙ]ΑΝΟϹ [ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟϹ ϹƐΒ], laureate head right, drapery on shoulder / Temple with two columns, Sarapis within standing facing, resting hand on shrine, holding sceptre, [L]- Γ (?) (15.20 grams / 30 mm) eBay Sep. 2021 $4.75 BIN Attribution Note: Obverse legend [ΤΡΑΙ]ΑΝΟϹ is found on early issues only. Reverse letter in right field has straight back, probably Γ RPC III, 5170; Geissen 777; BMC Greek (Alexandria) 2909. Serapis in "classical" temple type seems to be scarce; only one in acsearch, though RPC refs. 11 museum specimens. So that's was $4.75 on eBay will get you sometimes... An even better "deal" from my local dealer's junk box for $2, a tetradrachm...or an imitation of one. As @Ed Snible suggests, perhaps the good metal came out for Imperial Visits - this was an off year in Alexandria, obviously: Hadrian Billon Tetradrachm (Year 10 / 125-126 A.D.) Alexandria Mint AYT KAI TPAI AΔPIA CEB, laureate,draped and cuirassed bust right / LΔE-KATOY, bust of Selene right, crowned with crescent on taenia, RCV (2002) 3728; Dattari 1482; Milne 1109; Geissen 916 (9.50 grams / 24 mm) A-Z Sept. 16, 2019 Attribution Note: RPC III, 5595 tetradrachm: Average diameter 24 mm' Average weight 8.98 g; Specimens 14 https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/3/5595 9/17/2019 Provenance Note: Cardboard flip stated "Found in Egypt 1972" From the same junk box came this mystery Egyptian coin of Hadrian (or a fake). It came with the same "found in Egypt 1972" quasi-provenance. The size never aligned up with any denomination I could find: Hadrian Æ Hemidrachm? (Year 14 / 129-130 A.D.) Alexandria Mint AYT KAI TPAI AΔPIA CEB, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / LI - Δ Isis Pharia standing right, holding sistrum and billowing sail. RPC III 5748; Dattari 1753 (?). (Lightweight forgery or Diobol?) (7.79 grams / 27 mm) Attribution Note: Weight is light for hemidrachms of this era, but about right for a diobol. No diobols of this type are listed for Hadrian. Provenance Note: Flip stated "Found in Egypt 1972" This is off-topic since it is an imperial, but it just came in the mail a couple days ago and I am excited about it - an Imperial as featuring a personification of the Nile. These appear to be rather scarce, at least I couldn't find many online. I haven't fully attributed it yet, but I think it is RIC 1714 (2nd Ed.) (old RIC II 868). My first Nile and my first hippopotamus (barely - he's crawling up Nilus's lap like a house cat). Mine appears to be a die match to one sold by CNG (obverse for sure, probably, probably not the reverse): https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=130874

This thread seems to be a great place to inflict my collection of eastern mint SAs on the Forum...all three of them. Or at least I think I have three of Severus Alexander denarii from Antioch (or the vaguely East). 😀 This first one with Pietas is one of the first ancients I ever bought, c. 1987: Severus Alexander Denarius (222-223 A.D.) Antioch or Eastern Mint IMP C M AVR S[EVAL]EXAND AVG, laureate, draped bust right / PIETAS AVG Pietas standing left, holding right hand over altar, incense box in left arm. RIC IV 292; BMCRE 1057. (2.75 grams / 19 x 16 mm) Columbus, Ohio c. 1987 This one features Victory, and back in 2017 when I attributed it, I seemed to have been confused as to whether it was RIC 215 or 302 - I need to update this! There is a note from FORVM that I hope corresponds to it: Severus Alexander Denarius (c. 228-231 A.D.) Antioch Mint IMP SEV ALEXAND AVG, laureate and draped bust right / VICTORIA AVG, Victory advancing right, wreath raised in right hand, palm frond in left over shoulder RIC 215 or 302 (3.16 grams / 18 mm) eBay Feb. 2017 Lot @ $9.33 RIC: "Denarii with the type of Victory running right holding wreath and palm (#215), appear to have been struck mainly in the East (Antioch). They are peculiar inasmuch as the obverse legend places their issue between 228 and 231 (probably in 231), but the style of portrait is youthful & characteristic of the earlier years of the reign." (FORVM posting) http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=59413.0;wap2 This one's with Aequitas - since it is a limes issue, I'm not sure attributing it to a specific mint even makes much sense, but it seemed to have the "Antioch Look": Severus Alexander Limes Denarius (222-228 A.D.) Antioch Mint IMP CM AVR SEV ALEXAND AVG, laureate, draped bust right, seen from behind / AEQVITAS AVG Aequitas standing facing, head left, scales in right hand, cornucopiae in left. RIC 274. (limes, probably) (2.73 grams / 20 mm) eBay Mar. 2019 Any corrections to these Antioch attributions greatly appreciated - I don't trust my attribution skills when it comes to "style" considerations.

I am honored! Thank you so much for the shout-out; I've never won a coin trophy before. It will go on my virtual fireplace mantel. I did not realize that Sol as was so scarce - it was just the usual bottom-feeding, sometimes I get lucky. Same goes for the Mamaea-on-the-crescent - ever since @Roman Collectorwrote those up on CT I wanted one, but figured I'd never be able to afford it. Again, luck. As for Liberalitas, that SA in your collection is very handsome, as well as beefy. I do wonder whether those got "special" treatment from the mint - extra big, more carefully struck. Not just for Severus Alexander either - somebody ought to do a thread on that (hint hint) 😁

Some lovely Tyches in this thread. Not to bring down the neighborhood, I'm going to share two of my ugliest. This one was in my collection for a couple years before I figured out I'd misattributed it to Severus Alexander; it is actually Macrinus, from Macedon: Macrinus Æ 22 Macedonia, Amphipolis (217-218 A. D.) [AV M O(pit over Π)]Є C[ЄV M]AKPIN[OC], laureate and cuirassed bust right /[AMΦIΠ]OΛEITΩN, Tyche-City Goddess enthroned left holding patera. Varbanov 3285; Sear GIC 2910. (5.87 grams / 22 mm ) eBay July 2020 Attribution Notes: I originally thought this was Severus Alexander; it is Macrinus. The lack of a fish in the exergue is what tipped me off (all Severus Alexanders have the fish). What looks like an O before the Є in the obverse legend seems to be a pit in the surface of the flan. From father to son, this one was issued by Sillyum. It is just awful, part of an unattributed eBay lot (from whence a lot of my Provincials come). I could only find one other example, the Wildwinds plate coin, said to be unpublished. This one seems to be a die-match, so now there's two of 'em - I'm willing to consider offers in the low five figures 😇 . Diadumenian Æ 17 Sillyum, Pamphylia (c. 217-218 A.D.) [...ANTΩ]ΔIAΔ[OVM...], bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right / CIΛΛV[Є]ΩN, Tyche standing left, holding rudder and cornucopia. Unpublished (see notes). (4.65 grams / 17 mm) eBay June 2022 Lot @ $0.99 Attribution Notes: Appears to be a die match for unpublished specimen on Wildwinds via Gitbud & Naumann Auction 38; Lot 568; 06.12.2015. Auction description: SNG von Aulock -; SNG Copenhagen -; BMC -; Isegrim -; apparently unpublished. My ugly one compared to the much more appetizing Wildwinds example: I have handsomer Tyches, but this gave me an excuse to post a couple of plug-uglies.

Wow, that is an impressive collection of middle bronzes @Severus Alexander - in my eBay scrounging experience, these are quite hard to find, but I have a couple of them. My most recent is this one, an as with Providentia, RIC 644b - it is very robust for an As of the period at 12.33 grams. Or is it? This is an upgrade for me. Both of my RIC 644b's are a bit of a mystery to me - for a third century as, they are massive, almost the size of some of SA's sestertii that I have. This led me to put together a photo group of all my Providentia AEs, below. Top row: Left is a sestertius (Providentia holds cornucopiae) RIC 642b (heavy for a Severan at 24.00 grams); to the right is a sestertius (Providentia holds an anchor) RIC 645b (a typical 15.81 grams). Bottom Row: My new 644b As is in the middle (heavy at 12.33 grams). Another 644b (black) is to the right (really heavy at 13.96 grams). On the far left is a Providentia As RIC 416 (about what you'd expect at 8.90 grams). *************** I have one other heavy Severus Alexander As, this one featuring Liberalitas (or possibly Moneta - the reverse is in very poor knick). It is very heavy at 14.70 grams; I posted it on Coin Talk for opinions and Curtis Clay says it is an As: Severus Alexander Æ As (c. 222-231 A.D.) Rome Mint IMP CAES M AVR SEV ALEX[ANDER AVG] laureate, draped, bust right / LIBERALITAS AVGVST SC, Liberalitas standing left, holding coin counter and cornucopiae. RIC 569. (14.70 grams / 27 x 25 mm) eBay Feb. 2020 Attribution Note: I posted this on CT 02/28/20, Curtis Clay confirmed it is an As. Reverse is hard to determine, "AVGVST[I]" is visible to right, which leaves: RIC 569 (Liberalitas) AVGVST RIC 588 (Moneta) AVGVSTI **************** In the realm of SA's coinage reforms, I also lucked into a Julia Mamaea on a crescent dupondius RIC 682 - noted by @Roman Collector above. This one is rough, and has suffered a harsh cleaning, but the one benefit is that the golden color of the orichalcum is evident. It weighs 7.90 grams: ***************** Back in May I added another SA As to my small accumulation - RIC 530 sol standing (9.90 grams). Nothing noteworthy, just new for me, and fairly typical in fabric:

Wow indeed - I am quite thrilled to have a type 8 of such magnitude. Something about even blind squirrels find the occasional nut; that sums up my collection. Thank you for confirming the hairstyle ID. Here is a new photo - the harsh light of the sun has somewhat dampened by "BD cured" diagnosis - back in the distilled water it goes!

This was a very helpful thread, @Roman Collector - all your Faustina Friday's are helpful, but this one was exceptionally illuminating. Beckmann's book is wonderful, but when it comes to the hairstyle types, I tend to get confused, flipping back and forth between sections, etc. Your post here made the hairstyle types much easier for me to grasp. As always this sent me to my collection, looking for something to contribute (and more often than not, re-attribute). This past May I bought 40 Romans from an eBay seller in Canada. It was a real hodge-podge, most in awful shape. But there were some interesting things in there (my only Imperial Macrinus, for one), and now I think it possible there was a Beckmann Type 8 hair-do in there as well. If so, it is of the rare middle bronze type - Katie sell the farm! Time for early retirement! 😄: My apologies for the photo - since this was taken, I treated it for bronze disease which you can see here and there in the declivities and pockmarks. It cleaned up pretty well, but the pockmarks are still there. The hair seems to be going down towards the ear, Type 8 fashion...or I'm seeing things. Faustina II Æ As / Dupondius (c. 162-164 A.D.) Rome Mint FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right wearing circlet of pearls / [IVNO]NI REGINAE S-C, Juno, veiled, standing left, holding patera & sceptre; peacock at feet. RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1652 (10.48 grams / 23 x 22 mm) eBay May 2022 Lot @ $5 BIN Notes: "The lack of an all-round legend and the use of the type 7 hairstyle imply a date for the IVNONI REGINAE with Juno standing type of AD 162 at the earliest. The abundance of the issue suggests it was in production for at least a year or two. Therefore, I assign the issue a date of AD 162-164." Roman Collector on CT Jan. 2022 It is not a die-match for the example you posted, but they share a family resemblance, I think. Because of the harsh cleaning it endured, you can see the original metal; at first glance it looks more brassy (dupondius) than coppery (as), but depending on the light, I keep changing my mind. So as/dupondius it is. Here's mine and the OP: It looks slightly, only slightly, better in hand. Someday I'll try to get better, post-BD photos. My other examples discussed in the OP appear to be Type 7 hair. Again, thanks for the thorough, informative post. Corrections to my low-grade musings always welcome!

Very handsome hockey puck, @Al Kowsky. Just last week I got one from Ptolemy IV, but not as massive as yours. I think this is a hemiobol (33 grams) from the "Alexander Cornucopia Series 5" (per http://ptolemybronze.com/ptolemy_series.html ). It is rough, but under $20 so I went for it: Ptolemy IV Philopator Æ 32 Alexandria Cornucopia Series 5 (221-204 B.C.) Diademed head of Zeus-Ammon right / [ΠΤΟΛΕ]ΜΑΙΟΥ BΑΣ[ΙΛΕΩΣ], eagle, wings closed standing left on winged thunderbolt, cornucopiae left, ΔI (or ΛI ?) between legs. Svoronos 1127 (ΔI) / 1128 (ΛI). (33.00 grams / 32 x 30 mm) eBay Sep. 2022 It is a duplicate; sometimes I just can't help myself. Here is my earlier, nicer one. These come with either ΔI or ΛI between the eagle's legs but I am not entirely sure which one either of mine has: