Marsyas Mike

That is a nutty price. I think these used to be available in bulk from dealers for $20 or so. Indian sellers on eBay seem to be getting about $6 on up for them, over and over and over: https://www.ebay.com/sch/11116/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=pondicherry&rt=nc&LH_Sold=1&LH_Complete=1

Nice coins in this post. I'm not sure if I'm imagining things, but a ton of Roman Egyptian stuff is showing up on eBay (where I hunt) and as far as I can tell, it mostly (mostly, not all) appears to be genuine. Here're a few recent highlights: This horrible thing is actually quite rare - a Year 1 tet of Elagabalus, Ares reverse. I could only find three, all on the RPC site, and all of these are heads - mine is draped (and cuirassed, per RPC). I wrote RPC to see what they thought and it is now official - part of the RPC system (RPC VI, 30698 (temporary))! I'm so proud. Too bad this is so ugly; but so far, it seems to be unique. I'm accepting offers starting in the low $$gazillions. See: https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/6/30698: Tetradrachms of Vespasian and Commodus - Vespasian has a double(d) chin: A big AE drachm of Antoninus Pius with a biga of winged ssssnakesssss. I took some pains looking for die-matches since I was a bit nervous about how cheap this interesting type went for. Antoninus Pius Æ Drachm Year ΙΔ = 14 (150-151 A.D.) Alexandria Mint Α[VΤ Κ Τ ΑΙΛ ΑΔΡ ΑΝΤƱΝΙΝΟϹ Ϲ]ƐΒ ƐVϹ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / Triptolemos driving biga of winged serpents right, L ΙΔ above. RPC IV.4, 13708 (temporary) (20.08 grams / 31 x 30 mm) eBay August 2023 $38.00 Attribution (CNG, etc.): RPC IV.4, 13708 (temporary); Köln 1662; Dattari (Savio) 2908; K&G 35.517; Emmett 1683.14. Die-Match Characteristics: Obv: Big tie-loop; big drapery loop at front, "shelf" at hairline; rounded beard. Rev: Dot between wing and snake's neck; Triptolemus short arm; lopsided biga wheel. Die-Match Obv. & Rev.: Coin no. 8 of RPC IV.4, 13708 Hunterian Museum, Glasgow ID: SNGuk_1202_4219 Coin no. 22 of RPC IV.4, 13708 Aiello ("John Aiello, a prominent ancient coin wholesaler" FORVM). Die-Match Obverse: Coin no. 6 of RPC IV.4, 13708 Bibliothèque nationale de France Inventory no. 2268 Coin no. 7 of RPC IV.4, 13708 Bibliothèque nationale de France Inventory no. 2269 Coin no. 12 of RPC IV.4, 13708 Bibliothèque nationale de France Inv. no. 1967/1705 (Maspero)

I'm jealous - not only of your great cobs, but because you got to meet Hal Blackburn in person. Living in the Midwest, I only ever talked to him on the phone - back in those days you had to reserve coins over the phone to secure the sale (as you may remember). He was always very personable despite getting a gazillion phone calls when his lists came out. Furthermore, on every invoice, no matter for how small a purchase, he'd leave a small, handwritten personal note. All-round nice guy. And I miss his lists. And 1988 prices. On the subject of ugly cobs that saw the world, here's one I think has a "Madura Star" countermark. If not, it is a chopmark of some sort: This one has a tremendous amount of wear, a hole through the "Madura Star," but the Arabic inscription is clear: That's it for cobs in my collection - I used to collect world countermarks (now I mostly do ancients).

Lovely cob, @robinjojo. I too collect ancients, mainly, but one of the first coins I ever bought was a cob 8 reales. Thanks to your chart, I think my original attribution to Philip IV is correct. This came from Hal Blackburn of Blackburn & Blackburn, who issued numerous "popularly-priced" world coin lists back in the day (1980s-1990s) before the Internet. He had a batch of these and said they came from Hong Kong, but had been smuggled in from the mainland (back when China was considerably more closed off than nowadays). I bought it in 1988 - it has worn this powdery green look since then, with no change. Note the chopmarks and how bent it is:

Interesting post @Sulla80. A few years back I got an al marco'd denarius very cheap, I think because the seller thought it was outright damage: Roman Republic Denarius L. Aemilius Lepidus Paullus (62 B.C.) Rome Mint Concordia veiled & diademed r., PAVLLVS LEPIDVS CONCORDIA / TER PAVLVS above and under L Aemilius Paullus standing r., trophy, Perseus and two sons captive on the left. Aemilia 10; Crawford 415/1. (3.83 grams / 19 mm) eBay April 2020 Note: Al marco marks obverse: "...many Roman Republican denarii issues between 123 & 49/48 BC were adjusted al marco...adjust the flans before striking, by gouging slivers of metal...with a scorper. This produces characteristic undercut lunate ‘judder' marks, belly forward across the cut. The metal of the judders folds over, and the judder is usually visible..." Clive Stannard Another view of the mark - note the "judder":

Lovely coin, @lordmarcovan. Mine used to look like that at one time...note the NCAPR countermark, its only saving grace:

What a terrific, and well-organized account of all the various theories behind these eagle countermarks! Thank you so much for providing this @Kiaora - I learned a lot - especially that the latest theory (Woods) places this issue back to c. 610 A.D. Verrry interesting. It is also nice to see another eagle countermark example - it looks great to me. When it comes to countermarks on ancients, I don't worry too much about condition - these coins were typically worked very hard. Which makes them very interesting. Thanks again.

I wonder about the purchasing power too...the original coin was so old, that the purchasing power of a follis surely would've changed over the decades. The article by Schulze speculates: "What could happen in such a situation? For the authorities, an obvious possibility was to look for older coins that were out of circulation — some of them extremely worn — and revalue them by countermarking. Using the eagle symbol — either reminiscent of imperial power known to the people of Caesarea through their own Roman provincial coin issues or following the example set by contemporary lead seals — the old coins were carefully revalued by replacing the mintmark with the ‘eagle’ countermark as a sign of new authority. This brought them back into circulation or gave them a new value. All of this certainly did not happen immediately after the battle of Yarmukh, but probably in the years 637–640." But doesn't this mean that there was some kind of hoard of "coins that were out of circulation" in the imperial treasury? Why keep such coins around? As any collector of Byzantine AEs can tell you, the Byzantine authorities constantly overstruck older coins (and I'm guessing they melted down older ones for re-coinage as well). I suppose this could mean they stockpiled old coins for such overstriking. Another factor is shrinkage - the follis of the time of Heraclius was much smaller than those of the Justinian era. Maybe old, but big, folles with new, crisp eagles countermarked on them were an effort to bolster morale among the troops? Heck if I know! But it is fun to speculate.

Oooo, I love this coin @JayAg47. It has been a kind of bucket-list coin for me since the 1980s when I saw it on the cover of one of the Penguin Classics paperbacks: (photo from Goodreads) Same guy, but not nearly as pretty, here is one I recently got from an eBay undescribed lot. It isn't in horrible shape, but unfortunately it has one of those green-brown patinas that looks like duck hunter's camo, making it very hard to see. The reverse is a trophy arranged to look like Athena, which is kind of interesting: Kingdom of Thrace Æ 21 Lysimachos (c. 295/294 - 289/288 B.C.) Uncertain Western Asia Minor or Uncertain Macedonian Mint Young male head (or Athena) right, wearing Phrygian helmet / [B]AΣIΛ[EΩΣ] ΛYΣIMAXOY, trophy of arms resembling Athena standing left. (6.07 grams / 21 x 20 mm) eBay Oct. 2023 Attribution: SNG Copenhagen 1164-7; Mueller pl. 2, 13; HGC 3.2, 1755; Sear SG 6818. Note: Wildwinds says obverse head is Athena; auctions say "young male head." Demos, Leu & CNG say "Uncertain mint in Western Asia Minor" Agora says "Uncertain Macedonian mint, struck 295/4-289/8"

I sure wasn't bidding on it, I promise. Furthermore, I like the lower-grade versions posted by @CPK and @Ryro. Here's a low-grade one I snagged on eBay, badly mis-listed and very cheap and whacked with banker's marks: That being said, I am going to venture an inexpert opinion - do you notice the three lower-grade versions posted here have a slight concave/convex strike to them? The CNG example looks very, very "flat" especially on the obverse. I don't care for this look, as it reminds me of all those "Bulgarian" fakes on eBay that have been pressed by a machine rather than struck. Undoubtedly the experts at CNG have far more knowledge about these matters than I do, but despite its high grade, I don't like it. A few die-matches would give me more confidence in it, but I'm still not crazy about its look. The beauty posted by @jdmKY was posted as I typed this - it too seems less concave/convex, but it doesn't look "pressed" to me. And that portrait is spectacular - compare it to the CNG example, which is far sketchier. Maybe this issue had a wide range of striking characteristics/artistic merit - those were troubled times. Again, I'm a rank amateur!

Feast or famine; with ancient countermarks, I find that either there is no information on them whatsoever, or a feast, with an abundance of information. This unappetizing Byzantine follis I recently found on eBay turned out to be a feast, with several theories on why it got countermarked and where. First the coin (some may find the ugliness of this coin to be disturbing, so viewer discretion advised): Byzantine Empire Æ Follis Heraclius (c. 610-640 A.D.) Caesarea Maritima (Egypt?) Host coin: Constantinople (?) follis star | cross | star type of Justin I (SB 62) (518-527 A.D.) or Justinian I (SB 160) (527-538 A.D.) Countermark: Stylized eagle, pellet above, in 9 mm circle. (9.64 grams / 30 x 28 mm) eBay Oct. 2023 I've only been able to find one other sale of these online, which fortunately was from FORVM, which can always be relied upon to give a lot of information. Here is FORVM: Byzantine Empire, Maurice Tiberius, 13 August 582 - 22 November 602 A.D.; Palestina Prima Countermark Due to new finds around Caesarea Maritima, Wolfgang Schulze re-attributed this countermark from Egypt to Palestina Prima. David Woods proposes that "Nicetas, the cousin of the future emperor Heraclius, ordered the countermarking of these coins as he advanced from Egypt into Palestine during the summer of 610 in order to signal the change of government from Phocas to the Heraclii." Another possible date is after the recovery of Syria from the Persians in 628. Schulze dates it to the Arab siege of 637 - 640 A.D., to which Caesarea succumbed. This is only the third example known of this eagle countermark applied to a coin of Maurice Tiberius. Woods identified the other examples, as "a careless accident." SH77069. Bronze follis, Hahn MIB II 65b, DOC I 22 var. (no 4th officina), SBCV 494; for countermark see Schulze INR 2009, and Woods (Heraclius, Palestina Prima), countermark: VF, coin: aF, areas of corrosion, 4th officina, Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) mint, weight 11.287g, maximum diameter 31.5mm, die axis 180o, coin c. 583 - 584, countermark c. 610 - 637; obverse DN mAV - RC P P AV, crowned bust facing, crown with cross and pendilia, globus cruciger in right hand, shield on left shoulder; reverse large M (40 nummi) between ANNO and II (regnal year 2), Δ (4th officina) below, CON in exergue; countermark: in exergue, eagle standing facing, head right, wings raised, in a round punch; from The Jimi Berlin Caesarea Collection (found at Caesarea, Israel); very rare countermark; SOLD https://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?param=77069q00.jpg&vpar=1376&zpg=87823&fld= Unlike FORVM's example, the host coin on my example is the more common Justin I / Justinian I follis; I suspect mine is Justin I, based on the spacing of the letters, but I am not entirely sure of this, as the middle NVS/ANVS part of the legend is missing. The mintmark on mine is also mostly missing, but I think I can make out the N for CON. I was able to locate Schulze's article on academia.com, and find his theories observations on what, where and why for this countermark to be very compelling. The Byzantine ‘Eagle’ Countermark –Re-attributed from Egypt to Palestine by WOLFGANG SCHULZE ABSTRACT During the turbulent years of the Arab conquest of Syria in the 30s of the seventh century CE, a series of Byzantine countermarks was in use. One of them, the ‘eagle’ countermark, has been attributed for a long time to Egypt and may now be re-attributed to Palestine on the basis of new evidence. This countermark may have been applied on old and worn Byzantine coins in order to revalue them during the siege of Caesarea (637–640 CE). INTRODUCTION Byzantine coins bearing a countermark depicting an eagle with upraised wings were first published over 30 years ago (Bendall1976:230). Up to now such countermarks were known exclusively on coins of Justin I and Justinian I (Fig. 1)The round countermark shows a standing bird (‘eagle’) with wings curved upward and a pellet above. It has a diameter of approximately 8 mm and is placed exclusively on the reverses of the host coins. Evans stated that “all [countermarks]are placed at approximately the same place on the reverses of folles, obscuring the offcinae , but carefully avoiding disfiguring the M or the mintmark.” (Evans 2006:24). Looking at the coins in the catalogue below, we can be more precise. On most of the coins, the application of the countermark at the same place of the host coin is indisputable. The countermarks are usually placed on the mintmark or on the offcina, disfiguring one or the other and sometimes both. But nevertheless there are four coins with countermarks placed indiscriminately beside or on the M (Cat. Nos. 1, 10, 16, 21).In contrast to the worn host coins, the countermarks are usually fresh. Takinginto account the fact that Bendall only knew of three specimens and that we can use the evidence of 25 specimens today, his statement “the designs of the countermarks are as worn as the coins” (Bendall 1976:230) cannot be maintained. It seems that several ‘eagle’ countermark dies were in use, sometimes of fine, sometimes of rough style. This could point to a larger production than their rarity in excavations, museums or in trade may suggest (Fig. 2). https://www.academia.edu/6830710/The_Byzantine_Eagle_Countermark_Re_attributed_from_Egypt_to_Palestine The article goes on with various other aspects and theories about this countermark and the tumultuous history of those times. Feel free to share any other Byzantine and/or Arabic countermarks, etc.

Years ago I bought a low-grade sestertius of Antoninus Pius (quadriga reverse) on eBay. I was intrigued by the unusual blue "patina" and the low price: After getting it in hand...my hand warmed up the patina and it grew tacky. A dab of hand sanitizer later, and I discovered the coin had been painted blue: I left a few fragments of blue in some of the declivities to show it's tawdry, fraudulent blue past. Here is a truly blue coin in my collection, a follis of Phocas:

Nice detective work, @Furryfrog02. As soon as I saw the coin I was positive it was...Macrinus. Oops.

Great post @ambr0zie. I too "cheated" my way into a similar Julius Caesar from Macedon - mine is from Domitian's reign and I got it cheap, in an unattributed eBay lot - 2-and-a-half emperors? Domitian, Augustus and the-never-quite-emperor Julius Caesar: Domitian Æ 25 Philippi, Macedon (87 A.D.) [IMP CAES D]OMIT AVG GERM COS XIII, laureate head l. / [COL A]V[G I]VL PHILIPP three bases; on middle one, statue of Augustus in military dress crowned by statue of Divus Julius wearing toga, D[IVVS]|A[VG] on base. Attribution: Only type for Domitian with COS XIII. RPC II 345; Varbanov 3779; Mionnet I, 283. (7.03 grams / 25 x 24 mm) eBay April 2022 Lot @ $5.00 Possible Die Match: Coin no. 11 of RPC II,345 Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Inventory 1132

Nice coins in this post - congrats on your first silver Cappadocian, @expat For some reason, I've gotten quite a few Cappadocian coins this year, both AE and silver. My most recent is a countermarked example - not the usual helios head, but what might be a legionary mark. When I started researching it, I was surprised to see how many coins from Cappadocia received military countermarks. Including this one, maybe. My speculations below (LX... sorta visible?): Antoninus Pius Æ 15 Caesarea, Cappadocia ƐΤΒ = year 2 (139-140 A.D.) ΑΝΤΩΝΙΝΟϹ ϹƐΒ[ΑϹΤΟϹ], bare head right / ΚΑΙϹΑ[ΡƐ ΤΩ ΠΡ ΑΡΓΑΙΩ | ƐΤΒ in exergue, Mt. Argaeus with wreath on summit RPC IV.3 7997 (temporary); Ganschow 221a. (3.00 grams / 15 x 14 mm) eBay Oct. 2023 Countermark: Roman numerals and/or letters in 6 x 2 mm rectangle obverse on neck of bust. Because the countermark is weakly struck at the bottom half, it is difficult to interpret. There are several legionary type cm's in RPC/Howgego GIC for Cappadocia; see RPC 736-741a for all LX... types. Some likely possibilities are listed below: FVLM RPC CM 866; GIC 736 Legion XII Fulminata L·XII RPC CM 868; GIC 737 i Legion XI Fulminata LXIIF RPC CM 870; GIC 738 Legion XI Fulminata LXV RPC CM 873; GIC 740 i Legion XV Apollinaris [L?] XVI RPC CM 875; GIC 741 Legion XV Apollinaris Note: Other possibilities in RPC but some are too large. Here's a Gordian III with the common Helios head - it features wonky workmanship (in my opinion) and die-matches all 3 RPC examples (which are also countermarked). That's kind of weird, I think: Gordian III Æ 24 Caesarea, Cappadocia Δ = Year 4 (243 A.D.) ΑΥ Κ Μ ΑΝΤ ΓΟ[ΡΔ]ΙΑΝΟϹ, radiate head right / ΜΗΤΡ[ΟΠ ΚΑΙϹ]Α Β Ν | ƐΝΤΙ | ƐΤ Δ, Mount Argaeus set on inscribed (ƐΝΤΙ) altar RPC VII.2 3350 / Countermark Howgego 12i; RPC CM 129. (10.00 grams / 24 mm) eBay July 2023 Ganschow 884b corr.; Bland 1996, 120 corr. Countermark: Radiate head of Helios right, in circular punch, 5 mm., in obverse right field. RPC Countermark 129; Howgego GIC 12i (242 pcs.). "Note: The countermark was most likely applied in 243/244 since there are no countermarked coins from year seven of the reign of Gordian III." FORVM. Note: All 3 RPC examples are die-matches; all 3 countermarked... Here's a more normal looking Gordian III, also with the countermark: Here's a Lucius Verus AE I bought by mistake - thinking it was a silver drachm. I had trouble attributing it - there are ambiguous examples and notes in RPC. Mine looks pretty good, even compared to the RPC examples, and it doesn't look cast, or (a modern) fake or whatever. If anybody has any corrections, I'd be much obliged: Lucius Verus Æ Didrachm? Caesarea, Cappadocia (c. 161-169 A.D.) ΑΥΤΟΚΡ ΟΥΗΡΟϹ ϹƐΒΑϹΤΟϹ, bare head (with traces of drapery?) right / ΥΠΑΤΟϹ Β, Mt. Argaeus with trees; on summit, Helios standing left on summit. RPC IV.3 8008? (See notes). (5.93 grams / 20 x 19 mm) eBay June 2023 (Germ.) Notes: This appears to be a Æ didrachm; the Æ issues have the date in the exergue. However RPC IV.3 8008 (temp.) is an Æ denomination, with traces of drapery, only 2 examples noted: 1 P: 461A, authenticity doubtful: cast, on obverse, traces of drapery uncertain 2 P: 462B, authenticity doubtful: cast Notes (continued): The silver didrachm version of this is RPC IV.3 7027 (35 specimens) Metcalf 131a, S 352. Bare head, Mt. Argaeus with Helios at summit, same legends. Here're two Septimius Severus silver drachmae I recently got and a didrachm of Antoninus Pius - is there a hoard of stuff coming out of Turkey?: Whew. That's a lot of Cappadocians in one year (so far). This isn't even all of them. Again, not sure why so many are showing up in my price range.

Thanks for the latest and greatest FF @Roman Collector Here's a continuous legend Faustina II oddity (at least based on your earlier observations: Faustina II Æ Sestertius (162-early-163 A.D.) Rome Mint FAVSTINAAVGVSTA, bare-headed, draped bust right / [FEC]VN[DITAS] S C, Fecunditas standing right, holding scepter and infant. RIC III Marcus Aurelius 1638 var. (obverse legend; see note). (19.94 grams / 28 mm) eBay Oct. 2018 Notes: This one has continuous obverse legend with no break; this coin on Roman Collector on CT Oct. 24, 2018 notes this is not in British Museum, Mattingly, etc.

Very interesting, @Roman Collector. From roughly the same era, here is what I think is a die-clash on a Marcus Aurelius denarius - note the incuse profile (including curly locks) around Liberalitas on the reverse:

There are some lovely coins (and other images) in this post. I don't have an Athens Athena/Owl tetradrachm, thought I hope to some day (thanks to the numbers for sale these days). Here is a Roman Provincial I got last year that has Athena brandishing her spear and shield: Marcus Aurelius Æ Diassarion Thessaly, Koinon of Thessaly (160-180 A. D.) AVT M AVP A NTωNЄINOC, laureate head right / KOINON ΘЄCCAΛωN, Athena Itonia advancing right brandishing spear and holding shield. RPC IV.1, 4565 (temporary); (see notes) (8.70 grams / 24 x 23 mm) eBay Feb. 2022 Dad lot $12.50 Additional Attribution: SNG Copenhagen 345; Rogers 95a; BMC 79 and 80α; BCD Thessaly II 960.3

Nice greenies you got there. I recently got a Gordian III Liberalitas sestertius like yours - mine is also green. Gordian III Æ Sestertius (239-240 A.D.) See notes Rome Mint 4th Officina; 5th-6th emission IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate, draped & cuirassed bust r. / LIBERALITAS AVG III, S-C, Liberalitas standing left holding coin counter and cornucopiae. (17.72 grams / 30 x 28 mm) eBay July 2023 Attribution, Dates, etc.: RIC IV Gordian III 290a; Cohen RSC 143. RIC/OCRE: 240 A.D. CNG: 239-240 A.D. 4th Officina; 5th-6th emission "At the end of the year 239, a revolt broke out in North Africa and several legions rose up against the regime. The end of this revolt was probably the occasion for Gordian III to celebrate his third liberality..." CGB.fr

I only have one ancient coin from Crete - it appears to have a Marc Antony connection. Cicero complained about this issuer Kydas (Cyda) - "Cyda of Crete; a prodigy even in that island; the most audacious and abandoned of men. But even suppose he were not so. Does he understand Latin? Is he qualified by birth and station to be a judge? Does he—which is most important—does he know anything about our laws and manners? Is he even acquainted with any of the citizens?" (see below). This was one of those cruddy unattributed eBay finds that turned out more interesting than I'd thought it would be: Crete, Knossos Æ 28 (c. 40-30 B.C.) Kydas, magistrate Laureate head of Zeus facing right, thunderbolt before chin / [K - Y] / Δ - A / Σ , in three lines across field, eagle standing right, open wings. RPC I, 224, 934; Svoronos 142; SNG Copenhagen 388. (9.78 grams / 28 mm) eBay June 2020 "...but in the 30s B.C. Crete seems to have been governed by the confederation of the Kretaieis, under the supervision of Kydas the Cretarch. The whole 'dossier' (Rouanet-Liesenfelt 1984) shows a person by this name appearing on inscriptions (IC IV.250, IV.251), on coins (Svoronos 1890, 334 no. 1 and pl. 32 fig. 1; Raven 1938, 154-8, Burnett et al. 1992, 222), and also mentioned in Cicero (Phil. 5.13). Rouanet-Leisenfelt believes that Marc Antony created this confederation and chose Kydas to rule it, probably between 43 BC (the end of Brutus' proconsulate and Actium). If Kydas was ruling Crete, or a part of it, Crete and Cyrencaica were not united...The uncertainty of the date of the coin issues presented above, the vagueness of Kydas' chronology, and the contradiction of sources have led several scholars to date the union between Crete and Cyrenaica only to 27 B.C...." "From Cyrene to Gortyn. Notes on the Relationship Between Crete and Cyrenaica under Roman Domination (1st Century BC-4th Century AD)" by François Chevrollier. Published in Roman Crete: New Perspectives by Jane E. Francis, Anna Kouremenos. Philippics, 5.13, Cicero translated by C. D. Yonge 13 I do long to plead in behalf of some defendant before that tribunal—Cyda of Crete; a prodigy even in that island; the most audacious and abandoned of men. But even suppose he were not so. Does he understand Latin? Is he qualified by birth and station to be a judge? Does he—which is most important—does he know anything about our laws and manners? Is he even acquainted with any of the citizens? Why, Crete is better known to you than Rome is to Cyda. In fact, the selection and appointment of the judges has usually been confined to our own citizens. But who ever knew, or could possibly have known this Gortynian judge? For Lysiades, the Athenian, we most of us do know. For he is the son of Phædrus, an eminent philosopher. And, besides, he is a witty man, so that he will be able to get on very well with Marcus Curius, who will be one of his colleagues, and with whom he is in the habit of playing. https://lexundria.com/cic_phil/5.13/y

This is ugly, but it is Juno Sospita of a type not posted yet. An Antoninus Pius sestertius, somewhat scarce, I think: Antoninus Pius Æ Sestertius (140-144 A.D.) Rome Mint ANTONINVS AVG PI[V]S [PP TR P COS III], laureate head rt. / [IVNONI SISPITAE] S-C, Juno Sospita advancing r., brandishing javelin & holding shield pinched in middle, [snake before]. RIC III 608; BMCRE 1248. (24.25 grams / 32 mm) eBay May 2018 Die-Match Characteristics: Obv.: AVG PI break; G in AVG low, small PI; rear tie straight. Rev.: Top of shield at shoulder, thick outline; small SC. Die-Match Obv. and Rev.: CNG, Inc. Electronic Auct. 58; Lot 118; 12.02.2003 Die-Match Obverse: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH Auct. 153; Lot 8742; 14.03.2009 Die-Match Reverse: British Museum No. R.13445

Yeah, when I visited Rome in 2017 I walked around this temple and found used needles (as in hypodermic needle) in the (long, unmown) grass at back (as much as there's a back to a round temple), along with other miscellaneous trash and gross stuff. Part of me is glad the Romans don't take themselves (or their history) too seriously, but it does seem they could tighten things up a bit.

Thank you so much for sharing these splendid photos, @Prieure de Sion. I walked around the outside of these areas in 2017, but never made it inside - maybe next time! This year has been really good to me in regards to scrounging low-grade Republican denarii - three of these with Juno Sospita are below:

This Antoninus Pius sestertius has a dull red/pink-and-green patina:

Nice addition to your collection, @Roman Collector. I have one of these, and your post inspired me to clean up the attribution. Mine has a thunderbolt control mark, and as you can plainly see, the hair is a lot different than yours. Mine has two long locks going down the neck, the same as the one posted by @Ryro above. As David Crosby said, "let your freak flag fly!" This difference is outlined in detail in this terrific Coin Week article I just found today - a Beckmann-esque treatment of Apollo's hair, die-links, etc. I think mine and Ryro's are the Group C, while yours would be Group A (short hair): Another Batch of Control-Marked Ancient Roman Denarii in RRDP By American Numismatic Society June 14, 2023 By Alice Sharpless for American Numismatic Society (ANS) RRC 342/5 (Fig. 1) is the largest of the three types, but the obverse dies are shared between them. Currently, five dies are known that are used between 342/3 and 342/4, two between 342/3 and 342/5, 12 between 342/4 and 342/5, and one that is used with all three types. Estimates for the production of all denarii of RRC 342 are provided in Table 1. In order to increase coverage, Schaefer’s work has been supplemented with an additional 548 specimens from Coinage of the Roman Republic Online (CRRO). The estimate of 1,152–1,319 total obverse dies increases Crawford’s estimate of c. 1,000 dies. Another notable feature of RRC 342/3, 342/4, and 342/5 is that the obverse heads show a wide variety of styles. Crawford split them into six stylistic groups (adapted from Sydenham), mostly distinguished by the length and style of the hair. Crawford’s groups are as follows, with the links to the dies he used as examples of each type in RRC (Pl. XLIV): A (Schaefer RRC 342/3 Obverse 14), A-C (Schaefer RRC 342/3 Obverse 5), C (Sharpless RRC 342/5 Obverse 1346), B (Schaefer RRC 342/5 Obverse 1105), D (Schaefer RRC 342/5 Obverse D1) E (Schaefer RRC 342/5 Obverse E2). Group A features short hair with tight curls, C has long hair divided into two locks down the neck, A-C is a “combination” of these two types with slightly longer hair than A but shorter than C. Group B features a smaller head also with short hair but less curly than A. Groups D and E both have long hair which is bound into a bun with two long locks draped over the neck, but are distinguished by different facial features. Although Crawford’s groups highlight some of the most common stylistic types, there are some additional stylistic variations that occur. Most of these could be associated with Crawford’s group C based on the length and style of the hair, but there are variations in facial features. A few examples of these variations are Schaefer RRC 342/5 Obverse 1044, which features a large nose and large eye; Schaefer RRC 342/5 Obverse 1006, which has a slim profile with long slightly pointed nose; and Schaefer RRC 342/5 Obverse 1054, with a long neck, flat nose, and large eye. Another unusual feature of these RRC types is the existence of five obverse dies with bead and reel borders (fig. 2). https://numismatics.org/pocketchange/rrdp0623/ I've been hunting up some die-matches for my thunderbolt, but have not found any yet (this is such a huge issue, there is a lot to look over!). Interestingly, I have found some thunderbolts with short hair, so the control symbols do not seem to be associated with any particular bust style.