seth77

You need to zoom in on the coin to see the crack where it had broken, at least on phone. Otherwise it's a good coin: the name is fully there, the emperor's effigy is clear and the reverse type is fully attributable. I hope it survives the shipping.

I brushed it a bit with a plastic brush and picked at the green spots to make sure it is not BD. I think it looks much better now. And a video: VID_20240111_105712~3.mp4

This one is one of my favorite representations of Faustina I with her veiled portrait: AE25mm, 9.50g orichalcum as/dupondius, minted at Rome ca. 141. DIVA AVGVS - TA FAVSTINA; draped veiled bust of Faustina to right Crescent with star inside, six other stars around; S C beneath cf. RIC 1199 At 9.50g it is extremely light for a dupondius at this time. With the pale yellow hue of the brass metal it looks like it should be at least a dupondius. Again the same question -- what denomination is this supposed to be? PS - even with the obvious condition problems, this is such an elegant coinage.

Smyrna is one of the Greek cities claiming to be the birthplace of the poet Homer, a claim fully represented on the Hellenistic coinage of the city. According to Strabo, the denomination was called the 'homereion' by the local inhabitants of Smyrna. This is a late 'Homereia' series Period XVI, with no magistrate name. AE22mm 9.81g copper homereion, ca. 75-50BC Head of Apollo wearing laurel inside laurel wreath ΣMYPNAIΩN; Homer seated left, holding sceptre and scroll Milne Type J Period XVI 359 The series is known to have been usually overstruck on earlier issues, as seen also on this spec, with the reverse legend being partially legible on the obverse of the present issue as [..] MYPN[..], running vertically on the face of Apollo. Milne's 'Autonomous Coinage of Smyrna' notes this series as intermediate coinage probably short-lived in the interval between ca. 75 and 50BC, with no magistrate name or monogram. Likely a turmoil period as the city was moving from the autonomous administration to ever increasing Roman influence.

These Syrian 'uncertain' tetradrachms for Elagabal are very interesting. They are not 'imitations' but rather the low tail end of the minting of this denomination, before Gordian III reestablished it some 20 years later: AR25mm 11.40g billon tetradrachm, Antioch, Emesa or pseudo-Laodicea(?) ca. 219 AR26x23mm 16g billon tetradrachm, Antioch, Emesa or pseudo-Laodicea(?) ca. 219 They come from a series of widespread Syrian tetradrachms minted for Elagabal starting with 219 at an uncertain mint, either Antioch or Laodicea or Emesa. The series is struck in debased billon. '"The tetradrachms with mint marks from numerous cities issued under Caracalla and Macrinus disappear under Elagabalus, and are replaced by a very common and relatively uniform issue with an eagle with a star between its legs, dated by Elagabalus' second consulship (A.D. 219). This has been interpreted by most authors to indicate that the multiple wartime tetradrachm mints were consolidated at Antioch....However, it is by no means certain that Antioch was the site of this consolidated tetradrachm mint. There are at least three candidates for the mint (Antioch, Emesa and Laodicea), with arguments for and against each."' (McAlee, Coins of Roman Antioch, p. 285) The two specs here are possibly part of a deposit and were offered by the auction house together with other similar specimens, with similar patina and flan shape. They are likely the product of the same minting operation. The earthen fill is also legit, it passed the acetone test.

Since this is a widespread type, chances are that another use of that error die might show up, so checking regularly might pay off. Your coin has also other features that seem to point more to a year 10: Nero's neck looks like it has a bit of a tyrhoid problem.

Have you checked for another coin struck with that error? A Poppaea-side die-match on a better centered coin would also date your coin with some certainty.

Since this is an off-topic thread, I am going to take my chances and ask: aren't the insane and criminal acts of the likes of Putin and the islamist terrorists beyond what we would normally call 'current politics'? I mean it's not like discussing parties in a civilized world where minute differences between policies are not worth getting up in arms about on the internet or at extended family get-togethers. Is it (just) 'discussing current politics' -- so something frowned upon -- to acknowledge the leaders who stand up against tyranny and useless and insane bloodshed, like @panzerman did earlier in this thread? Because to me it looks like that is not 'politicking' and punditry at all, but rather common sense. I'd imagine honest and decent people chatting "off topic" in 1940 but shushing any mention of those standing up to the nazis so that to avoid 'current politics' -- would that look kosher in hindsight?

Reviving this thread with a quintessential and scarce coinage for Claudius II in the East: AE20mm, 3.25g, antoninianus, 1st issue of Antioch, ca. mid 269 IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG; Bust right, radiate, cuirassed and draped with paludamentum, seen from rear REGI ARTIS; Vulcan stg. r., holding hammer in r. hand and pincers in l. hand. Z in exergue RIC V-1 215, RIC Online #1029 This reverse iconography paired with this legend appears nowhere else but at Antioch in the second phase of the first issue for Claudius II. Vulcan himself is a rare occurrence on Roman coinage, but here it almost seems like it alludes to a sort of local cult, possibly also related to the cult of the Cabeiri. As a god of fire, Vulcan is related to both civil and military craftsmen. At this point in history Antioch (and Syria at large) is under the influence of Palmyra but still under nominal Imperial rule while Claudius is involved in his Gothic campaign on the Danube and in the Balkans.

I have a hunch that this very small AE14 2.14g Augustus with the owl from Ilium will be one of my favorites for 2024:

It's barely January 3 and you already have new coins. Talk about commitment.

I pick Axum, Eustace of Lens and Juba

I went with 1, 4, 7

It was the damn videogames and violence on tv and rap music.

My last non-coin is a bottle of wine from California. It's no way I'd have any room to store 50k of them, I'd have to move from the house and/or pick up liver failure.

50000 lots of 7 Palaiologan trachea equals 350k ugly Byzantine cup coins (some flat tho). I would quit any and all jobs and teach my kids Sear and DOC numbers. It would make a really boring dystopian movie, most sane people would skip it after the first 10 'is he wearing divitision or chlamys is that a trifurcate sceptre or a labarum omfg is that a forked beard?!'

Do the left-facing busts have a special hairdo?

Nice specs but I think that the answer to the question why they seem to be more expensive than the coins from Rome is that they are just not that common. They were struck for a short while (especially the so-called-Emesa) and they dont seem to be all that present in auctions lately.

Also, regarding not having time to browse the forum because of work trips: I have it on a browser in my phone and it is always dormant but connected, so when I have some time I always pop it open and see a couple of posts.

2, 3, 8

#3 eagle-Michael is an extraordinary coin.

This has to be the best interview yet.

My favorite is Probus #7, great that you left it uncleaned.

I really like no. 7 with the scepter that looks like a hair pin.

No prob, I really hope you get the coin!