Ancient Coin Hunter

Sesterce of Severus Alexander 

Nice find. The reverse on your coin looks like it could be a barbaric imitation which in itself is very intriguing. Hard to call it though. Here's my official issue. As you can see by the end of his sole reign the flans and weights had really become sporadic:
 

Echoes of the Milvian Bridge...nice!

The "Caesar" 3 episode docudrama aired on the BBC then PBS in the states recently is not going to make the prices come down, unfortunately.

That was a bargain. Too bad I didn't see that 

The entire zodiac series of Antoninus Pius struck at Alexandria. So far I've bid on an Aries and a Leo and have been completely outgunned. There were a few examples in the Leu auction featuring the Rhakotis collection and I bid on them only to see the prices rise by thousands of dollars in the last couple of minutes.

The dream coin of this series is the coin that features the entire zodiac, which interestingly enough, resembles the zodiac painted on the ceiling at the Temple of Hathor at Denderah. So there is a real archaeological connection from the time. This temple was extensively embellished during the late Ptolemaic and Roman eras. They seemingly never come up for sale and the last example I saw (in VG condition) sold for around $8,000.

(PDF) The Egyptian "Zodiac Coins" of Antoninus Pius and the Sothic Cycle | Nick Vaneerdewegh - Academia.edu

A Leo example (sold, of course)

Is it still available on Netflix? I missed that one. There is some resemblance, too.

Toning rather than an applied patina. Some collectors find them quite desirable.

I suppose hunting and gathering is a good analogy as suggested by my user handle. Looking for specific things as we collect. I've considered numismatists to be professionals who earn money or are compensated by the sales of coins. For me, selling a coin is difficult and so I have never sold a coin in my modern iteration as a collector. I've given away many for different educational purposes as a way to introduce students to ancient history as a coin in hand can fuel the imagination. My baccalaureate education was as an archaeologist and linguist so I've often viewed coins through that lens.

The key tet that I have is this one of Elagabalus, who definitely had a connection with Emesa but the coin was struck in Antioch. I do need to re-photograph the obverse, though.

East Roman (Late) Empire.  😵

Sort of a blundered legend, or at least, a celator who understood Gregg shorthand...

Maurice Tiberius, 582-602 C.E.

AE Follis 31mm 11.7 grams

Antioch as Theopolis

DN TNT CM MAV TIB PP AVG

Crowned and mantled bust facing, trefoil pattern on crown, holding mappa and eagle tipped scepter. 

ANNO to left, cross above, regnal year to right, mintmark THEUP

Reference: SB 532 MIB 95

I do think having a legible Caesar legend is important, particularly if you are showing it to a non-collector for presentation purposes. I'll keep looking. M-A shops appears to be the best option. I'll also check maybe Marc Breitsprecher he has thousands of coins in inventory. I've purchased two from him so far. Maybe Forum as well. I suppose I could also deputize a dealer with the duty of letting me know when they get their hands on a good example which I will buy.

I've been poking around looking for a Caesar Elephant coin and they seem to have a bevy available on Ebay. About $975 for a G/VG coin and $1250 or so for a F/F+ example. VF ones seem to be to be over $2000. I am wary of fakes. Any advice on where to procure one of these outside of Ebay? I'm looking to perhaps pull the trigger by July, appropriately enough (the month named after the Dictator-for-life). I am down to three needed for a complete set of Suetonius' 12 Caesars needing only Otho and Vitellius after Julius.

I enjoy this Sol from my avatar coin, Ticinum mint. Oh, and @Furryfrog02 40 is the new 30

I snapped a couple of shots with my phone. Mostly green flowing, curtain like highlights. Quite impressive here actually as the radiant point appeared to be around the star Arcturus, where the pinks and violets were visible. I'm only 30 miles from the border with British Columbia. I certainly never saw it before moving up from the SF Bay Area save for a time at my grandmother's farm in North Dakota when I was a kid.

Here's 'Ol Sol once again...from my Probus avatar coin. We certainly are "conserved/protected by our atmosphere otherwise we would be toast, quite literally.

Here a couple of shots on the Astronomy Forum where I am a Co-Administrator...

Aurora Borealis May 11 - TheSkySearchers

Here's both an antoninianus (martial type) with cuirass, spear, and shield hailing Gallienus as GERMANICVS MAX V and a FIDES MILITVM sestertius from my collection.

Very nice pick-up.

Here is a Maximinus of Alexandria featuring Serapis:

I am only ashamed in that when I got back into the hobby say in 2016 I purchased bulk hoards of 1/2 kilogram for $350.00. The only problem was that there were 20 maybe passable, ho-hum coins in the pile. A Constantine here, an Aurelian there, a decent Severina, etc. Lots of fallen horsemen. Too many in fact. Probably 60% were culls. The marketing blurb said "truly ancient coins, hold history in your hand" and promised unexpected prizes and treasures since nothing was picked out.

Well, yes. Look there's a Regalianus! Just kidding. A green Severus denarius and a miserable Decius were in one lot. Look, silver coins! A large Maurice Tiberius with powdery green bronze disease which I quarantined immediately.

Then I realized after spending $1.5 k on these that they were pretty much worthless and I put them in mayo jars. Enter Cointalk into the equation and I started buying passable coins. I never have had the stomach to acquire bulk lots since. I gave piles of these to my nephew's elder brother for his ancient history show-and-tell at school, which went over well with the classmates I hear. So there's a bit of a happy ending to the story.

Trajan Decius, AR antoninianus

Reverse type features the personification Abundantia (Abundance).

Herennius Etruscus, AR antoninianus

Herennia Etruscilla, AE sestertius of Viminacium

Great additions to the collection. I have a Porphyrogenitus, Romanus and Christopher miliaresion with the "Jesus Christ Conquers" phrase around a cross potent on stairs.

Nice excerpts from the Bayeaux Tapestry - which I have never seen @JeandAcre. Rather cool.

Very interesting discussion. It appears in some cases that he is wearing a turban, others that it is just a bowl style haircut. I suppose we will never really know. With regard to whether turbans were being worn, they were in existence at the time and presumably would have been useful in keeping the heat of the hot sun off the head. If you travel to Egypt today you don't think of folks wearing turbans and they are extremely rare in Cairo, but common amongst the fellah, many of whom are farmers, in Upper Egypt.

I'd be happy to talk over any prospective purchases. And certainly I wouldn't buy a coin that you tabbed as interesting. As I narrow down my list it includes, for example, Caesar Otho Vitellius and Aemilianus amongst regular rulers. Plus Gordianus I and II. Those are all target coins for me at this time. I've been eyeing a high quality sestertius of one of the above for awhile but I'm fairly certain it is tooled and smoothed. That's the kind of coin where peer discussions are useful.

1 hour ago, John Conduitt said:

Found quite a way from Antioch.

Anonymous AE4 (Maximinus II), 312

Antioch. Bronze, 16mm, 1.24g. Genius of Antioch, turreted, veiled, seated facing, the river god Orontes swimming below; GENIO ANTIOCHENI. Apollo standing left, holding patera and lyre; APOLLONI SANCTO; officina Z in right field; mintmark SMA (Van Heesch 3). Found Carlisle, Cumbria.

Well John that shows how widely these types circulated in the Roman Empire of the time. I'm wondering what the purchasing power of the quarter follis was. Probably not much.