Ancient Coin Hunter

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.

New addition to the collection courtesy of Forum Ancient Coins:

Maximinus Daia May 310 - 30 April 313

Antioch, Syria 

Civic Christian Persecution Issue

AE Quarter Follis, 1.31 grams, 15.3 mm 6th Officina, Antioch 312 C.E.

Obverse: GENIO ANTIOCHENI, Tyche seated facing on rocks, turreted and veiled, stalks of grain right, river god Orontes swimming below

Reverse: APOLLINI SANCTO, Apollo standing left, pouring libation from patera in right hand, lyre in left hand, zeta to right, SMA in exergue

Reference: McAlee 170(f), Vagi 2954, Van Heesch 3(a), SRCV IV 14927

In 311 an embassy from Antioch, led by their curator Theotecnus, asked Maximinus to ban Christians from their city. Other cities made the same request. Maximinus' support for this request is demonstrated by this coin type. But fearing other emperors including Licinius, Maximinus' Edict in 313 restored Christian privileges and property. Licinius captured Antioch in 313 and had Theotecnus executed.

Please share any of these so-called anonymous civic issues!

Great signature line @David Atherton. I guess you've got the angle on the headpiece to the staff of Ra and hence the Ark of the Covenant???☺️

Nice style David and we don't get to see Hermes on coins very often, good pick-up! May be an early reference to Hermes Trimegistus, or Thrice Holy Hermes which had its origins in Egypt.

Tranquillina Augusta, 241-244 C.E.

AE 25 10.7 grams, black patina

Mesopotamia, Singara (modern Sinjar, Iraq) Easternmost stronghold of the Roman Empire

Obverse: SAB TRANQVILLINA AVG, Diademed and draped bust right

Reverse: Veiled Bust of Tyche Right; Centaur Sagittarius leaping right and discharging bow above

Reference: BMC Arabia p. 136, 14; SNG Copenhagen 258

ex-JAZ Numismatics circa 2017 C.E.

That's a good example @ewomack. My collection of late 7th century Byzantine is limited to Constans II at this point, who struck his own series of terrible coins. By now the empire was faltering, was at war on its Eastern border against the Arabs, and prospects must have appeared dim. The effort to take over Carthage had failed as well as the attempted reconquista of North Africa.

Nice coins all and congratulations on the addition @JayAg47 !

4 minutes ago, Furryfrog02 said:

I just looked at the auction pictures and Frank's is much brighter. Makes it seem much more silvery. Is yours more true to life? I know his pictures can be less than accurate sometimes. Both good and bad 😛

I took mine in a natural light on a cloudy day because we were having a power outage yesterday. A bit more dark than in hand but there is a silvery tone. To answer the question I have to re-photograph it

Quietus, 260-261 A.D.

AR antoninianus 

22mm. 3.87 grams, Samasota Mint

Obverse: IMP C FVL QVIETVS PF AVG, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right

Reverse: SOLI INVICTO, Sol standing left wearing chamlys, with arm upraised and holding globe, star in left field

Reference:  RIC 10; RSC 12; Sear 10829 (one type either with or without the star in left field)

Note: The coin has a natural dark silver color which indicates billon rather than a silver washed AE coin. This was shortly to change however with reforms of Gallienus. I would say the coin resembles the output of Valerianus from the same mint in terms of style and fabric, of course until he was captured. Quietus' father, Macrianus senior, controlled the Imperial treasury in the East. Quietus stayed in the East while the two Macriani (elder and junior) advanced into Thrace to assert their claim to the throne of the Roman world against Gallienus. They were defeated however and Quietus' end came at the hands of Odaenathus, the Palmyrene king who had stayed loyal to the presiding central government.

Acquired 4/23/2024 from an FSR auction

Just received the coin in the mail. Here are my photos. Note the power is out today so natural light is in order. Also the Antoninianus is silver and not a debased washed piece, nice surprise. 22 mm 3.87 grams. Samasota mint

Interesting example @Furryfrog02.

Very nice coin. Thanks for sharing it.

14 minutes ago, John Conduitt said:

If it came from Alexandria, it is likely there would be a statue of Clodius Albinus there?

I had the same thought, but I found this piece on Wiki:

"Showing a disposition for military life, he entered the army when very young and served with distinction, especially in 175 during the rebellion of Avidius Cassius against Emperor Marcus Aurelius. His merit was acknowledged by the Emperor in two letters in which he calls Albinus an African, who resembled his countrymen but little, and who was praiseworthy for his military experience and the gravity of his character. "

Cassius revolted in the East, hence the statue could have been present there a) because he was African and b) because he helped put down Cassius' revolt.

Nope. I'd say it's Albinus as well judging by the character of the cheek bones. Also does not look like the same man who appears in the Severus tondo.

That's a pretty well done fake. I don't know If I would have caught it. Probably not.

On 4/22/2024 at 10:23 AM, Phil Anthos said:

I love the Cascades. My wife and I used to hunt waterfalls, so we spent a lot of time exploring the mountains from Mt Shasta to Mt Baker. 

Being retired now my life revolves almost entirely around my boy Repo. He's an 11 year old flat coated retriever who rescued me when he was 10 months. At that time he had already been adopted and returned twice, hence the name.  🙂

Mt. Baker is about 30 miles away, the North and South Sisters, both with glaciers, are about 15 miles away.

Quietus, AE antoninianus won from yesterday's Frank Robinson auction. (A Nauman auction brought $537 8/23. I did slightly better than that). The price is fair considering the usual wear of his examples and retains nearly full silvering or its constituent billon. Quietus, also known as Titus Fulvius Junius Quietus, was a Roman usurper who rebelled against the Roman Emperor Gallienus. Let’s delve into his intriguing story. [Thanks ChatGPT].

Quietus was the son of Fulvius Macrianus and a noblewoman, possibly named Junia. His background is somewhat disputed, as some historians challenge the claim that he served as a military tribune under Valerian I.

In 260 CE, during the Sassanid campaign, the Emperor Valerian was captured and became Shapur's footstool, leaving the Roman Empire in a precarious situation. With the lawful heir, Gallienus, far away in the West, the soldiers elected Quietus and his brother Macrianus Minor as emperors. Their father, Fulvius Macrianus, controlled the imperial treasury, which played a crucial role in their rise to power. (My theory is that this loss of bullion led to further and rapid debasement of the antoninianus, which proliferated after 260 in the coinage of Gallienus) and led to the demise of the sestertius and eventually to all of the large bronze assaria pieces struck in the Greek speaking East, since intrinsically the value of the antoninianus in base metal was less than these older and chunkier bronze coins.

Quietus and Balista (Praetorian prefect of the late Emperor Valerian) remained in the eastern provinces, while Macrianus Minor and their father marched their army to Europe to seize control of the Roman Empire. However, their campaign ended in defeat and death in Thrace in 261 CE.
Quietus lost control of the provinces to Septimus Odaenathus of Palmyra, a loyal client king of the Romans. Odaenathus had helped push the Persians out of the eastern provinces and recovered Roman Mesopotamia in 260 CE. Amongst the coins of Quietus note that he struck tetradrachms in Alexandria but only until the province of Egypt was seized by Odaenathus.

Forced to flee to the city of Emesa, Quietus was besieged there by Odaenathus and ultimately killed by its inhabitants, possibly instigated by Balista. Quietus’s story is one of ambition, intrigue, and tragic downfall. He appears as an antagonist in Harry Sidebottom’s historical fiction novel series. If you’re interested in Roman history, Quietus’s brief but eventful reign is certainly worth exploring further! 

Now the coin:

Quietus (260-261) Billon Antoninianus, size and weight yet unknown. Note that I will re-photograph when received in the mail.

Obverse: Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right. IMP C FVL QVIETVS PF AVG

Reverse: Sol standing left, right hand raised, left hand holding globe. With star in left field. SOLI INVICTO 

Reference: RIC 10; RSC 12; Sear 10829.

I also am including my matched Macrianus which I acquired in 2020 from FSR too, meaning I have coins of both members of this dynamic duo of usurpers.

Type: AE antoninianus, 22 mm 3.1 grams, Antioch mint. 

Obverse: IMP C FVL MACRIANVS P F AVG, radiate cuirassed bust right 

Reverse: APOLINI CONSERVA, Apollo standing left holding branch and resting hand on lyre set on a low column. 

Reference: RIC 6; RSC 2; Sear 10799. 

On the two here is a passage from the Historia Augusta: 

"Macrianus and Ballista met together, called in the remains of the army, and, since the Roman power in the East was tottering, sought someone to appoint as emperor. For Gallienus was showing himself so careless of public affairs that his name was not even mentioned to the soldiers. It was then finally decided to choose Macrianus and his sons as emperors and to undertake the defense of the state. And so the imperial power was offered to Macrianus. Now the reasons why Macrianus and his sons should be chosen to rule were these: First of all, no one of the generals of that time was held to be wiser, and none more suited to govern the state; in the second place, he was the richest, and could by his private fortune make good the public losses. In addition to this, his sons, Quietus and Macrianus - most valiant young men, rushed with all spirit into the war, ready to serve as an example to the legions in all the duties of soldiers." 

Feel free to post any Quietus, Macrianus, Valerian, or Shapur coins.

Here is the relief carved at Naqsh-i Rustam along the Silk Road in Iran depicting a bowing Philip the Arab and a captive Valerian...

Sure here is one that happens to be Probus:
 

What a great portrait and coin! Bellisimo 

View of the Cascade foothills through our newly remodeled center window in the living room.

View of the second story deck where I ponder new coin additions. Note: Just scrubbed the deck to remove pollen with Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap, won't impact the watershed which flows into the lake below.

I have bought one coin from a dealer in Portugal and was delivered by USPS. Coin flew through the ISC NY and was delivered in like 5 days. The dealer used a signature required form of delivery, not sure of the class of mail. 

Edit: I was in California at the time.

2 hours ago, John Conduitt said:

Ok so it could be quite a difference depending on where the dealer or the customer comes from. Or not much different at all.

Why don’t you have to pay the 19% provision tax on VCoins given you are still German when selling there? Similarly the 19% differential tax if the VCoins customer is German? 

Maybe because MA shops is based in Germany.

Great coin!