Ancient Coin Hunter

I'd have to say the Seleucids invented old time bottle caps that you used to get out of vending machines when you grabbed a Coke or RC Cola.

I also have a Constantius II phoenix, this from Antioch:

Some great coins in this thread!!!

A couple of nice pick ups @Xeno. If I was still living in the Bay Area (moved to Washington last year) I would have attended. I am making a trip there in January but the timing for December didn't match my schedule of things to do when I am down there.

So Probus got the idea from Aurelian?

Some fantastic new coins there and appreciate the friendship graphic. Goodness knows we need more of that these days!

Link: Severus Alexander AE Sestertius, 222-235 A.D. Obv: Alexander's bust facing right Rev: Victory Weight 19 grams Slight yellow deposit at 5 o'clock

About 50 percent US and 50% elsewhere. Some example source countries are Germany, France, Italy, UAE, Portugal, Canada, UK, Switzerland, Poland, Spain and maybe a few others that I don't recall. The UAE dealer has a massive number of coins from Roman Egypt.

River god, Leu win 2021 PAMPHYLIA. Side. Caracalla, 198-217. Pentassarion (?) (Bronze, 30 mm, 17.51 g, 1 h). AY K M AY CEY ANTΩNЄINOC Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Caracalla to right; above, star; on cheek, countermark: Є within circular incuse. Rev. CIΔH/TΩΝ The river-god Melas reclining left, holding pomegranate tree in his right hand and leaning left on urn from which water flows. SNG Paris -. SNG PFPS 699. SNG von Aulock -. For countermark, Howgego 803. Very rare. Areas of weakness, otherwise, about very fine.

Went ahead and made a bid on the Tripolis coin...i'll be monitoring it Edit: I won't be commenting on this coin again until the auction ends....🕓

Wow, the Aelia Flacilla portrait is remarkable!

I love the elephant with the mahout (rider) sitting on its back. The legend is also well-inscribed. And the Otacilia Severa coin also is great. If you got them at reasonable prices this is quite an accomplishment. Congratulations on two fine additions to your collection.

Amazing coins @Prieure de Sion : Hope to bid on a couple. The Commodus Caesar of Tripolis I bet, with a starting price of $250 will go through the roof in terms of price realized.

I looked up the Historia Augusta but unfortunately there is no coverage of reigns from Gordian III to the time of Valerian and Gallienus. This is the famously inaccurate and speculative work of a number of later historians. So I am not sure what source deals with Pacatian. I think he is mentioned in the work of Edward Gibbon though.

I think we can move onto Magnus Maximus... Magnus Maximus, (383-388 A.D.) AE 2 approximately 6 grams, 23 mm Obverse, diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right DN MAG MAXIMVS P F AVG Reverse, emperor holding Victory, raising kneeling turreted woman REPARATIO REIPVB Note: This reverse type continues a variant from the coinage of Gratian, so it continued in the reign of the usurper who deposed Gratian.

Good luck on your attendance. When I moved to the Bay Area at age 13 I used to go to Frank L. Kovacs' offices on Post Street. Here he managed his mail order auction empire before the age of the Internet. He was sort of my mentor in coin collecting being nice to the budding teenage collector which I was. Since then they have endowed the Frank L. Kovacs Numismatic library at Stanford.

Great find @Marsyas Mike. It's a bit like winning the lottery. As for me, I have to still get an Aemilianus, whose coins are not that rare, just scarce. If I can get Pacatian, Jotapian, Sponsianus. etc. I'd be very happy,.

Looks like Valentinian I

There are some flow lines on the reverse at 2 o'clock, This suggests that the flan was indeed struck from a die as the silver tends to create rays that flow from the center to the edges of a coin, usually visible in the lettering. Look also at the edges of the coin where they might have been a seam if indeed the coin had been cast. So no, it's authentic.

@Xeno there is an apocryphal story that this medallion was found off to the side of the 405 in Southern California, proving that the Romans had a presence there 🤗

I like this one as an example of Imperial propaganda... VBIQVE PAX "Peace everywhere" in the time of Gallienus. Nothing could be further from the truth. Also note the odd use of the vocative case in the legend "GALLIENAE AVGVSTAE

You have highlighted a most interesting topic with some very thoughtful numismatic discussion. I think you lucked out in obtaining a very rare type for a good price.

The dark highlighting is sort of a desirable feature as the devices on the coin stand out as does the portrait. I actually had a very similar one (Domitian) to yours once. So if I were you I would not over clean it.

Aurelian with Vabalathus, AE antoninianus Reverse Legend: VCRMIDR meaning: King, Emperor, Dux Romanum leader of the Romans" Link another coin of Palmyra not featuring Vabalathus

I've seen this a couple of times, usually it involves an incomplete, torn, or missing label. It looks like barcode is still there otherwise you would not be getting tracking updates. One of the cases was when I requested a copy of my dissertation from the printer. Somehow it went to LA rather than San Francisco, then disappeared. Then I got it, finally in a taped closed mailer. The problem was I got some guy at UCLAs dissertation rather than mine. I found the guys' contact info at UCLA and emailed him. I sent him the book so he was quite happy. Meanwhile I filed a complaint with the printer, Dissertation Abstracts International and got an upgraded large format book (my dissertation) for free. Then a week later I received a torn and destroyed (almost) mailer containing the one I first had ordered. Somehow the label was still on it. Anyway quite a mystery. Apparently what had happened was that both packages had been torn with the books falling out. Then they shipped the wrong one to me.