Post it and pick it!

[JayAg47]

A crude sketch of the king Raja Raja Chola I aka 'octopus man', sniffing a lotus next to a lamp!

Next- Cholas

[Steve]

Oooops ... sorry

 

Ummm, just pretend that I'm not here (I was gonna do this coin and this David Sear extra bit, but Jay changed the theme, so there's that) 

 

* awkward *

 

 

Next => Cholas

Ummm, hey => look over there!!

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Steve

[TuckHard]

Chola Dynasty of South India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Issued under King Rajaraja I
985 to 1014 AD
AE kahavanu (stater) | 4.38 grams | 18.5x17.5mm wide | 3mm thick
See this coin on Zeno, Z#294117

Next: another date range covering a millennium (in AD or AH)

[shanxi]

 

 EDIT:

Zhenzong, 真宗
Obv: Xian Ping Yuan Bao 咸平元寶 
Rv: -
Year: 998-1003
AE, 3.14g, 25mm
Ref: Hartill 16.43, FD876, S469

 

 

Next: Go on with:another date range covering a millennium (in AD or AH)

 

 

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by shanxi

[Spaniard]

2 hours ago, shanxi said:

Next: Go on with:another date range covering a millennium (in AD or AH)

 

Diddarani 980-1003 AD
Copper Kaserah or Punchshi 18mm (5.90gr)
Obverse- Goddess Ardochsho/Lakshmi seated facing in half lotus position, with Nagari legend 'Sri to left 'didda' to right
Reverse- Queen standing facing and sacrificing at altar holding trident, with Nagari legend 'Diva' bottom right.

Next....Same theme as before.

[ambr0zie]

Mysia, Kyzikos, Augustus 27BC - 14AD

Bare head of Augustus, r. / CƐΒΑϹΤΟϹ, capricorn, l., with head turned back; monogram including ΖΚ. RPC I, 2245

Next - same theme but preferably an ancient coin.

[shanxi]

Kings of Thrace, Rhoimetalkes I and Augustus

Circa 11 BC- AD 12.

Obv.: ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΥ, bare head of Augustus right.
Rev.: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΡΟΙΜΕΤΑΛΚΟΥ, Jugate heads of Rhoimetalkes I, diademed, and Queen Pythodoris right
Æ , 11.41g, 24mm, 6h.
Ref.: SNG Stancomb 905 (this coin); RPC I, 1711; Yourokova 204. 11.41g, 24mm, 6h.
Ex A. H. Baldwin & Sons Ltd., March 1976.
Ex William Stancomb Collection; this coin published in Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Great Britain, Volume XI, The William Stancomb Collection of Coins of the Black Sea Region (Oxford, 2000)

 

Next: The year 100+- 5 in whatever calendar

[Steve]

"The year 100+- 5 in whatever calendar"

 

L. Thorius Balbus (below)

Struck 105 BC. Rome Mint

AR (Silver) Denarius. 3.85g.  20mm. 

 Obverse:  head of Juno Sospita right, wearing horned goat skin headdress, I•S•M•R downward behind.

Reverse: Bull charging right, head facing, A (control letter) above, L•THORIVS below, BALBVS in exergue. 

Ref. Syd. 598; Crawford 316/1; RSC Thoria

Ex-stevex6

 

L. Thorius Balbus, AR Denarius Brockage, Error coin (below)

Struck 105 BC. Rome Mint

Diameter: 18mm

Weight: 3.81 grams

Obverse: Head of Juno Lanuvium right, wearing goat's skin

Reverse: Incuse of obverse

Ref. Cf. Crawford 316/1; cf. Sydenham 598; cf. Thoria 1

Ex-stevex6

 

 

NEXT =>   a) Goat-skin head-dress

 

After 1 hour   b) a goat on a coin

After 2 hours   c) any animal head-dress on a coin

After 3 hours  d) any animal on a coin

After 4 hours  e) a silver coin

After 5 hours  f) a brown coin

After 6 hours  g) sigh

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Steve

[Curtis JJ]

Not making it to 1 hour, but I like that idea! Sorry, I'm gonna be boring and do another one (even though there are a couple other ancient goat skins.)

 

Ex A.N.E. (Xavier Calicó), Asociacion Numismatica Española (Barcelona, 15 Dec 1981), Lot 508. As illustrated in Richard Shaefer Binder 22, page 2, of the ANS Roman Republican Die Project:

Ex Aureo 89 (4 Mar 1998), Lot 1345. Again, illustrated in Schaefer Binder 22:

Ex-Jose Fernandez Molina/"Alba Longa Collection" (vol II), Aureo & Calicó, Auction 339 (14 Nov 2019), Lot 1398

 

NEXT: BROCKAGE! (or Steve's timed list, including another goatskin or the other options after it hits an hour, two hours, three...)

Edited August 17, 2022 by Curtis JJ

[Spaniard]

5 hours ago, Steve said:

After 5 hours  f) a brown coin

After 6 hours  g) sigh

 

I have no sigh coins or brockage so thought I'd better add a brown coin now😉

Marcus Aurelius. AD 161-180. Æ Sestertius. Rome mint. Struck AD 171...(32mm, 24.68 g)
Obv. Laureate, draped head right, IMP M ANTONINVS AVG TRP XXV
Rev. Fides standing left, holding Victory and standard, FIDES EXERCITVVM COS III SC
RIC III 997......Double die match to the only example in the British Museum Collection..

Next....Marcus Aurelius in silver.

[DonnaML]

Antoninus Pius with Marcus Aurelius as Caesar, AR Denarius 140-144 AD Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head of Antoninus Pius right, ANTONINVS AVG PIVS - P P TR P COS III / Rev. Bare head of young Marcus Aurelius right, beardless, AVRELIVS CAESAR - AVG PII F COS. RIC III Antoninus Pius 417a (p. 78) (1930 ed.); RSC II Antoninus Pius & Marcus Aurelius 15 (p. 190); Sear RCV II 4524 (ill. p. 261) [dated to 141 AD]; BMCRE IV Antoninus Pius 155 (p. 26; ill. Pl 4 No. 11); A. Pangerl, "Vier Jahrzente Portraits des Marcus Aurelius auf römischen Reichsmünzen," 500 Years of Roman Coin Portraits (2d ed. 2017), pp. 318-333 at p. 324 Tabelle 1 (No. 3.04) & p. 326 (No. 4) [dated to 140 AD and classified at p. 439 as “Type 1: round head of a child, no beard, curly hair”]. 19mm, 3.43 gm, 12h. Purchased from Akropolis Ancient Coins, 17 October 2021.

Next, another depiction of a beardless Marcus Aurelius.

[AncientOne]

Thrace, Pautalia. Marcus Aurelius AE25.

Marcus Aurelius, AE25 of Pautalia, Thrace. 161-180 AD. Obv: Bare-headed, cuirassed bust right. Rev: Hygieia standing right, feeding serpent in arms.   Next: Snake/serpent

[ambr0zie]

Moesia Inferior. Nikopolis ad Istrum. Septimius Severus AD 193-211.
Bronze Æ
16 mm., 3,14 g.
Obv. AV KAI CE CEVHPO, laureate head right:
Rev. NIKOΠOΛITΩN ΠΡOC ICTPO, coiled snake, head erect facing right.
AMNG I 1418;  Varbanov 1961

 

Next - another coin having just a snake on the reverse, no other elements (except for legend)

[DonnaML]

47 minutes ago, AncientOne said:

i 

Thrace, Pautalia. Marcus Aurelius AE25.

Marcus Aurelius, AE25 of Pautalia, Thrace. 161-180 AD. Obv: Bare-headed, cuirassed bust right. Rev: Hygieia standing right, feeding serpent in arms.   Next: Snake/serpent

I don't know; I think maybe I see a beard there! But I won't be a stickler about it.

[AncientOne]

14 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

I don't know; I think maybe I see a beard there! But I won't be a stickler about it.

Probably not the best condition to be certain but the bust is a youthful one. There is no image in RPC with one example.

Edited August 17, 2022 by AncientOne

[Curtis JJ]

1 hour ago, DonnaML said:

I think maybe I see a beard there!

1 hour ago, AncientOne said:

Probably not the best condition to be certain but the bust is a youthful one.

Well, if he ever did have a beard, it was short/thin enough that it's been clean-shaven by a thousand Thracian thumbs!

[Roman Collector]

Serpent and legend but no other design elements:

Gordian III, AD 238-244.
Roman provincial Æ 27.1 mm, 12.33 g, 9 h.
Moesia Inferior, Nicopolis ad Istrum, Sabinius Modestus, legatus consularis, AD 241-244.
Obv: ΑVΤ Κ Μ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟC ΑVΓ, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: ΥΠ CΑΒ ΜΟΔЄCΤΟV ΝΙΚΟΠΟΛЄΙΤ | ΩN ΠPOC ICTP, Nimbate figure of snake-god Glycon, coiled in two coils, rising up, head right.
Refs: RPC VII.2, 1307; Hristova/Hoeft/Jekov (2018) 8.36.22.4 (same dies); Varbanov 4146; Moushmov 1488; Mionnet Suppl. 2, 708; AMNG 2104 var.; BMC --; Lindgren --; Sear --.

Next: Gordian III provincial.

[Curtis JJ]

Gordian III Provincial

I've got a few beloved Gordian III RPC's but I haven't shown this one much yet. It's from the Ken Bressett sale. What got my attention was CNG described it as ex Mabbott Collection (Schulman 1969) -- one of the more important ever private collections of RPC, a major reference before SNG's and RPC replaced it.

Unfortunately, I foolishly didn't double check before bidding. The provenance was entirely in error. Still happy to have it for a few reasons.

But it's no longer verifiably pre-UNESCO/1970 free-and-clear (a problem for antiquities from Iraq, specifically, which has an "MOU" to 1990). 🤨

Roman Provincial. Mesopotamia, Edessa, Gordian III with Abgar X Phraates Æ (31mm, 17.63 g, 11h), struck 242-244 CE.
Obv: ΑΥΤΟΚ Κ Μ ΑΝΤ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟϹ ϹƐΒ. Radiate bust right, drapery on shoulder.
Rev: ΑΥΤΟΚ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟϹ ΑΒΓΑΡΟϹ ΒΑϹΙΛƐΥϹ. Gordian seated right on raised daïs, holding scepter and receiving Nike from Abgar standing left, wearing Edessan crown.
Ref: RPC VII.2 3410; BMC 139; SNG Copenhagen 223. Per CNG, see also: H. Gesche, "Kaiser Gordian mit dem Pfeil in Edessa," JNG 19 (1969), pl. 3, 1-3.
Prov: CNG Keystone 6 (11 Mar 2022), 3023, From the Ken Bressett Collection.

Regarding Mabbott, here's the catalog online:
o   The Thomas Ollive Mabbott Collection. Part One : Coins of the Greek world [Archive.org (Newman Numis. / ANS), PRL in back]. [New York, 6-11 June 1969]. 3,860 lots, many ill. on >80 Plates. Roman Egypt, Alexandria & Nomes: ~525 Lots (3273-3797, many ill. on ~9 Pl). Two pages bio essays, no weights, some old provenances, mainly Roman Provincial AE (many Medallion & large AE), scattered Greek AR. Some early Greek AV/EL (lots 1-16 ill. on p. 10) Gold (Lots 1-46, the first 36 ancient, incl. Greek AV-EL, RIC AV, Byz AV; followed by early Medieval AV).

 

 

NEXT: GRECO-ROMAN WORLD MEETS CENTRAL ASIA
(from Mesopotamia eastward, from the Greek period until the last of the people who thought they were Roman)

Edited August 18, 2022 by Curtis JJ

[Steve]

 

... ummm, a brown coin?

Edited August 18, 2022 by Steve

[Curtis JJ]

20 minutes ago, Steve said:

ummm, a brown coin?

The short version: The dealer said there was proof the coin was't smuggled out of Iraq illegally after there were rules for that kind of thing. (After ~1970.) Turned out they were wrong. Can’t prove it. But really all that belongs in another thread... not so much the post-it-pick-it thread!

 Still a Gordian III Roman Provincial though. Part Central Asia, Part Rome. That’s good enough (just not what I hoped for).

Edited August 18, 2022 by Curtis JJ

[shanxi]

11 hours ago, Curtis JJ said:

from Mesopotamia eastward

Does this also apply to Mesopotamia? If so, here is one:

 

Faustina II
Imperial Mint in Mesopotamia (Carrhae or Edessa)
AR Drachm
Obv.: ΦΑVСΤΙΝΑΝ СƐΒΑСΤΗΝ, draped bust right
Rev.: VΠƐΡ ΝΙΚΗС ΡΩΜΑΙΩΝ, female figure standing left, holding globe and cornucopia
Ag, 2,80g, 16.7mm
Ref.: RPC Volume IV, № 10749 (temporary)

Next: AR provincial

Edited August 18, 2022 by shanxi

[ambr0zie]

(Silver, 6.60g 21mm) CAPPADOCIA, Caesarea. Trajan. 98-117 AD. AR Didrachm
112-114 AD. AYTOKΡ KAIC NEΡ TΡAIANO CEB ΓEΡM ΔAK, laureate and draped bust of Trajan, r., seen from rear, globe beneath / ΔHMAΡX EX YΠATO ς, female bust (Hera ?) in chiton, holding spear in r. hand and patera in l.

RPC III, 3006;  Sydenham 196a, Metcalf Hoard 335–351 and Pl. 18–19, Metcalf Conspectus 64e, Ganschow 131d

Next - didrachm

[shanxi]

Marcus Aurelius
CAPPADOCIA, Caesarea
AR didrachm
Obv.: AYTOKP ANTωNEINOC CEB, laureate head of Marcus Aurelius right
Rev.: ΥΠΑTOC Γ, Mt. Argaeus, star above
Ar, 19,7mm, 6.6g
Ref.: Metcalf 130b. Sydenham 328

 

Next: greek didrachm

[Curtis JJ]

After 8 hours... Greek Didrachm can be a tough one... If we're accepting coins that are considered "AR Didrachm or Nomos" (or Stater), like the Tarentum ones, that's not as hard. (But in some places, like Corinth, a Stater could be 3 drachms...) So we may only call it an obvious Didrachm if there are also Tetradrachms and/or Drachms of the same mint at roughly the same time. (Carian coinage comes to mind. Athenian Didrachms are very rare, except eastern imitations. I'm sure there are some others.)

I consider the following Didrachms, though none is so obvious not to require explanation (I won't give them but, for anyone curious about denominations, it's worth investigating each):

AE "Didrachms":

 

 

NEXT: Animals on Both Sides

Edited August 18, 2022 by Curtis JJ

[ambr0zie]

Mysia. Kyzikos circa 525-475 BC (other sources - 450 or 480-400 BC)
Tetartemorion AR
8 mm, 0,18 g
Forepart of boar left, tunny to right / Head of roaring lion left, star to upper left, all within incuse square.
Von Fritze II 14; SNG France 375.

Next - a tetartemorion with oblong flan