Two (and now Two more) new Roman Provincial coins from Alexandria

[DonnaML]

Desaturating the tray photos made the coins look a bit more like they do in reality:

[dougsmit]

I like the way that Alexandrian coins can retain collectability even when they are not in perfect condition.  This new pair are attractive with contrasty high points which look good to me. I only have one Hadrian tetradrachm.

[Edessa]

6 hours ago, DonnaML said:

Desaturating the tray photos made the coins look a bit more like they do in reality:

Outstanding!

[DonnaML]

Two more new Roman Alexandrian coins have arrived, so I thought I'd tack them on to the end of this old thread. (See also the three other new Roman Alexandrian coins I posted in February at https://www.numisforums.com/topic/60-post-your-latest-ancient/page/17/#comment-41391 , together with three non-Alexandrian coins.)

Agrippina II (the Younger) (AD 15-59, 4^th wife and niece of Claudius I [Empress AD 49-54], mother of Nero, daughter of Germanicus & Agrippina I, sister of Caligula), AE diobol, Claudius I Year 13 [AD 52-53], Alexandria, Egypt mint. Obv. Draped bust of Agrippina II right, crowned with corn wreath, hair in queue, ΑΓΡΙΠΠΙΝΑ - ϹƐΒΑϹΤΗ around / Rev. Draped bust of Euthenia right, crowned with corn wreath, holding two ears of corn; across fields, ƐΥΘΗ – ΝΙΑ [Euthenia], across fields below, L – Ι Γ [Year 13 of Claudius]. 24.40 mm., 13.19 g. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. I  5194 (1992); RPC I Online 5194 (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/5194); Emmett 103.13; BMC 16 Alexandria 110 (p. 14); Milne 127 (p. 4) (ill. RPC I 5194, Specimen 1); K & G 13.4 (ill. p. 54); SNG France 4, Alexandrie I 258 (ill. Pl. 19) [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, France Vol. 4, Alexandrie I, Auguste-Trajan (Zurich 1998)].* 24.40 mm., 13.19 g.** Purchased from Naville Numismatics, Ltd., London, UK, Auction 80, 2 Apr 2023, Lot 329 ("From a private British collection").

 

* See Jones, John Melville, A Dictionary of Ancient Greek Coins (London, Seaby, 1986) at p. 89 [entry for Euthenia]: “ ‘Plenty’, the equivalent of the Roman Abundantia. At Alexandria she was represented as the bride of the Nile, reclining like him, or seated, with corn wreath and sometimes with sceptre and uraeus (sacred cobra).” According to the Classical Numismatic Group’s catalog for the 1 Sep 2018 Triton XXI Staffieri Collection sale,  describing the specimen of this type (ex Dattari Collection) sold as Lot 11, “Agrippina Junior, wife and niece of Claudius, is assimilated to the goddess Euthenia (Abundance), the wife of Nilus, and symbol of agricultural prosperity, who appears on the reverse. The excellent and realistic portrait of Agrippina recalls, in particular, the marble head that resides in the collection of Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen (Catalog No. 636).”  Just to show the effect of provenance on price, the Staffieri example from the Dattari Collection sold for $650. Here is a photo:

 

I won mine with a bid of 75 GBP. I think mine is in somewhat comparable condition – certainly on the reverse – despite what look like they may be cleaning scratches on my specimen's obverse portrait.

 **At 13.19 g., with an edge measuring approximately 3 mm., this is an unusually heavy specimen – in fact, the heaviest I have been able to find. The average weight of the 9 specimens listed at RPC I 5194 for which weights are given is 10.06 g., with specimens ranging from 8.83 to 11.60 g. There are 17 specimens of the type listed at acsearch for which weights are provided; I haven’t calculated the average weight, but they range from 6.77 g. to 11.32 g., with one between 6 & 7 g., three between 8 & 9 g., four between 9 & 10 g., six between 10 & 11 g., and only three between 11 & 12 g. Any theories on why my specimen is so heavy are welcome.

Gallienus, Billon Tetradrachm, AD 260-261 (Year 8), Alexandria, Egypt mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, AVT K ΠΛIK ΓAΛΛIHNOC CEB / Rev. Eagle standing left, wings open, holding wreath in beak; in left field, L H [Year 8]. Emmett 3803.8 (p. 192); BMC 16 Alexandria 2232 (p. 290); Milne 4061 (p. 97); K & G 90.39 (p. 316); Sear RCV III 10458 (p. 317). 24.00 mm., 11.21 g. Purchased from Naville Numismatics, Ltd., London, UK, Auction 80, 2 Apr 2023, Lot 404 ("From the collection of a Mentor" -- whatever that means! -- with an accompanying old coin tag).

 

I think this coin has one of my nicer Gallienus portraits -- nicer than most of his Imperial portraits, in fact.

Please post whatever you think is relevant.

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by DonnaML

[shanxi]

Nice coins !

Here's another wife of Claudius shown as a goddess, Messalina as Ceres:

 

 

Claudius
Alexandria, year 4, AD 43-44
Billon Tetradrachm
Obv.: TI KΛAΥΔI KAIΣ ΣEBA ΓEΡMANI AΥ[TOKΡ], laureate head right, date LΔ before
Rev.: MEΣΣAΛINA KAIΣ ΣEBAΣ, Messalina as Ceres standing facing, head left, two small figures in right, two stalks of grain in left
Billlon, 22.9x24.1mm
Ref.: Geißen 81, Dattari 125

 

 

 

[DonnaML]

For accuracy's sake, here is the Naville Numismatics photo of my Agrippina II / Euthenia diobol. The actual coin is considerably more brown than this photo, but less brown than my own photo posted above. Imagine something in between! It can be frustrating when cameras see a different color from what I see. In addition, this photo makes the cleaning scratches (if that's what they are) more obvious than they seem in hand.

Edited April 13, 2023 by DonnaML