When nothing goes right… go LEFT

[Ocatarinetabellatchitchix]

In Gallic coinage, left-facing busts are among the least common… and the more expensive one. So I’m very happy with my two last purchases, both lefties added to the family. Here they are:

Tetricus Junior  C PIV ESV TETRICVS CAES / SPES AVGG

Trier  274 AD  18 mm  2.33g

Mairat 846  Normanby 1535  (2 specimens in Cunetio)

 

Victorinus   IMP VICTORINVS PF AVG / PIETAS AVG

Cologne  270 AD  19mm  2.87g

Mairat 654  (no specimen in Cunetio)

Hard to see, but with Medusa head on shield. Pieta is veiled, the diademed variant is a lot scarcer. Only one obverse die known.

 

[Roman Collector]

Excellent! Fortuitous acquisitions for your numophylacium, @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix! Spes is extraordinarily well struck on the reverse of that Tetricus II, too. I'm used to seeing this sort of thing.

Left-facing busts are unusual in the Antonine period, too. I recently added this one to my Faustina II collection.

[dougsmit]

I am a big fan of left when right is the rule.  My best is a denarius of Septimius Severus from 'Emesa' paired with an equally unusual reverse die with Pietas sacrificing and FORTVNA REDVCI spelled out rather than abbreviated as was more usual. 

 

Another one not seen every day is this Geta as with left portrait.  Obviously I would like to have a better one but I have not seen any offered. 

 

Ending my Severan lefties is a fake.  I have two from this die set and really do not know whether they are ancient 'Limes' or modern.   I have noticed that there are an abnormally high number of 'better' types in 'Limes' of this period but part of that might be that people saved the unusual coins and trashed the ordinary unofficials.  I consider these two modern casts. I bought the first of mine from NFA for good money in 1994 (Auction XXXIII lot 1604).  By the time that sale was held, Bruce McNall was already in jail.  If you have not read his autobiography Fun While It Lasted, you certainly should. I can't say I'd suggest paying the current list price of $28 but used ones exist. 

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/fun-while-it-lasted-my-rise-and-fall-in-the-land-of-fame-and-fortune_michael-dantonio_bruce-mcnall/322392/?resultid=34336113-be1c-4439-a848-68516f167c14#edition=3641314&idiq=43892

 

 

[Jay GT4]

Great left facing coins everyone.

Here's a very rare one in my collection

IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG PM
Laureate head left

TR P VIIII IMP XIIII COS VII P P
Ceres seated left with corn ears, poppy and torch

Rome, after July 1, 79 CE
2.87g

RIC 23 (R3)

Ex-Biga Online auction 7, lot 768

This is the third known example of an extremely rare type. One from the Harry Sneh collection sold at the Gemini IX sale, 8 January, lot 333 (RIC reference coin, no image). The second example is found in the David Atherton collection. This being the 3rd, shares both obverse and reverse dies with the Atherton coin.

[Curtisimo]

Great coins all. I have very few left facing portraits in my collection. Here is one of my favorites.

Roman Empire
Constantius II as Caesar
BI Follis, Arelatum Mint (Arles), 4th officina, struck AD 328
Dia.: 19.9 mm
Wt.: 3.2 g
Obv.: FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C; Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev.: VIRTVS CAESS; Campgate with 4 turrets, star above, gates open, each door with two panels, each panel ornamented with two dots; S – F flanking sides; QCONST in exergue.
Ref.: RIC VII Arles 323
Ex Zachary “Beast” Beasley Collection of Camp Gates. Ex CNG Electronic Auction 134, Lot 452 (March 2006). Ex VAuctions 250, Lot 167 (Aug. 5, 2010). Purchased from FORVM Ancient Coins (Jun. 2019)

[happy_collector]

Here are two left-facing Sabina. A denarius and a dupondius. 🙂

 

Greek coins seem to have more left-facing portraits. Here is one from Syracuse.

 

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by happy_collector

[mc9]

I have plenty of lefties,

here some Probus and a Maxentius

Probus

 

and Maxentius

[Harry G]

Here are some of my scarcer ants with left facing busts!

Carausius - PAX AVG

 

Postumus (as Hercules) - ORIENS AVG

 

Valerian I - VOTA ORBIS

 

I also have a decently nice Tetricus II ant with a left facing bust, although I can't seem to find my photo lol. Will post it when I find it

 

[ominus1]

.....by the left face ....JIUH!!(..or maybe it was just LEFT 'ACE!!><)

[DonnaML]

I think I'll refrain from posting any coins of Probus facing left because almost all of the ones I have face that way, but here are some left-facing Hadrians in no particular order:

 

Some of what they used to call "small brasses" facing left:

Augustus

Germanicus

Agrippa

Drusus

Caligula

Claudius I

Licinius II and various coins issued by members of the Constantinian family.

Edited November 2, 2022 by DonnaML

[DonnaML]

A left-facing Gallienus I just came across. (It's not so easy to find all my left-facing obverses, because searching for "head left" and "bust left" in my catalog doesn't capture all of them, and simply searching for "left" yields hundreds of results.)

 

[Ocatarinetabellatchitchix]

That is really a leftie @DonnaML Radiate head LEFT, lion advancing LEFT, bull’s head to lower LEFT, C VI PP above grain ears LEFT …