Prieure de Sion Posted February 27 · Member Share Posted February 27 It is always difficult to get a good-looking Commodus. And when there finally is one, many bidders pounce on it. Today I was able to win another Commodus in good condition at Rauch. I am very happy, because this is generally RIC 36a - but in a version with a narrow abacus between the letters of the legend. An extremely rare version of RIC 36. Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus Denarius of the Roman Imperial Period 166/177 AD; Material: Silver; Diameter: 18mm; Weight: 3.09g; Mint: Rome; Reference: RIC III Commodus 36a var. (narrow abacus between letters);Rare: R3; Provenance: H. D. Rauch Numismatik Wien, Austria (Auction 41, Lot 3287); Obverse: Head of Commodus, laureate, right; Inscription: M COMMODVS ANTONINVS AVG; Translate: Marcus Commodus Antoninus Augustus; Reverse: Liberalitas, draped, standing left, holding abacus in right hand and cornucopiae in left hand; Inscription: LIB AVG V TR P VII IMP IIII COS III P P; Translate: Liberalitas Augustorum Quinta, Tribunicia Potestate Septima, Imperator, Quartum, Consul Tertium, Pater Patriae (The fifth liberality of the Augustus, holder of tribunician power for the seventh time, Imperator for the fourth time, consul for the third time, father of the nation) Comment: Financial management under Commodus was particularly bad. Partly as a result of the senseless expenditure on competitions and games of all kinds, partly as a result of the lavish gifts to the people, there was a great shortage of money (Dio LXXII 16, 1-3. Comm. 16, 8-9). Commodus had numerous coins minted and issued with Liberalitas Augusti; LIB I in 175 AD, LIB II in 177/178 AD, LIB III in 180 AD, LIB IIII in 181 AD, LIB V in 182 AD, LIB VI in 185/186 AD, LIB VII in 190 AD, LIB VIII and LIB IX then for the last time in 192 AD. This lack of money was remedied by confiscations and the sale of offices, as well as by robbery and threats. The background of the Liberalitas V denarius type presented here was the conspiracy in 181 AD against Commodus. Whether Lucilla was actually co-responsible for the assassination of her brother, or to what extent, is historically not perfectly certain. Apparently Commodus' sister joined forces with her cousin M. Claudius Ummidius Quadratus to assassinate the emperor. The young Tib. Claudius Pompeianus Quintianus was entrusted with the execution. He confronted the emperor at the entrance to the theatre with his sword drawn and shouted: "this is sent to you by the Senate". But he did not carry out the fatal stroke himself; he was bound and executed. Soon Quadratus was also killed, and, it seems, a Norbana, a Norbanus, a Paralius and his mother as accomplices. Lucilla herself was first banished to the island of Capri and then later executed. To celebrate the failed assassination, coins of the LIB AVG V were issued afterwards.This specimen is an extremely rare variant with narrow abacus between legend letters. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncientNumis Posted March 5 · Member Share Posted March 5 Here's my latest ancient: a Leukas Stater. Rather worn, sure, but a coin I'm extremely happy with. 😄 Akarnania, Leukas, 400-330 BC, AR stater Obv. Pegasos with pointed wing flying to right, Lambda below, Rev. head of Athena to right Corinthian helmet over a leather cap with caduceus behind and Lambda behind head I've also made a little introductory article about the staters of Leukas, it's aimed for beginners but you can access it here if you'd like! 🙂 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expat Posted March 5 · Member Share Posted March 5 (edited) 2 I received Friday. Already posted in other threads but here they are. VRBS/Roma which I wanted in my collection regardless of condition and an Aurelian, an Emperor I didn't yet have. Edited March 5 by expat 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prieure de Sion Posted March 7 · Member Share Posted March 7 I don't want to let the thread fall asleep, so I'll show two coins that I was able to buy at an auction today. Nothing extraordinarily special - nevertheless I found these two pieces quite nice, so I couldn't resist. Here is an Adventus coin of Septimius Severus. The portrait is not the best - but I liked the reverse with the, in my opinion, quite detailed depiction. Lucius Septimius Severus PertinaxDenarius of the Roman Imperial Period 196/197 AD; Material: Silver; Diameter: 18mm; Weight: 3.78g; Mint: Rom; Reference: RIC IV Septimius Severus 74; Obverse: Head of Septimius Severus, laureate, right. The Inscription reads: L SEPT SEV PERT AVG IMP VIII for Lucius Septimius Severus Pertinax Augustus, Imperator Octavum (Lucius Septimius Severus Pertinax, Augustus, Imperator for the eighth time); Reverse: Septimius Severus, in military attire, on horse prancing right, raising right hand. The Inscription reads: ADVENTVI AVG FELICISSIMO for Adventui Augusti Felicissimo (The most auspicious return of the Augustus). Comment: This legend appears on the reverse of a large brass of Septimius Severus. The type represents the emperor on horseback, either alone, or preceded by a soldier on foot. - After having reestablished peace in the east by the destruction of Pescennius Niger, and with the design of marching against Albinus, Severus returned to Rome, where his entry was magnificent. That was the same Felicissimus Adventus - "the most auspicious return" - which is alluded to here.Capt. Smyth (p. 186) assigns the return to Rome which this device commemorates, to the year 196 of the Christian era; and adds - "The first public entry of Severus was under every possible demonstration of joy: yet he committed unheard-of cruelties. After commending the character of Commodus to the Senators, who had declared his memory infamous, he executed a number of their body, without trial; and Rome was filled with bloodshed. At the same time, however, he executed retributive justice on the insolent, venal, and treacherous Praetorians, whom he disarmed, degraded and ignominiously banished to the distance of a hundred miles from Rome."In describing an Adventus coin of the elder Philip, whose equestrian figure is represented with the same "extraordinary disproportion between the steed and its rider," as is exhibited on the above reverse of Severus, the intelligent writer above quoted, obverses (p. 266) - "the Emperor is probably mounted on the Asturco, or ambling nag, as a more appropriate emblem of returning peace, than the Equus bellator, or charger." - This is a shrewd conjecture; but it does not fully account for the under-sized horses on which we see emperors mounted, in various types of the Roman mint. These, indeed, are for the most part relatively diminutive, whether the imperial rider is wearing the pacific toga, or in the garb of war - under the legend ADVENTVS, or that of EXERCITVS.Source Numiswiki:https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=ADVENTVI AVG FELICISSIMO 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prieure de Sion Posted March 7 · Member Share Posted March 7 And then I was lucky enough to buy this Probus Securitas coin at an auction. I just liked the extremely good quality and condition of the coin - and of course the beautiful brown patina. Marcus Aurelius Probus, as Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Probus AugustusAntoninianus of the Roman Imperial Period 276/282 AD; Material: BI; Diameter: 23mm; Weight: 3.87g; Mint: Ticinum; Reference: RIC V Probus 573; Obverse: Bust of Probus, radiate, cuirassed, right. The Inscription reads: IMP C PROBVS AVG for Imperator Caesar Probus Augustus; Reverse: Securitas, draped, standing left, legs crossed, leaning on column, raising right hand to head; ΓXXI in exergue. The Inscription reads: SECVRIT PERP for Securitas Perpetua (To perpetual security). 11 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrefn Posted March 10 · Member Share Posted March 10 A silver siliqua of Julian the Apostate, VOT X MULT XX, from the mint at Arelate, despite the mint mark which might suggest Constantinople, as evidenced by the eagle in the medallion on the top of the wreath. From the Harptree hoard, discovered in 1887, one of almost 1500 siliqua concealed together. I love the toning, which I believe is shared by most of these coins. But I particularly love the almost satyr-like depiction of the pagan emperor. It is a nice complement to my coin imitating an issue of Lugdunum, on which Julian looks like an elf. 9 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamnaskires Posted March 10 · Member Share Posted March 10 My latest...arrived yesterday. Kamnaskires V AR tetradrachm c. 54/3 - 33/2 BC. van't Haaff type 9.1 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted March 11 · Supporter Author Share Posted March 11 (edited) Continuing my collection of Constantine family portraits, here is one I got in today: I am particularly happy with this one for a couple reasons. First of all, as I have been finding, the Rome mint seemed to produce some of the best Constantinian portraiture (See my Rome mint portrait of Constantine I here). This Fausta portrait from the Rome mint is about as nicely done as any I've seen. Second, as I was contemplating purchasing it, I did a quick search for Rome mint Fausta coins and found this very coin had been sold through CNG a few years ago, as part of a group lot of three: Auction Lot (cngcoins.com) And finally (and best of all!) as you can see from the CNG listing, this coin came from the collection of Giovanni Dattari, a very well-known 19th-century collector of ancient coins, notably Alexandrian coinage, but also many others as well. A great write-up about Giovanni Dattari and his famous collection can be read here, written by @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix Neither the CNG listing nor the Dattari provenance was given in the dealer's listing. The coin had already been on my watch list, and when I discovered the 100+ year-old provenance I did not hesitate to purchase! Needless to say I am very happy with my new coin and am now on the lookout for a Rome-mint Helena or Crispus coin. 😉 Oh by the way, when I was looking up the RIC number on OCRE I couldn't find any with that particular obverse legend (hence the "var." in my photo). If anyone who has the official published RIC could check for me I'd be greatly obliged! *EDIT* I have been assisted in finding the correct RIC number and have updated the photo accordingly. Edited March 12 by CPK 16 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akeady Posted March 12 · Supporter Share Posted March 12 I got a few from Tintinna during the week. This is one of them - Cr. 472/2 - scarcer than the variety with Juno Sospita on the obverse (Cr. 472/1). Moneyer: L. Papius Celsus Coin: Silver Denarius TRIVMPVS - Laureate head of Triumphus, right, with trophy over shoulder L·PAPIVS CELSVS·III·VIR - Wolf, right, placing stick on fire; on right, eagle fanning flames Mint: Rome (45 BC) Wt./Size/Axis: 3.61g / 18mm / - References: RSC 3 (Papia) Sydenham 965 Crawford 472/2 HCRI 83 RBW 1649 Acquisition: Numismatica Tintinna Online auction Asta 104 #109 25-Feb-2023 ATB, Aidan. 15 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamnaskires Posted March 12 · Member Share Posted March 12 A new arrival. Amphora Cyprus, Early Iron Age, 1050 – 650 BC 14.3 cm x 11.8 cm (5.6” X 4.65”) Ex-Anthony Thwaite Collection Thwaite (1930 – 2021) was a UK poet, literary editor, BBC producer, reviewer, lecturer, antiquarian, and an amateur archaeologist: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/23/anthony-thwaite-obituary 10 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeuthesOfOdrysia Posted March 12 · Member Share Posted March 12 Still not great at macro photography, but I recently won this from CNG. Rusted/worn die on the pegasus, but the toning is spectacular. 8 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broucheion Posted March 15 · Member Share Posted March 15 (edited) Hi All, I just received this unlisted monogram variety of Ceraunus' hemiobol coin. MACEDONIA UNDER PTOLEMY CERAUNUS AND MELEAGER MACEDONIA, PAROREIA (CASSANDREA ???) 281 - 279 BCE Size: 20 mm Weight: 6.66 g Die Axis: 6:00 Broucheion Collection G-2023-03-08.001 OBV: Zeus Dodonaios head, diademmed and wreathed, facing right. No border.REV: Eagle on thunderbolt facing right, head turned back to left, wings closed. In upper left field: HP monogram; in right field: ΠΑΡ Monogram. No border. border.Refs: Lorber CPE-Unlisted (comes after CPE-B152); Svoronos-Unlisted; BMC 5.15, #65var (HP monogram) Notes from CPE: [This variety has] been attributed to Macedonia since the nineteenth century on the basis of provenance and overstrikes, while H Gaebler (1926, pp 188-189) proposed a more specific attribution to the district of Paroreia, whose initial letters make up the monogram ΠΑΡ that appears consistently on these coins. The subject was reexamined by S Psoma (2008, pp 217-224). From overstrikes and hoards she deduced a date of issue after the reign of Demetrius Poliorcetes (294-287) but before the accession of Antigonus Gonatas in 277. Although there were numerous kings in Macedonia during this unstable period, the Zeus/eagle and Zeus/thunderbolt types could point to a Ptolemy as the issuing authority. There is a large concentration of these coins from the area around Cassandrea that may be associated with the Macedonian garrison installed in the city by Ptolemy Ceraunus in 280. Examples of the ΠΑΡ bronzes have also been found at Maroneia, where Ptolemy established another garrison in 281 as he advanced from Lysimachia to Pella. - Broucheion Edited March 17 by Broucheion 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victrix Posted March 16 · Member Share Posted March 16 I managed to pick up a rather scarce type for my Vitellius collection of CNG yesterday 🙂 . 9 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAZ Numismatics Posted March 17 · Member Share Posted March 17 My score from the same CNG auction. Exceptional centering for a cistophoric tet, excellent strike, minimal wear, and Priapus as a minor device! (When have you ever seen that?) Not to mention the coin might be unique with this particular date. What's not to love? IONIA, Ephesos. Circa 180-67 BC. AR Tetradrachm (26.5mm, 12.67 g, 1h). Cistophoric standard. Dated CY 57 (78/7 BC). Cista mystica with serpent; all within ivy wreath / Two serpents entwined around bow and bowcase; above, Priapos facing; to left, NZ (date) above EΦE, torch to right. Kleiner, Dated 58; DCA 325; SNG Copenhagen 331. Lightly toned, scrape at edge on obverse. Good VF. Rare date, none in CoinArchives. 11 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniard Posted March 17 · Supporter Share Posted March 17 This one arrived this morning...8 days delivery India to Spain, "impressive"!...The op has really deep relief on the reverse! Samgrama (Sangrama) 1003-1028 AD (Start of 1st Lohara dynasty) Copper Kaserah or Punchshi 18mm (5.45gr) Obverse- Goddess Ardochsho/Lakshmi seated facing in half lotus position, with Nagari legend 'Sa to left 'm(n)gramara' to right Reverse- King standing facing and sacrificing at altar holding trident, with Nagari legend 'jadeva' bottom right 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted March 17 · Supporter Author Share Posted March 17 Received this in the mail yesterday. I'm sort of building a collection of big-game animals on Roman coins. This was an inexpensive but (IMO) decent addition: 11 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akeady Posted March 18 · Supporter Share Posted March 18 It was a 5-coin week - here's one of them: Gens: Vibia Moneyer: C. Vibius C.f. Pansa Coin: Silver Denarius PANSA - Mask of bearded Pan, right, with hair decorated with three rows of berries; behind, Pedum C·VIBIVS·C·F·C·N / IOVIS·AXVR· - Jupiter seated left, laureate, holding patera in right hand and sceptre in left hand Mint: Rome (48 BC) Wt./Size/Axis: 3.81g / 19mm / - References: RSC 18 (Vibia) Sydenham 948 Crawford 449/1b HCRI 20a Acquisition: Artemide Aste Online auction Asta 62E #410 11-Mar-2023 ATB, Aidan. 6 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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