Post your latest ancient!

[CassiusMarcus]

Hello all,

This is my first post on the forum I'm excited to get to know everyone and check out some of your awesome collections, learn stuff and talk with like-minded people.

Here are my two recent pickups from LEU. I primarily collect tetradrachm of the Diadochi but I got something quite different this time and went for a Persian Daric. As well as a tet of Antiochos the Great, one of my favourite Seleucid Kings. I'm really in love with the strike on this tetradrachm and the detail on it, I have had a hard time finding one of Antiochos III that stood out to me so this one has fit that bill.. 

let me know what you think! 

SELEUKID KINGS. Antiochos III ‘the Great’, 222-187 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 27 mm, 16.69 g, 12 h), Nisibis, circa 211-209/8. Diademed head of Antiochos III to right. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ - ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ

PERSIA, Achaemenid Empire. Time of Xerxes II to Artaxerxes II, circa 420-375 BC. Daric (Gold, 18 mm, 8.33 g, 12 h), Lydo-Milesian standard, Sardes

[zadie]

56 minutes ago, CassiusMarcus said:

Hello all,

This is my first post on the forum I'm excited to get to know everyone and check out some of your awesome collections, learn stuff and talk with like-minded people.

Here are my two recent pickups from LEU. I primarily collect tetradrachm of the Diadochi but I got something quite different this time and went for a Persian Daric. As well as a tet of Antiochos the Great, one of my favourite Seleucid Kings. I'm really in love with the strike on this tetradrachm and the detail on it, I have had a hard time finding one of Antiochos III that stood out to me so this one has fit that bill.. 

let me know what you think! 

SELEUKID KINGS. Antiochos III ‘the Great’, 222-187 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 27 mm, 16.69 g, 12 h), Nisibis, circa 211-209/8. Diademed head of Antiochos III to right. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ - ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ

PERSIA, Achaemenid Empire. Time of Xerxes II to Artaxerxes II, circa 420-375 BC. Daric (Gold, 18 mm, 8.33 g, 12 h), Lydo-Milesian standard, Sardes

Lovely! Stunning level of details on Antiochus' eye

[CPK]

2 hours ago, CassiusMarcus said:

Hello all,

This is my first post on the forum I'm excited to get to know everyone and check out some of your awesome collections, learn stuff and talk with like-minded people.

Here are my two recent pickups from LEU. I primarily collect tetradrachm of the Diadochi but I got something quite different this time and went for a Persian Daric. As well as a tet of Antiochos the Great, one of my favourite Seleucid Kings. I'm really in love with the strike on this tetradrachm and the detail on it, I have had a hard time finding one of Antiochos III that stood out to me so this one has fit that bill.. 

let me know what you think! 

SELEUKID KINGS. Antiochos III ‘the Great’, 222-187 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 27 mm, 16.69 g, 12 h), Nisibis, circa 211-209/8. Diademed head of Antiochos III to right. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ - ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ

PERSIA, Achaemenid Empire. Time of Xerxes II to Artaxerxes II, circa 420-375 BC. Daric (Gold, 18 mm, 8.33 g, 12 h), Lydo-Milesian standard, Sardes

Man! What a great opening post! Those are beautiful coins - I've often dreamed of buying a daric some day but for now I have to be happy with sigloi. 😉

Welcome to the Forum!

[Furryfrog02]

3 hours ago, CassiusMarcus said:

Hello all,

This is my first post on the forum I'm excited to get to know everyone and check out some of your awesome collections, learn stuff and talk with like-minded people.

Here are my two recent pickups from LEU. I primarily collect tetradrachm of the Diadochi but I got something quite different this time and went for a Persian Daric. As well as a tet of Antiochos the Great, one of my favourite Seleucid Kings. I'm really in love with the strike on this tetradrachm and the detail on it, I have had a hard time finding one of Antiochos III that stood out to me so this one has fit that bill.. 

let me know what you think! 

SELEUKID KINGS. Antiochos III ‘the Great’, 222-187 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 27 mm, 16.69 g, 12 h), Nisibis, circa 211-209/8. Diademed head of Antiochos III to right. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ - ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ

PERSIA, Achaemenid Empire. Time of Xerxes II to Artaxerxes II, circa 420-375 BC. Daric (Gold, 18 mm, 8.33 g, 12 h), Lydo-Milesian standard, Sardes

Welcome! I saw your post over on reddit a bit ago. Those are amazing!
Glad to have you here.

[Tiny Child]

My latest coin is this Trajan sestertius for a denomination set of Trajan I am building.

 

Trajan, Sestertius, Rome Mint, Struck 114-117.

Obverse Design: Draped bust of Trajan right.

Obverse Legends: IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P

Reverse Design: Felicitas draped facing left holding caduceus and cornucopia.

Reverse Legend: SENATVS POPVLVSQVE ROMANVS S C

[Ryro]

Welcome @CassiusMarcus! Now that's how to show up to the party🤩 I've been after a Persian daric for a while. But there's the whole paying for one thing...

As for my latest, I was going to do a write up on this Celtic rarity and it's little known tribe of origin, but Celtic posts don't get much traction. So here it is:

CELTIC IMITATIONS OF MAGNA GRAECIA

MELDES/Meldis (Meaux region) 60-40 BCE, bronze, 16.6mm, 2.8g.

Degree of rarity: R1

 No. in reference works: LT.7617 - DT.587 - BN.7616-7630 - RIG.163 - Sch/GB.512

Obverse legend: E[PENOS].

Obverse description: Male head on the left, long, curly hair, legend in front of the face; gritted.

Reverse legend: EPHNOS.

Reverse description: Horse galloping to the right, wavy tail, surmounted by a facing bird/ winged rider with outstretched wings, a ringlet pointed below; legend under the horse globule surmounted by a crescent.

Unearthed 2023 Burgundy region of France. 

" The bird which surmounts the horse may be a distortion of a winged rider, present for example on certain Gallic silver and bronze coins. The attribution of this coinage is confirmed to the Meldes despite a very important distribution map on the territories of the Suessions and the Bellovaques. These coins were first reported in Meaux with ROVECA epigraph coins. B. Fischer proposes a ligature between an I and the P; which would give a legend EIPENOS, EPIENOS or even EPLENOS; she opts, in view of various examples of epigraphies, for the legend EPIENOS.

History: The Meldes are only mentioned once in Caesar's work. This small people lived between the Seine and the Marne in the Brie plain with Meaux as its capital. The Meldes emancipated themselves late from the tutelage of the Suessions and the Remes at the time of the Gallic War. Having become independent in 57 BC, the Meldes chose to ally themselves with the Romans. Caesar had sixty ships built among the Meldes, in 55 BC, for the expedition to Brittany. Caesar (BG. V, 5)."

Edited March 21 by Ryro

[JAZ Numismatics]

Here's a fairly rare provincial of Augustus I recently came across...

 

 

AEOLIS, Aegae.

Augustus, 27 BC-AD14. Diphilos Phaita, magistrate.

Æ21, 6.4g, 12h.

Obv.: Bare head right.

Rev.: Apollo standing right, holding taenia and laurel branch. 

Ref.: RPC I 2427. Only ten recorded in RPC.

 

Edited March 21 by JAZ Numismatics

[Phil Anthos]

Despite the wear the portrait really jumps out. Nice coin.

~ Peter 

Edited March 21 by Phil Anthos

[robinjojo]

In my disorganized quest to acquire anything round or roundish, made of some sort of metal and appears older than I am, here's a new style Athenian tetradrachm from the time of Sulla (86-84 AD).

Just an overview of Margaret Thompson's plates indicates that lots of these owls appear to have been produced under Sulla, driven it appears by our old friend economic necessity.  He needed all the money that he could lay his hands during the war with Mithridates and his allies which included Athens.  Having starved Athens into capitulation following a brutal siege in 87 AD, he spared the city from total destruction, merely sacking it, a time-honored practice.  These owls were issued in the ensuing few years following the fall of Athens.

The owls produced during his occupation are quite distinctive both in their obverse treatment of Athena and the owl on the reverse.  The engraving styles can range from good to crude attempts, compared to prior new style owls, indicating that die engravers of varying artistic abilities were employed by the mint.  Coins had to be produced quickly, to meet Sulla's demands, a very familiar situation. 

I've been looking some time for a decent type owl from this turbulent period in the histories of Rome and Greece.  What I ended up with is a midrange coin grade-wise.  The French firm graded it as an EF.  There is no way that this coin is anywhere close.  I don't know why they do this, but if you get beyond that issue and just judge the coin on its own merits and faults, good purchases from them are still possible.  To me this coin grades Fine, maybe a good Fine for wear with good centering, given the narrower flan.  There might also be a case of worn dies, especially on the obverse.  A beauty it is not, but it is quite a historical coin.

This coin is one of the cruder examples, struck on a typically narrower flan, resulting is some detail off the flan, but the centering is decent.  The weight is within the range of other examples listed in the Thompson catalog.  The closest match with the Sulla new style owls in the Thompson plates is 1303a.

Athens under Roman rule, new style owl, 86-84 AD.   ΛAYPIA M[E]TAΛΛA monograms on reverse.  Month "A" on the amphora (quite weak).

Sulla, Group I, Thompson 1303a.

24mm; 16.43 grams

Perhaps this coin is a die match, at least of the obverse, for 1303a?  Here's the Thompson catalog photo:

 

Edited March 23 by robinjojo

[Furryfrog02]

On 3/20/2024 at 2:43 PM, DonnaML said:

I had no particular "need" for this coin -- not that I ever really do! -- but I really liked the portrait of Maximinus I on the obverse, and the very detailed Victory on the reverse, complete with a small German captive commemorating Maximinus's victories in Germania. 

Maximinus I Thrax AR Denarius, 236-238 AD, Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind, MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG GERM / Rev. Victory standing front, head to left, holding wreath in her outstretched right hand and palm frond in her left hand in front of her wings; at her feet to left, German captive seated left, head turned back to right, hands probably tied behind his back, VICTO – RIA GERM. 20 mm., 2.54 g., 12 h. RIC IV-2 23; RSC III 107 (ill. p. 154); BMCRE VI 186-187; Sear RCV III 8318 (ill. p. 80). Purchased from Leu Numismatik AG, Winterthur, Switzerland, Web Auction 29, 25 Feb. 2024, Lot 2235; ex Leu Numismatik AG Web Auction 7, 24 Feb. 2019, Lot 1218; from the S. Pozzi Collection [N.B.: not the famous Dr. Samuel Jean Pozzi (1846-1918), but a different person who was still alive in the late 20^th Century!]; ex Peter Höfer FPL 9, June 1981, Lot 277.  

Perhaps Leu was a bit disingenuous in its 2019 auction of the so-called "S. Pozzi Collection," which it presented without expressly stating that the collection had nothing to do with the famous Pozzi Collection? Leu didn't even implicitly disclose that fact by giving the "new" S. Pozzi's full first name; only the initial. Yes, anyone who read the descriptions carefully would realize that this Pozzi was still alive in the late 20th century, and anyone familiar with the "real" S. Pozzi would know he died a century ago. But I still think there was something a bit shady about the way Leu handled this. I can't help wondering how many people bought "S. Pozzi" coins from Leu's 2019 auction believing they were purchasing coins that had once belonged to the original Dr. Pozzi.  Perhaps even this coin, given how relatively quickly it was offered again? After all, the hammer price was 50 CHF lower this time than in 2019.  (I wasn't under any illusions myself, since I did a little research before bidding, and am very pleased with the coin!)

A second question: does anyone have any explanation of why there's that small "tab" sticking out at 3:00 on the obverse? Not that I ever would, but every time I see it, I feel an impulse to reach out and snap it off at the dotted line, like a saltine!  Could it possibly be left over from the process of casting blanks or flans, which, I believe I recall reading, sometimes involved a series of molds attached to each other that were subsequently broken apart?

Finally, I've been unable to find out anything regarding the  Höfer fixed price lists from the 1970s/1980s, other than the fact that his first name was Peter. I don't even know what country he was in -- presumably Germany or Switzerland. If anyone is aware of anything more, I'd appreciate your letting me know.

 

Donna! That is BEAUTIFUL! 
Such a great portrait and the depiction of Victory on the reverse...

[El Cazador]

On 3/20/2024 at 12:23 PM, CassiusMarcus said:

Hello all,

This is my first post on the forum I'm excited to get to know everyone and check out some of your awesome collections, learn stuff and talk with like-minded people.

Here are my two recent pickups from LEU. I primarily collect tetradrachm of the Diadochi but I got something quite different this time and went for a Persian Daric. As well as a tet of Antiochos the Great, one of my favourite Seleucid Kings. I'm really in love with the strike on this tetradrachm and the detail on it, I have had a hard time finding one of Antiochos III that stood out to me so this one has fit that bill.. 

let me know what you think! 

SELEUKID KINGS. Antiochos III ‘the Great’, 222-187 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 27 mm, 16.69 g, 12 h), Nisibis, circa 211-209/8. Diademed head of Antiochos III to right. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ - ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ

PERSIA, Achaemenid Empire. Time of Xerxes II to Artaxerxes II, circa 420-375 BC. Daric (Gold, 18 mm, 8.33 g, 12 h), Lydo-Milesian standard, Sardes

Really neat tetradrachm!

[DonnaML]

3 hours ago, robinjojo said:

The French firm graded it as an EF.  There is no way that this coin is anywhere close. 

A French dealer? Considering that most of them will call any old slug "AU," I'm amazed that your dealer was so modest with respect to your coin.

[Sol_Invictus]

Picked this one up from a coin store. My first Hieron II.

Hieron II, Greek Sicily, Syracuse, 270 – 215 BC, AE26, Syracuse, 25.8mm, 17.1grams.

Obv: Diademed head to left. Rev: Armored cavalryman on horseback and holding spear, riding to right; N below, IERΩNOΣ in ex. CNS-195; HCG-2, 1548

 

[Victrix]

SERIES J 37  [c.710-60]
silver sceat- secondary series

obv.  facing heads with cross between;

rev.  4 birds clockwise.

Found: Driffield, Yorkshire, 2021.

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

I just got the USPS signature required slip in my mailbox for my Leu Tribute Penny, so it has arrived after a slight delay in customs. Will probably post it on Monday after I pick it up at the post office and take my own photos. 

"Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's"

[JAZ Numismatics]

Two random Byzantines that I acquired only because I really liked the colorful patinas. Anonymous Christ follis, half follis of Maurice Tiberius...

 

[MrMonkeySwag96]

I bought my first medieval coin from Western Europe:

 

The Time of the Crusades, French Feudal Counts of Angouleme 1200-1270 AD AR Denier, 18.7mm, 0.71g O: +lodoicvs, Central cross R: +egolissime, Central cross, Three amulets, One crescent. Poey d’Avant # 2663

 

[ela126]

I’ve been getting a bunch of Byzantine (and a few others in). This one isn’t rare but dang is it a nice quality piece. Got very lucky with the purchase, willing to take a risk on possible BD that was just some easily removed malachite.

Justinian 1 - Follis - Year 14 - Constantinople - 22.16g - SB 163

[CPK]

15 minutes ago, ela126 said:

I’ve been getting a bunch of Byzantine (and a few others in). This one isn’t rare but dang is it a nice quality piece. Got very lucky with the purchase, willing to take a risk on possible BD that was just some easily removed malachite.

Justinian 1 - Follis - Year 14 - Constantinople - 22.16g - SB 163

High grade and a beautiful patina!

[Sulla80]

This coin with an interesting portrait of Hadrian - looking almost clean shaven..."Liberalitas coin types attest to occasions when the emperor has displayed his generosity towards the people by a distribution to them, in money, provisions, or both. The first mention of Liberalitas was on coins of Hadrian. It was a type frequently repeated by the succeeding emperors. Indeed these instances of imperial generosity are more carefully recorded on coins than they are by history."

-FORVM Ancient Coins: Liberalitas

Hadrian, 117-138. Denarius (Silver, 19 mm, 3.66 g, 6 h), Rome, circa late 120-121. IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG

Obv: Laureate head of Hadrian to right.

Rev: P M TR P COS III / LIBERAL AVG / III Hadrian seated left on curule chair set on platform, extending his right hand toward citizen standing right, holding out fold of toga.

Ref: BMC 291. Cohen 908. RIC 308.

compare

 

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

I picked this one up at the post office today. A "Tribute Penny" of Tiberius. Livia, of course, is featured on the reverse. I just photographed it.

AR denarius 19mm 3.85 grams

Leu web auction 29 24-26 Feb 2024 lot 1844

Edited March 25 by Ancient Coin Hunter

[CPK]

6 minutes ago, Ancient Coin Hunter said:

I picked this one up at the post office today. A "Tribute Penny" of Tiberius. Livia, of course, is featured on the reverse. I just photographed it.

AR denarius 19mm 3.85 grams

Leu web auction 29 24-26 Feb 2024 lot 1844

That's a superb example!

[Hrefn]

My latest purchase comes from N&N London.  It is a follis of Justinian I struck in regnal year XIII in the city of Antioch, which would correspond to AD 539/40.  This was the first year that Justinian’s post-reform folles were struck in Antioch.  The year after this coin was struck, Antioch would be attacked and depopulated by Persia.  When minting resumed, the mint mark would begin with a TH instead of a theta.  

At first I thought I had an unusual variant in the exergue’ s inscription, but now I believe the reverse is slightly double struck.  

This coin is huge, 40 mm in diameter, and weighs 22 grams.  

You can learn everything you wish to know about Antiochian folles at this website.

http://augustuscoins.com/ed/interesting/Justinian.html

Edited March 26 by Hrefn
Follis not solidus

[MrMonkeySwag96]

I bought this Tribute Penny last month. I now own 11 of the 12 Caesars. I’m only missing Otho

 

 

 

[ela126]

8 hours ago, Hrefn said:

My latest purchase comes from N&N London.  It is a solidus of Justinian I struck in regnal year XIII in the city of Antioch, which would correspond to AD 539/40.  This was the first year that Justinian’s post-reform folles were struck in Antioch.  The year after this coin was struck, Antioch would be attacked and depopulated by Persia.  When minting resumed, the mint mark would begin with a TH instead of a theta.  

At first I thought I had an unusual variant in the exergue’ s inscription, but now I believe the reverse is slightly double struck.  

This coin is huge, 40 mm in diameter, and weighs 22 grams.  

You can learn everything you wish to know about Antiochian folles at this website.

http://augustuscoins.com/ed/interesting/Justinian.html

Awesome piece. i've had my eye on a year 13 Antioch. i'd say the have the most pleasing front Portrait of any of Justinian's coins. Great pickup.