Post your latest ancient!

[Finn235]

Small mail day last week 

First, is an upgrade - an unassuming coin of a major rarity in the Roman Imperial set - Commodus with his younger brother Annius Verus. Annius Verus is known only from this type (two obverse legend variants of the same type), a couple types of medallion, and *possibly* the "four seasons" series of quadrans, although I believe the last has been debunked.

The old coin, which I suppose now I need to figure out the best way to sell....

 

And secondly, a type I had my eye on for a while and finally won a middling specimen at a lowball bid

AE10 of Spithridates, Achaemenid satrap of Lydia. Best known for being the man who almost killed Alexander the Great at the Battle of Granicus - he was about to land a blow from behind when one of Alexander's generals cut his arm off, saving Alexander's life.

[Furryfrog02]

My latest purchases are medieval and ancient but not a coin yet still fitting within my focus of Victory/Nike:

Antonio Venier, 62nd Doge of Venice
1382-1400 AD
Venice
AR Grosso
Obverse: ANTO • VENERIO • S • M • VENETI, The Doge and St. Mark standing facing each other, holding together the oriflamme of the Republic; in the field, vertically D/V/X; in the field, on each side, a star
Reverse: ✠ • TIBI • LAVS • 7 • GLORIA, Christ enthroned facing front, dressed in the pallium and the columbium, blessing with the right hand and holding the Gospels with the left

Lead Seal
19mm, 6.13g
Victory walking right, P to right

 

[Vel Saties]

On 4/1/2024 at 6:22 PM, Edessa said:

The reverse with the minting die jump is beautiful and interesting. Congrats!

Edited April 3 by Vel Saties

[seth77]

This veiled Laodike IV portrait:


AE15 3.35g c. 175-2BC (Antiochos IV Epiphanes)

[MrMonkeySwag96]

A budget denarius of Aquilia Severa, former Vestal Virgin & controversial Empress. Elagabalus’s taboo marriage with Aquilia turned the Roman Senate against him, one of many factors leading to Elagabalus’s downfall.
 

Roman Empire, Aquilia Severa 220 AD, Silver Denarius 2.45g, 19mm Draped bust of Aquilia Severa right "IVLIA AQVILIA SEVERA AVG" Concordia standing left, sacrificing out of a patera over an altar and holding double cornucopiae, star to left. "CONCORDIA" RSC 2

Edited April 5 by MrMonkeySwag96

[Phil Anthos]

I just got this little gem from JAZ a few days ago, and I've been trying to photograph it. But it's very small and very dark and I just couldn't get a decent image so I've gone with the dealer photo, just lightened a bit to show the detail...

Klazomenai, Ionia

Late 4th century BC AE12 (12mm, 1.79g) O: Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with olive leaves, and triple pendant earring. R: Head of ram to right; KΛΑ below. Sear 4322 ex JAZ Numismatics

[Qcumbor]

On 4/1/2024 at 6:22 PM, Edessa said:

Gaul, Vienna. Octavian, with Divus Julius Caesar. 30 BC. Æ Dupondius (31mm, 17.46g, 12h). Obv: •IMP• above, CAESAR below, DIVI•IVLI• to left, •DIVI•F to right; Bare heads of Julius Caesar and Octavian, back-to-back. Rev: C•I• V; Prows of colliding quinquiremes at the battle of Actium. Ref: Unpublished, deserving of further research!

I'm really jealous of this one. Pure gem , congrats !

My latest ancient is an alexandrian tetradrachm for Severus alexander

Severe Alexandre ( 222 - 235) - Tétradrachme de l'atelier d'Alexandrie, AD 225-226 

A KAI M AYΡ CЄOΥΗΡ ΑΛЄΞΑΝΔΡΟC ЄΥCЄΒ, Buste lauré et drapé à droite vu par l'arrière
L ΠЄΜΠΤΟΥ (5° année de règne), Serapis debout, la tête à gauche, vetu de la Kalathos, levant la main droite et tenant dans sa main gauche un sceptre.
28 mm - 13.47gr - 12 h
Ref : Emmett # 3134/5 (R1), Kampmann # 62.70, RPC VI online # 10333 (temporary), Dattari (Savio) # 4357

Q

[ela126]

Picked this one up several weeks ago. Bit of a rarity so despite the Fine condition, I thought I’d grab it. Contains the main points of the readable legend, worried portrait of the emperor, and the XXX for 3/4 Follis. I believe this is a year 6 (G) as it is the only Constantinople officina B example I’ve come across.

These Phocas three quarter folli are considerably less common than the Tiberius II 3/4 folli.

Phocas 602-610

3/4 Follis

Constantinople

SB 641

9.66g 28 x 26.5mm

Edited April 10 by ela126
updated likely regnal year per new information

[Victrix]

Bought this encrusted Gallienus ant for a cleaning project. First time I attempted to clean a coin and the result is quite good 😄. 

[CPK]

@Victrix Well done!

[Valentinian]

11 hours ago, Qcumbor said:

My latest ancient is an alexandrian tetradrachm for Severus alexander

I have a webpage on that issue:
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/SevAlex/
"Year 5 (AD 225/6) is particularly interesting because there are Alexandrian year 5 coins for Severus Alexander from two different years and two different mints. Read on to find out how that can be."

[Orange Julius]

5 hours ago, Victrix said:

Bought this encrusted Gallienus ant for a cleaning project. First time I attempted to clean a coin and the result is quite good 😄. 

Wow! How’d you clean it. It looks great!

[Qcumbor]

8 hours ago, Valentinian said:

I have a webpage on that issue:
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/SevAlex/
"Year 5 (AD 225/6) is particularly interesting because there are Alexandrian year 5 coins for Severus Alexander from two different years and two different mints. Read on to find out how that can be."

Thanks. I didn't know that. Very interesting

Q

[Victrix]

5 hours ago, Orange Julius said:

Wow! How’d you clean it. It looks great!

Toothpick,needle and lemon juice. Thanks 😃.

[Sulla80]

11 hours ago, Victrix said:

Bought this encrusted Gallienus ant for a cleaning project. First time I attempted to clean a coin and the result is quite good 😄. 

I would call that amazing - well done.  not "over-cleaned", "scraped", ""brushed", looks very nice from your photo!

[Homer2]

I picked up a nice Publius Satrienus Denarius today from the local guy at the Flohmarkt. Nice details on the She-wolf.

I have the Harlan, which dates this to 73BC where the other sources list it as 77BC. Also some debate on if it is Roma on the obv. or Mars, as was indicated by the dealer and in Harlan.

P. Satrienus, 77 BC. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.69 g), Rome. Helmeted head of Roma (Mars?)to right; behind, ⊥XXXVIII. Rev. ROMA / P SATRIE/NVS She-wolf advancing left, raising her right forepaw.

Crawford 388/1b. RBW 1422 var. Sydenham 781a.

 

Edited April 6 by Homer2
added image

[wuntbedruv]

This was advertised on a popular online auction site with blurry pictures obviously taken by some sort of root vegetable. The total cost with postage was about $7.50 (converting from sterling). It gave me the run-around for a while but appears to be a quite scarce variant with these mint controls, most lack them totally. I was able to find two others of this variant sold.

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1049024

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=136037

Epirus, autonomous coinage struck at the colony of Ambrakia c. 238-168 BC, AE21. Obverse: bust of Apollo right with wreath. Reverse: Zeus right with lightning bolt and aegis, flanked by ethnic A M B P, mint control monogram to left. SNG Cop 31 var (monogram/mint control). 

[Sulla80]

PAMPHYLIA. Perge. Trebonianus Gallus, 251-253. Diassarion (Bronze, 21 mm, 5.79 g, 11 h). ΑΥ•Κ Γ•ΟΥЄΙ•ΤΡЄ•ΓΑΛΛΟΝ Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Trebonianus Gallus to right, seen from behind; below, globe. Rev. ΠЄPΓAIΩN Three-legged chest with folding doors, with three money purses upon it. RPC IX 1119. SNG von Aulock 4714.

 

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

My latest snacks arrived. The Philip looks a lot more attractive in person; less pock-marked on the face.  I purchased the Nisibis coin for the blue encrustation.  Not bad for $26.

Philip I AE28 Commagene, Zeugma. Tetrastyle temple with statue of Zeus 

 

AYTOK K M IOYΛI ΦIΛIΠΠOC CEB, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r.,

 

Rv. Tetrastyle temple with statue of Zeus seated, holding sceptre peribolos below containing grove below, capricorn leaping right. ZεYΓM - ATεΩN.

 

SNG Cop. 32.  AD 244-249.  14.93g.

 

 

Philip II AE25 Nisibis, Mesopotamia.  Tyche in tetrastyle temple

 

Obv: Radiate and cuirassed bust left. AYTOK K M IOYΛI ΦIΛIΠΠOC CЄB.

 

Rev: Tyche seated facing; above, ram leaping right, head left; all within tetrastyle temple.  Below, River-god swimming right.  IOY CЄΠ KOΛΩ NЄCIBI MHT.  Find encrustation remains and can be carefully cleaned off or left as is.

 

SNG Copenhagen 240.  247-249 AD.

 

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I wonder what the blue is?  A bunch of them had it, a factor which made me found the offerings more interesting. Other people evidently disagreed, as they've been sitting around for quite a while.

[zanzi]

42 minutes ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

I wonder what the blue is?  A bunch of them had it, a factor which made me found the offerings more interesting. Other people evidently disagreed, as they've been sitting around for quite a while.

Azurite, I think.

[catadc]

 

@ela126 When I decided not to bid on that coin, it was because the year was not visible. Here's mine and more info: 

 

[ela126]

31 minutes ago, catadc said:

 

@ela126 When I decided not to bid on that coin, it was because the year was not visible. Here's mine and more info: 

 

very nice examples you have there, thank you for sharing. 

A little regretable my new piece doesn't contain the date, i bid on it as somewhat of a snack and was a bit surprised to see it closed where it did, so i can be happy with it. Do you agree with my assumption it might be a year 5 (or i guess if its a G it's year 6)?

[catadc]

14 hours ago, ela126 said:

very nice examples you have there, thank you for sharing. 

A little regretable my new piece doesn't contain the date, i bid on it as somewhat of a snack and was a bit surprised to see it closed where it did, so i can be happy with it. Do you agree with my assumption it might be a year 5 (or i guess if its a G it's year 6)?

The 30 nummi of Phocas are known with years 4 (II II), 6 (G) and 7 (GI) from Constantinople, 5 (V) and 6 (VI) from Nicomedia, and 6 (G) and 8 (GII) from Cyzicus. As you can see, there are some gaps, so theoretically can be something else than year 6. For CONB I've seen only year 6 (G). 

[DonnaML]

I don't usually buy additional denarii of the Severan royal women these days, but I liked the portrait on this one, and hadn't previously run across an example of Felicitas holding a caduceus:

Julia Mamaea (mother of Severus Alexander), AR Denarius, AD 228, Rome Mint. Obv. Draped bust right wearing diadem (or stephane), IVLIA MA-MAEA AVG/ Rev. Felicitas standing front, head to left, legs crossed, resting left elbow on column and holding long caduceus* transversely in right hand, FELICI-TAS PVBLICA. RIC IV-2 335, RSC III Julia Mamaea 17 (ill. p. 148), Sear RCV II 8209 (ill. p. 678), BMCRE VI (Severus Alexander) 483. 20 mm., 2.64 g. Purchased 8 Mar 2024 from Gert Boersma Ancient Coins, Hasselt, Netherlands.

 

*See John Melville Jones, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (London, Seaby, 1999) at p. 166 (entry for “Felicitas”), explaining that Felicitas signified “joy” in the sense of the proseperity and success of the Roman state. The formulation “Felicitas Publica” emphasizes that aspect. See also id p. 43 (entry for “Caduceus”), noting that the caduceus “often … appears as an attribute of . . . personifications suggesting peace, stability, and concert,” including Felicitas.

Here is my only other Julia Mamaea  coin.  Not bad by any standard, but I thought the new one was sufficiently interesting to buy it.

Julia Mamaea (mother of Severus Alexander), AR Denarius, AD 231, Rome Mint. Obv. Draped bust right wearing diadem (or stephane), IVLIA MA-MAEA AVG/ Rev. Venus stdg. front, head left, holding helmet & scepter, shield leans against her at left. VENVS V-ICTRIX. RIC IV-2 358, RSC III Julia Mamaea 76 (ill.), Sear RCV II 8216 (ill. p. 679), BMCRE VI (Severus Alexander) 713. 20.5 mm., 2.88 g. Purchased 13 April 2018 from Sphinx Numismatics, Markham ON Canada.