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Ancient Coin Upgrades


Sulla80

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I sold my Tiberius denarius a few years ago.  It wasn't my favorite coin and I thought that I would quickly find another one to fill its spot.  Then I am not sure what happened....a coin at the right price with the right style in the right condition didn't show up, I got distracted with other interests,....  The search ended this week, with this coin now taking the place of its predecessor.

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Tiberius, 14-37, AR denarius (18mm, 3.61g), group 4, Lugdunum

Obv: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head of Tiberius to right

Rev: PONTIF MAXIM, Livia (as Pax) seated right on a chair with ornate legs, holding long scepter in her right hand and olive branch in her left, her feet set on footstool

Ref: BMC 48. Cohen 16. Giard 150. RIC 30

and here's the coin that it replaced:

image.png.e527ab650e145a5fca989217c71d80d6.png

for a story of Tiberius' favorite food - Pliny described it this way: "a delicacy for which the emperor Tiberius had a remarkable partiality" ....full story here: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/tiberius-cucumbers

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Post your upgrades with their predecessors,stories of imperial eating habits, denarii of Tiberius, or anything else that you find interesting or entertaining.

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That's a very nice specimen to replace the previous one! Well done, @Sulla80. I don't typically upgrade coins, because I'm not terribly picky about grade or condition, but I was never happy with the surfaces on this one. I had to treat it for bronze disease, too.

FaustinaSrPIETASAVGSCcandelabrumsestertius.jpg.cdd209bca6edeeb1cc39c3d15a63561f.jpg

Granted, it looks better in hand, but I always wanted a better one if one presented itself at a decent price. I put in a bid for "a decent price" at this past week's Roma, figuring it was fine if I got outbid, and I won. I do think it's much nicer.

image.png.496a47d111b0f615d8dfb31000d9f1e9.png

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I have a few. Usually I try to upgrade appearance and find provenance so there are lots of reasons to buy a new coin.

Salonina Antoninianus, 260-268
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Rome. Billon, 24mm, 2.37g. Diademed and Draped Bust of Salonina right on Crescent; COR SALONINA AVG. Rev: Doe walking left; Δ in exergue; IVNON-(I C)ONS AVG (RIC V, 16). From the Irchester (Northamptonshire) Hoard 1963, 42,000 coins to 280 found in a pot during road works.

Salonina Antoninianus, 260-268
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Rome. Silver, 3.17g. Bust of Salonina, diademed, draped, right, on crescent; SALONINA AVG. Vesta, draped, seated left, holding patera in right hand and sceptre in left hand; VESTA; mintmark reverse Q (RIC V.1, 32). From the Chalgrove I (Oxfordshire) Hoard 1989, Portable Antiquities Scheme: IARCH-A700D2.

Salonina Antoninianus, 256-257
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Asia, Cologne or Trier? Silver, 23mm, 3.82g. Bust of Salonina, diademed, draped, on crescent, right; SALONINA AVG. Venus, draped, standing left, holding apple in right hand and palm in left hand; behind, at foot, shield; VENVS VICTRIX (RIC 68). From the Beachy Head Hoard II, 1964.

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Good idea for a thread. I don't usually upgrade, since I try to buy (as much as possible) the right coin in first place. Well, of course it's not always possible

Here's a modest Gordian III denarius :

83de73b033df4c58bd69349eeb35f2dd.jpg

 

That has been replaced by the following, much, much better, but also ex @Severus Alexander's collection : a real gem

bfb1cb31807e4a3285431fcac4a88a9a.jpg

Q

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Nice looking upgrade, @Sulla80. The price of these 'tribute penny' issues seem to be ever on the rise. It's quite hard to find e reasonably priced type in acceptable quality. The portrait style of your old issue is very appealing by the way. And, interestingly, my kids have a (somewhat forced) remarkable partiality towards the cucumber too. (Melon not so much.) It's a good replacement for candy 🙂

Anyway, here's an upgrade in my collection: 

05augustusdenariusIMPXACT.jpg.7e52393821607782e2371d730484fbcb.jpg

 

1.6.png.2c5a1170d0cfafd7a4f66fdcf176934c.png

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Well, since we started with a Tribute penny, I’ll share two sets of comparisons between my the Tiberius and Claudius coins of my first Twelve Caesars set (completed in 2013 on a modest budget), and my present, slightly more ambitious set (which is now 75% complete):

Tiberius Tribute pennies:

Then

IMG_8176.png.de7a503ae4780558dc3ac21c94e23fee.png


NowIMG_8177.jpeg.66e42ff1fa0d02835ac69155e2929091.jpeg

 

Claudius Æs:

ThenIMG_8178.png.2167353ace1abb0140e9406137b528a9.png

 NowIMG_8179.jpeg.8d19611e89a42f85a5c67d074ee8cb3f.jpeg

(I know, this second pair was kind of an apples-to-oranges comparison.)

Say what you will about the relative merits of each coin, but I think it’s safe to say (at least from a technical standpoint) that both scenarios show an upgrade.

Edited by lordmarcovan
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