Unlisted for EUR 5 - gotta love LRBs! (Iovi Nicomedia)

[Heliodromus]

I just received this coin, a EUR 5 auction win! It's got a fake sand patina, but frankly who cares?!

The type is unlisted with a cuirassed bust (expected just laureate), which is interesting because it ties it to another unlisted type ...

Licinius had gained control of Maximinus II's territory, including the Nicomedia mint, after defeating him in 313 AD, and so starts issuing his Jupiter with eagle type from these newly acquired mints. Licinius' takeover of Daia's mints seems to have been a bit haphazardly managed, and we see some transitional type variants at this time.

One such transitional type is a Nicomedian "IOVI CONSERVATORI AVGG NN" type, unlisted in RIC, which comes with a cuirassed bust. I'm only aware of two specimens of this type, both issued for Constantine. The top one below was sold by Roma in 2020 (sadly not to me!), and the one below that is from the Jezzine hoard, and was published by Patrick Bruun in "The bellum Cibalense of 316".

The "AVGG NN" legend ending and cuirassed bust seem to be a transitional carryover from the types that Licinius had been issuing from his own mints prior to Daia's death, which would date this "AVGG NN" type as the first from Nicomedia following Licinius assuming control in 313 AD.

My new coin seems to be a mule struck at the end of this very brief unlisted "AVGG NN" type, combining the cuirassed bust of that type with the IOVI CONSERVATORI (no AVGG NN) reverse that replaced it.

 

Edited October 23, 2024 by Heliodromus

[Amarmur]

Late Roman bronzes can be neat and sometimes you find rarities and interesting usurpers for dirt cheap. Here is a Procopius I picked up in a group lot. Nothing too special but neat. I'm not into varieties and all that. Some mints were really hit or miss. Like Antioch famous for making great portraits made a lot of of fisheye LRBs and occasionally you get some real ugly ones. I'm currently trying to find a more realistic portrait of Diocletian. What mint do you suggest?

[Heliodromus]

I don't really have great feel for what Diocletian looked like.

There's this bust, but I'm not sure what others.

A lot of the coin busts of Diocletian are going to be deliberate look-alike tetrarchic ones rather than individualistic.

Edited October 24, 2024 by Heliodromus

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

It's certainly a great deal for 5 Euros.

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

A steal. Glad you had your eyes open for nabbing it.