DonnaML's Top 10 Roman Provincial Coins for 2024

[DonnaML]

This is my third Top 10 list for 2024, with the coins presented in chronological order like the other two.

I should add that it will be a while before I can post my list of Roman Republican coins, even though I didn't even buy ten of them this year: there are two I still haven't fully written up, even though I bought one of them back in January! Given all the differing interpretations out there, my experience is that write-ups of Republican coins can be far more complicated, and take far more work, than for any other type of Roman coin. And when something feels more like work than like fun, I tend to procrastinate! But I do hope to get to it before the end of the year.

For now, here's my Provincial coin list. Nothing particularly notable or unusual, but I'm happy with these coins nonetheless.

1.  Nero AR* Tetradrachm, AD 60/61 (Year 7), Syria, Seleucis & Pieria, Antioch Mint. Obv. Laureate beardless bust of Nero right, wearing aegis with snake rising up along the side of his neck (see McAlee p. 137 n. 203), ΝΕΡΩΝΟΣ [ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ – ΣΕΒ]ΑΣΤΟΥ (Nero Caesar Augustus) around from upper right / Rev. Eagle** standing on a thunderbolt, head left, wings spread; to left, palm branch upright; to right, Ζ (retrograde) over ΘΡ ( = Regnal Year 7 / Year 109 [9 + 100] of Caesarian era, calculated from 49 BCE). 24.9 mm., 14.596 g. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. I  4181 (1992); RPC I Online 4181 (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/4181 ); McAlee 257 (ill. p. 137) [McAlee, Richard, The Coins of Roman Antioch (2007)]; Prieur 81 [Michel and Karin Prieur, Syro-Phoenician Tetradrachms (London, 2000)]; BMC 20 Syria 190 p. 174 (ill. Pl. xxi.8) [Warwick Wroth, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 20, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Syria (London, 1899)]. Purchased April 20, 2024 from Forvm Ancient Coins, Morehead City, NC.  

 

*See McAlee Table 2 p. 17, stating that the mean percentage of silver in Nero’s Antioch tetradrachms from AD 59-63 was 79.39% (subsequently declining after the reign of Marcus Aurelius to a low of 10.77% under Trebonianus Gallus).

**See McAlee p. 133 on the introduction of the standing eagle reverse to Antioch tetradrachms under Nero: “In 59/60 there was an important reform of the silver coinage: the standing eagle became the standard reverse type, and continued as such for the nearly two centuries during which Antioch continued to coin this denomination. This change coincided with an increase in the silver content from 9.15 g. in the tetradrachms of 56/57 to 11.63 g. in the new coins. . . . [T]here is little doubt that the eagle tetradrachms struck from 59/60 to the end of Nero’s reign were worth four denarii.” See also id. p. 6, explaining that the “original significance [of the eagle] was as a symbol of Zeus, and it first came into common usage on coinage used in the east on the Hellenistic tetradrachms issued by the Ptolemaic kings. Later, it became the standard reverse type on the autonomous tetradrachms (or shekels) of Tyre, which contained more silver than most other contemporary tetradrachms and were valued at four Attic drachms, which were probably equal to four denarii. The adoption of the eagle as a reverse type on the Roman Syrian silver, under Nero, coincideds with an increase in the silver content of the tetradrachm and the cessation of the Tyrian shekels. Consequently, it is likely that the eagle on the tetradrachm was meant to signify that they were struck on the Tyrian standard, and thereby to indicate that they were valued at four Attic drachms.”

2.  Hadrian, Billon Tetradrachm, Year 9 (AD 124/125), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate bust right wearing paladumentum, cuirass, and aegis, seen from rear, ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ - ΤΡΑΙ ΑΔΡΙΑ ϹƐΒ [translation: Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus] / Rev. Two Canopic jars of Osiris* standing on base facing each other, each wearing a similar crown of Osiris or Atef crown (combining various elements in slightly different ways, including the white crown of Upper Egypt with curved ostrich feathers on each side, a sun disk, uraei, and ram’s horns), the body of the one on the right decorated with draperies, and the body of the one on the left decorated with figures; ƐT – ƐNAT (Year 9) across fields. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. III 5490 (2015); RPC III Online 5490 at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/3/5490 [6 previous specimens listed, 5 of them in the collections of the British Museum, the BNF in Paris, the ANS in New York, and museums in Berlin and Athens; Specimen No. 7 is this coin from this auction; see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/482482] **; Emmett 829.9 [Emmett, Keith, Alexandrian Coins (Lodi, WI, 2001)]; BMC 16 Alexandria 632 at p. 75 [Poole, Reginald Stuart, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 16, Alexandria (London, 1892)] [Rev. ill. Pl. XVIII; also ill. as RPC III Online 5490, Specimen 1]; Curtis 377 at p. 16 [James W. Curtis, The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt (1969)] [described as “Very Rare”]; K&G 32.306 (ill. p. 127) [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)]; SNG France 4, Alexandrie II 1441 (with ill.) [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, France Vol. 4, Alexandrie II, Hadrien – Antonin le Pieux – Nomes (Zurich 2018)] [also ill. as RPC Online 5490, Specimen 2]; Dattari (1901 ed.) 1329 at p. 87 [rev. ill. Pl. XI] [Dattari, Giovanni, Monete imperiali greche, Numi Augg. Alexandrini, Catalogo della collezione (Cairo 1901)] [Specimen 6 of RPC III Online 5490, see second fn. below]; Milne – [not listed]. 24 mm., 12.38 g. Purchased from Kölner Münzkabinett Auction 122, 4 Oct. 2024, Lot 281; from Dr. Victor Wishnevsky Collection,*** acquired in 1972 from Coin Galleries (Stack’s), New York City, per “collector’s note.”

 

* For a discussion of Canopic jars of Osiris like those depicted on this coin and on the two tetradrachms I previously posted that each depict a single canopus, see https://egypt-museum.com/osiris-canopic-jar/, with photos of the well-known Osiris-Canopus Jar from Hadrian’s Villa, now at the Vatican Museum, describing it as “A Canopic jar with the head of Osiris emerging from it. In the cult of Isis and Serapis, during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Osiris-Canopus jars (also known as Osiris-Hydreios) were carried by priests during processions. As they are solid, each symbolically carried water from the Nile, fertility that originated from the god Osiris, one of Egypt’s earliest fertility gods. Osiris-Canopus was named after the ancient Egyptian town of Canopus, on the western bank at the mouth of the westernmost branch of the Delta known as the Canopic or Heracleotic branch – not far from Alexandria. Roman Period, ca. 131-138 AD.” See also https://followinghadrian.com/2017/05/16/art-and-sculptures-from-hadrians-villa-osiris-canopus-jar/ , describing the grey basalt Osiris-Canopus jar found at Hadrian’s Villa (Gregoriano Egizio: Vatican inventory no. 22852) as follows: 

“The vase represents a form of the Egyptian god Osiris depicted as a jar topped by a human head known as Osiris-Hydreios, or commonly Osiris-Canopus, because it was originally exclusively connected to the Canopic region of Egypt. It was discovered in the middle of the 18th century and is now in the Vatican Museums (Gregoriano Egizio: Vatican inventory no. 22852). It is thought to have come from the Antinoeion, a temple complex devoted to Antinous located along the monumental entrance of Hadrian’s Villa that led to the Vestibule. Several Egyptian-style sculptures were found at the Antinoeion during the excavations in 2002, including Egyptianizing architectural fragments and a small head with pharaonic headgear. . . . The lid depicts the head of Osiris. His hair is arranged in the Egyptian style called the klaft. He wears a crown and the protective uraeus (rearing sacred cobra). His body is in the shape of a Canopic jar, a vessel holding the deceased’s internal organs for the afterlife. The vase is decorated in relief with a religious scene: a winged scarab beetle is holding the sun disc flanked by two uraei (cobras) and surmounted by a shrine to the god Apis bull crowned by two falcons wearing the double crown of Egypt. Representations of Harpocrates flank the whole scene. Osiris-Canopus was named after the ancient Egyptian town of Canopus, located in the Nile Delta, not far from Alexandria. The imagery of Osiris-Canopus appears on Alexandrian coins in the 1st century AD and thrived in the 2nd century AD in Egypt and beyond. Osiris-Canopus’ representation is also known from Rome and Pompeii, where he was closely associated with the cult of the Goddess Isis.” Here are two photos of the basalt Osiris-Canopus at the Vatican Museum, followed by a photo of an extremely similar artifact in alabaster also found in Hadrian's Villa, now located in the Netherlands, at Leiden, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden. See  https://www.flickr.com/photos/jankunst/24853060659  and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canopo_di_osiride_in_alabastro,_I_secolo_dc,_dalla_coll._della_regina_anna_pavlovna_su_dono_di_pio_ix.jpg .

 

**In addition, https://www.acsearch.info/ lists only three previous auction sales of this type: one by Leu Numismatik on 8 Jul 2023 (ex Naville Numismatics 15 Dec. 2019 and ex Dattari Collection) [Specimen 6 of RPC III 5490, the one previous auction sale listed on RPC], one by CNG on 13 Mar 2013, and one that was part of a group lot of five coins sold by Stack’s Bowers on 8 Jan 2013. In total, then, there appear to be approximately ten known specimens of this type from Hadrian’s Year 9: the seven listed at RPC III 5490 (including my Kölner specimen and the Leu specimen from the Dattari Collection); the CNG and Stack’s specimens not listed in RPC; and the specimen illustrated at K&G p. 127 (from the Gilles Blançon [Hannover, Germany] Liste 31 in 1999-2000). Some of these specimens show a clearer distinction than mine between the headdresses on the two canopic jars, as detailed in BMC 16 and SNG France 4, cited above.

There was also a similar tetradrachm issued in Hadrian’s Year 10 (Geissen 902, cited in turn in Emmett and K&G, and as RPC III Online 5575), but I have been unable to find any specimens other than the one listed in Geissen, located in the museum in Köln. The Hadrian Years 9 and 10 tetradrachms are the only two Roman Alexandrian tetradrachm types I know of depicting two canopic jars of Osiris on the reverse. However, there were a number of bronze drachms with two canopic jars on the reverse, issued in various years by Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Faustina II, and Lucius Verus. See the listings at Emmett p. 292 and Milne p. 136.

***See this translated description of the Dr. Victor Wishnevsky Collection from the catalog for the Kölner Münzkabinett Auction 122, 4 Oct 2024, at p. 13:

“FOREWORD

We are delighted to present to you the third part of the Dr. Victor Wishnevsky collection under the title "Aegyptus in Nummis" as part of this year's autumn auctions. This catalogue includes around 1,000 individual lots as well as some attractive lots of ancient coins from Egypt from the Ptolemaic period to late antiquity. This is the heart of the collection of over 7,000 coins that the Munich chemist Dr. Victor Wishnevsky (1928-2023) has put together in almost 60 years of collecting. 

During a trip to Egypt that Wishnevsky took with his wife in the 1960s, his interest in the country's ancient numismatics was sparked. Wishnevsky was soon in contact with numerous dealers and began to build up his collection. When the Giovanni Dattari collection came onto the market in the early 1970s, he already had the necessary expertise and acquired numerous high-quality coins with the provenance that is so sought after today, so that the current catalogue contains over 300 pieces "ex Dattari". In addition, there are also pieces from other interesting provenances such as the Steger, Mabbott, Curtis, Aiello and Wetterstrom collections. The Wishnevsky collection will now join this series of illustrious special collections, which is certainly one of the best Alexandrian collections to have come onto the market in recent decades. The importance of the collection is based not only on the high density of pieces with interesting provenance and rarities, but in particular on the quality and variety of the pieces, which reflect the entire range of Alexandrian coinage. In order to do justice to the character of the collection in this catalogue, we have made a representative selection from the approximately 3,000 Egyptian coins in the Wishnevsky collection. Duplicates and additions to this catalogue will be offered as part of an e-auction next year.

We hope you enjoy studying this catalogue and look forward to your participation in the auction!

Cologne, September 2024.”

3. Here's another Hadrian tetradrachm from Roman Alexandria. I bought it, among other reasons, because it was issued to commemorate his famous trip to Egypt in AD 130 -- famous, among other things, because during that trip Antinous drowned in the Nile under circumstances which will always remain a mystery -- and was issued contemporaneously, rather than several years after the fact like the coins in Hadrian's Travel Series depicting personifications of Alexandria, Aegyptos, Africa, etc.

Hadrian, Billon Tetradrachm, Year 15 (AD 130/131), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind, ΑΥΤ ΚΑI ΤΡΑΙ ΑΔΡΙΑ CЄΒ [ = Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus] / Rev. Hadrian, laureate and togate, standing left with scepter in his left hand and extending his right hand toward Alexandria standing right, with her head bowed forward, wearing cap in form of elephant’s head, short chiton, peplos, and boots, holding vexillum in her left hand and extending two grain ears with her right hand toward Hadrian’s right hand [see Milne p. 152, standing Alexandria with Hadrian rev. type a(1)]; L – IE (Year 15) across fields (L to left of Alexandria, and IE between her vexillum and Hadrian).

References:

RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. III Online 5768 (at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/3/5768 );

Milne 1294-1296 at p. 32 (same date placement) [Milne, J.G., Catalogue of Alexandrian Coins (Oxford 1933, reprint with supplement by Colin M. Kraay, 1971)];

BMC 16 Alexandria 669 at p. 79 (rev. ill. Pl. XXVII) (same date placement) [Poole, Reginald Stuart, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 16, Alexandria (London, 1892];

Kellner Teil 6, “Hadrianus (Jahr 12 bis zum Ende),” p. 18 (ill. p. 107 Abb. 5) (same date placement) [Wendelin Kellner, Die Münzstätte Alexandria in Ägypten (2009)];

K & G 32.505 (ill. p. 138) (date placement var.) [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)];

Emmett 845.15 at p. 47 [Emmett, Keith, Alexandrian Coins (Lodi, WI, 2001)];

Förschner 450 (ill. p. 154) (same date placement) [Förschner, Gisela, Die Münzen der Römischen Kaiser in Alexandrien, Historisches Museum Frankfurt (1987)];

Sear RCV II 3736 at p. 173;

SNG France 4, Alexandrie II 1669-1678 (all illustrated; same date placement) [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, France Vol. 4, Alexandrie II, Hadrien – Antonin le Pieux – Nomes (Zurich 2018)];

Curtis 409-412 at p. 17 (same date placement) [James W. Curtis, The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt (1969)].

 24 mm., 13.81 g., 12 h.

 Purchased from Leu Numismatik AG, Winterthur, Switzerland, Web Auction 29, 25 Feb. 2024, Lot 1511; “From the collection of a Cosmopolitan, acquired before 2005.”

This may be a common type, but for whatever reason, it isn't usually in this kind of condition, with this kind of detail.  (Also, the photo doesn't really convey its beautiful dark patina.) I  enjoy seeing so clearly that Alexandria is demonstrating her subordinate position with respect to Hadrian -- after all, Egypt was an "imperial" rather than merely a "senatorial" province -- by bowing her head to him.  (He probably wasn't aware when this scene took place that Nilus was lying in wait for Antinous!)

4.  This one, by contrast, is not in the greatest condition, but is a quite scarce type with an unresolved issue concerning the identification of the figure on the reverse.

Lucius Verus, Billon Tetradrachm, Year 1 (AD 161) [Joint reign with Marcus Aurelius], Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, wearing paladumentum, seen from rear, Λ ΑΥΡΗΛΙΟϹ – ΟΥΗΡΟϹ ϹΕ• / Rev. Helmeted Roma (or Ares)* seated left on cuirass, wearing armor including pteryges [short armored apron; see fn. 1], holding Nike on outstretched right palm, and, in left hand, a vertical spear with its bottom end resting on the cuirass; L – A [Year 1] across lower fields. 25.40 mm., 13.52 g. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Online, Vol. IV.4 2284 (https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4.4/2284) [Roma or Ares] (same obv. legend variant as this coin; RPC IV.4 2282  ends with “ϹΕB”); Emmett 2331.1 (p. 102) [Roma or Ares] [Rarity 3 of 5]**; K & G 39.3 (p. 224) [Ares] [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)]; Milne 2425 (p. 59) (obv. leg. var. as in RPC IV.4 2282) [Ares]; Dattari 3649 (p. 244; Rev. ill. Vol. 2 Pl. IX) [Ares] [Dattari, Giovanni, Monete imperiali greche, Numi Augg. Alexandrini, Catalogo della collezione (Cairo 1901)]; BMC 16 Alexandria  –– ; Kellner –– ; Förschner ––; Curtis –– ; Sear RCV II –– . 25.40 mm., 13.52 g. Purchased from Naville Numismatics, Ltd., London, UK, Auction 90, 23 Jun 2024, Lot 380.

 

*The earlier authorities seem to have uniformly identified the reverse figure on this scarce type as Ares. The more recent authorities have suggested an ambiguity as to whether the figure was intended to represent Ares or Roma. See the note to RPC IV.4 Online 2282 (the same type as this coin [RPC IV.4 Online 2284] except for the different ending to the obverse legend), stating “The figure is conventionally described as Ares but it is identified as Roma by inscriptions on some issues of AD 161. Ares (or Mars) is not normally shown as seated on Roman Provincial or Imperial coins.” (See https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4.4/2282.) Thus, on at least three of Lucius Verus’s Year 1 Alexandrian tetradrachms, a similar figure appears on the reverse, accompanied by the legend “ΡΩΜΗ” [ROMA] together with the year. See RPC IV.4 Online Nos. 2285-2287. The same is true for at least two of Marcus Aurelius’s own Year 1 Alexandrian tetradrachms; see RPC IV.4 Online Nos. 2263 (Dattari 9179) and 2295 (Dattari 9289).

However, in discussing the Dattari 9179 type of Marcus Aurelius with a similar reverse figure to the one on this type of Lucius Verus, Wendelin Kellner argues in his book (see Kellner Teil 9 Abb. 1 p. 26, ill. p. 114 [Wendelin Kellner, Die Münzstätte Alexandria in Ägypten (2009)]) that the figure should still be identified as Ares despite the presence of the legend “ΡΩΜΗ.” As translated from German, Kellner states:

 “A tetradrachm from the year 1 (Fig. 1, with L-A, from the Basel Coin Dealer auction 6, 940) features a motif that was already used under Nero (see moneytrend.at 2/2003 p.119 Fig.10): A figure seated to the left with a helmet, armor, sword (parazonium) and the inscription Ρω−Μ−Η. At that time, that was Roma, the city goddess of the capital. But now the seated figure is not wearing a chiton, but an armor with a short apron, by which one can recognize Pteryges. She is no longer sitting on a chair, but on armor. Despite the inscription "Rhome", that is no longer Roma, who was depicted in Amazon costume with her right breast exposed [note from Donna: she wasn’t always shown that way, certainly!], but Ares-Mars, the god of war. The ambiguity of the word "Rhome" was used, which can also mean "strength, military power". Such word games were just as popular at the time as images that allowed for multiple interpretations. Mars and Roma belong together - Roma can even be called the daughter of Mars. And Mars guarantees Rome that its military power will be maintained. In 161, his image is easy to understand. Immediately after the death of Antoninus Pius, the Parthians invaded Armenia. They had completely defeated Serverianus, the legate of Cappadocia, and his troops and forced them to throw themselves on his sword. Following this news, the rhetorician Fronto wrote a letter of consolation to his old student Marcus Aurelius, in which he said that the Romans had already experienced many defeats, but in the end the god of war Mars had always meant well for them.”

(For an explanation of “Pteryges,” see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteruges:

“Pteruges (also spelled pteryges; from Ancient Greek πτέρυγες (ptéruges) 'feathers') refers to strip-like defences for the upper parts of limbs attached to armor in the Greco-Roman world. . . . Pteruges formed a defensive skirt of leather or multi-layered fabric (linen) strips or lappets worn depend[ing] from the waists of Roman and Greek cuirasses of warriors and soldiers, defending the hips and thighs. Similar defenses, epaulette-like strips, were worn on the shoulders, protecting the upper arms. Both sets of strips are usually interpreted as belonging to a single garment worn under a cuirass, though in a linen cuirass (linothorax) they may have been integral. The cuirass itself could be variously constructed: of plate-bronze (muscle cuirass), linothorax, scale, lamellar or mail. Pteruges could be arranged as a single row of longer strips or in two or more layers of shorter, overlapping lappets of graduated length.”)

Perhaps, as is sometimes the case given the ancient Romans' propensity for combining the attributes of more than one deity on their coins (particularly during the Roman Republican period, as I’ve commented in the past), it is not entirely necessary to choose between Ares and Roma in identifying the reverse figure on this type. As Kellner himself suggests, the two always shared a number of the same aspects, including “strength and military power.” It is not difficult to imagine someone seeing this reverse in ancient Rome and thinking of both of them. If anyone has any thoughts on the identification of the reverse figure, please share them.

**This type of Lucius Verus -- including both variants of the obverse legend (RPC IV.4 2284 [my coin’s type] and RPC IV.4 2282), as well as RPC IV.4 2283, on which the bust of Lucius Verus is not cuirassed but shows only “traces of drapery, right” -- appears to be even more scarce than the Emmett rarity rating (Rarity 3 on a scale of 1-5, with 5 the most rare) suggests. Thus, RPC IV.4 2284 cites only two specimens of my type, i.e., with the obverse legend ending in “ϹΕ•” rather than “CEB,” something I would consider more of a variant than a difference justifying a separate type. Both specimens cited are in museums (one in Munich and one in Vienna), and I have found no examples whatsoever in the acsearch database that were sold on the market. As for RPC IV.4 2282, only five specimens are cited, four in museums and the fifth the specimen from the Dattari Collection itself (Dattari 3649, ill. Pl IX in the 1901 ed.), sold by Naville Numismatics in its Auction 63, 7 Feb. 2021, Lot 338 (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/120600). The acsearch database does not appear to include Naville Numismatics auctions (although the sale is recorded at https://www.coinarchives.com/a/openlink.php?l=1800919|4144|338|98b0268748312c6bda216d57305e13fc ), and I have found no other specimens of the type listed on acsearch. For RPC IV.4 2283 (the type on which Lucius Verus’s obverse bust does not wear a cuirass), only one specimen is cited, held by the Numismatic Museum in Athens. Thus, for the three types combined, RPC IV.4 cites a total of 8 examples, only one of them (the ex Dattari Collection specimen) sold on the commercial market. Mine would appear to be the second, even ignoring the slight difference in the obverse legend from the Dattari Collection specimen.

As for RPC IV.4 Online 2285-2287 (with  “ΡΩΜΗ” added to the reverse inscription, see fn. 1 above) -- the three types, all from Lucius Verus’s Year 1, differ in whether or not there is a shield at the feet of the reverse figure, and whether the left hand of the reverse figure holds a vertical spear, or a short diagonal scepter or parazonium -- RPC cites a combined total of five specimens, three in museums and two sold at auction, one in 1991 by CNA and the other in 2019 by CNG. So these types are similarly scarce. The same is true of two other Lucius Verus Year 1 types with similar reverses I found, namely RPC IV.4 Online 2307 (obverse bust of Lucius Verus left, reverse figure has shield at feet and holds short diagonal scepter or parazonium; no “ΡΩΜΗ”; three specimens cited: one in museum, one in the Dattari Collection, and one sold by Naville Numismatics in 2021) and RPC IV.4 Online 2308 (same as 2307 except Lucius Verus bust right; six specimens cited: three in museums and three sold at auction, one by Alex Malloy in 1979, one by Roma in 2018, and one by Savoca in 2019).  The two similar Marcus Aurelius Year 1 types cited in fn. 1 above are also scarce. See RPC IV.4 2263 (five specimens cited, four in museums and one sold in CNG Triton XIX in 2016) and RPC IV.4 2295 (two specimens cited, one in a museum and the other in a private Belgian collection).

5. Another scarce type:

Elagabalus and Julia Soaemias [his mother], AE Pentassarion [5 Assaria], 218-222 AD, Marcianopolis, Moesia Inferior [now Devnya, Bulgaria] (Iulius Antonius Seleucus, Consular Legate) (legatus Augusti pro praetore). Obv. Confronted busts of Elagabalus right, laureate, facing Julia Soaemias left, bareheaded and draped, ΑΥΤ Κ Μ ΑVΡ ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙ[ΝΟ]Ϲ ΑVΓ ΙΟΥΛΙΑ ϹΟΥΑΙΜΙϹ around from 7:00 o’clock / Rev. Homonoia* standing, draped, head left, holding patera in outstretched right hand and cornucopiae in left, ΥΠ ΙΟΥΛ ΑΝΤ  ϹΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ ΜΑΡΚΙΑΝΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ around from 7:00, E [mark of value for “5”]** in left field beneath patera. 27.2 mm., 10.41 g. (broken die at 12:00 on obverse).  RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] VI Online 1448 (temp.) (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/6/1448) [6 examples, including this coin as example no. 6; see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/474175 ]; Hristova & Jekov 6.27.36.2 [Rarity 7 on 1-10 scale] [Nina Hristova and Gospodin Jekov, The Coins of Moesia Inferior I-III c. A.C. MARCIANOPOLIS (2d ed. 2014)]; Pfeiffer 507.40 [Pfeiffer, H.-J., Die römischen Münzen aus Markianopolis: Sammlung H.-J. Pfeiffer (Kaarst, 2013)]; Varbanov I - ; AMNG I - ; Moushmov - ; BMC 3 Moesia -. [The type was unpublished until it was first listed in Pfeiffer (whether in the 2011 1^st ed. or the 2013 2^nd ed. is unclear) and then in Hristova & Jekov (the 2014 2^nd ed.).] Purchased from Kölner Münzkabinett, Cologne, Germany, Auction 121, 12 April 2024, Lot 185.***

 

*Homonoia (“Agreement” in Greek), was “the Greek equivalent of the Roman personification Concordia, usually shown in art standing by an altar with the attributes of a patera, branch or corn ear. Greek Imperial [i.e., Roman Provincial] coins occasionally announce a homonoia between two (or occasionally three) cities, which indicates that they had agreed to a religious and perhaps to an economic union of some kind.” John Melville Jones, A Dictionary of Ancient Greek Coins (London, Seaby, 1986) at p. 116 [entry for “Homonoia”]. See also https://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Homonoia.html (“HOMONOIA was the personified spirit (daimona) of concord, unanimity and oneness of mind”). On this type, in addition to a patera, Homonoia holds a cornucopiae, an attribute associated with a large number of specifically Roman personifications, including Concordia. See John Melville Jones, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (London, Seaby, 1999) at p. 72 (entry for “Cornucopiae”). Note that Wikipedia, citing various sources, states that “[i]n ancient Roman religion, Concordia (mean[ing] ‘concord’ or ‘harmony’ in Latin) is the goddess who embodies agreement in marriage and society. Her Greek equivalent is usually regarded as Harmonia, with musical harmony a metaphor for an ideal of social concord or entente in the political discourse of the Republican era. She was thus often associated with Pax (‘Peace’) in representing a stable society. As such, she is more closely related to the Greek concept of homonoia (likemindedness), which was also represented by a goddess.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordia_(mythology) (footnotes omitted.) The distinction, if any, between Harmonia and Homonoia by the time of the Imperial era is probably not important for the interpretation of Roman Provincial Coins: an online search of all volumes of RPC yields 817 results for Homonoia and only one for Harmonia.

**I realize that it looks more like a Z than an E, but unless it's an engraver's error, a Z ( which = 7) would make no sense. I'm not aware of any 7 assaria coins!

***Regarding the rarity of the Marcianopolis pentassaria with confronted busts of Elagabalus and Julia Soaemias, see Curtis L. Clay’s comment on the subject, reproduced in the Numiswiki entry for the Pfeiffer catalog (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Pfeiffer), and originally posted in 2016 on the Forvm Ancient Coins discussion boards. He states that “Pfeiffer's catalogue illustrates the wealth of material from this mint that has become available on the international numismatic market since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989,” and, as an example, points out that Pfeiffer’s 2011 first edition lists “Six coins with the rare portrait combination, Elagabalus and Julia Soaemias, from four different obv. dies and with six rev. types. AMNG 979-81 knew only four coins of Elagabalus and Soaemias in all the world's collections, from two obv. dies and with three rev. types!” See also Curtis L. Clay’s comments on the Forvm discussion boards on June 14, 2010 (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=63627.msg396757#msg396757) (“Soaemias is rare at Marcianopolis, only four obv. dies for her and Elagabalus in my photofile”), and on June 21, 2007 (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=38277.msg242370#msg242370 ) (explaining that “Soaemias was dropped from the coinage” in Marcianopolis early in the reign of Elagabalus).

Even now, in 2024, as noted in text, RPC VI records only 6 specimens of RPC VI 1448 with the Homonoia reverse (including my example, added to RPC following the recent Kölner Münzkabinett auction), plus another 5 specimens of RPC VI 1449, a variant on which Elagabalus’s bust is draped and cuirassed. (ACSearch currently lists a total of only four specimens with the Homonoia reverse -- two depicting Elagabalus with a cuirass and two without -- although my specimen will presumably be added at some point.) In addition, at RPC VI 1443-1447 and 1450-1453, RPC VI lists small numbers of Marcianopolis pentassaria with the same Elagabalus/Julia Soaemias obverse design -- struck from the same four obverse dies -- but with different reverses, specifically Ares (1 known specimen), Asclepius (1), Athena (3), Apollo (6), Hermes (7), Hygieia (3), and Sarapis (7).

6. I like the stout little guy on the reverse.

Trebonianus Gallus, Billon Tetradrachm, AD 252-253 (Year 3), Alexandria, Egypt mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from front, Α Κ Γ ΟΥΙΒ ΤΡΕΒ ΓΑΛΛΟϹ ΕΥϹΕΒ [Translation: Imperator Caesar Gaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus Pius] / Rev. Sarapis standing left, crowned with kalathos [or modius], wearing chiton and himation [see Milne p. 146], raising right hand and holding scepter upright in left hand, date L –  Γ [Gamma] across fields [= Year 3], with Γ placed slightly higher than L. 23 mm., 10.84 g. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] IX Online, 2308 [see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/9/2308 ] [specimen no. 40 is this coin, from M&M GmbH Auction 14, 16 Apr. 2004, Lot 868; see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/25766 and below]; Emmett 3674.3 [Emmett, Keith, Alexandrian Coins (Lodi, WI, 2001)]; Sear RCV III 9703 p. 237; Milne 3852-3853 p. 92 [Milne, J.G., Catalogue of Alexandrian Coins (Oxford 1933, reprint with supplement by Colin M. Kraay, 1971)] ; BMC 16 Alexandria 2105 p. 275 [Poole, Reginald Stuart, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 16, Alexandria (London, 1892]; K & G 83.10 (ill. p. 310) ) [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)]; Dattari 5118 p. 345 [Dattari, Giovanni, Monete imperiali greche, Numi Augg. Alexandrini, Catalogo della collezione (Cairo 1901)]; Curtis 1467 p. 105 [James W. Curtis, The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt (1969)]. Purchased 3 Aug 2024 from Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., Chicago, IL, 228th Buy or Bid Sale, After Sale, Lot 601, ex Peter Lowrek Collection (Edmonton, Canada?), ex Münzen & Medaillen GmbH, Weil am Rhein, Germany, Auction 14, 16 Apr 2004, Lot 868 [ill. at RPC IX 2308, specimen 40, as described above].

7.  Purchased from the same auction as No. 4 above. I thought the portrait was interesting.

Valerian I, Billon Tetradrachm, AD 256-257 (Year 4), Alexandria, Egypt mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, wearing aegis, seen from front, Α Κ Π ΛΙ ΟΥΑΛ - ΕΡΙΑΝΟϹ ΕΥ ΕΥϹ / Rev. Homonoia [equivalent to Concordia] standing left, wearing long chiton and peplos, raising right hand and holding double cornucopiae in left; L - Δ [Delta] [Year 4] across fields, with Δ placed higher than L. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] X Online — (unassigned; ID 75341) [see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/75341 ]; Emmett 3711.4 (p. 187); BMC 16 Alexandria 2128 (p. 279); Milne 3923 (p. 94); K & G 88.25 (ill. p. 313) [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)]; Curtis 1513 (p. 109) [James W. Curtis, The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt (1969)]; Förschner 1033-1034 [both same type] (ill. p. 327) [Förschner, Gisela, Die Münzen der Römischen Kaiser in Alexandrien, Historisches Museum Frankfurt (1987)]; Kellner Teil 14 Abb. 25 (p. 44, ill. p. 131) (specimen with error omitting “o” in Valerianos) [Wendelin Kellner, Die Münzstätte Alexandria in Ägypten (2009)]; Dattari 5158 (p. 347) [Dattari, Giovanni, Monete imperiali greche, Numi Augg. Alexandrini, Catalogo della collezione (Cairo 1901)]. 22.00 mm., 10.36 g. Purchased from Naville Numismatics, Ltd., London, UK, Auction 90, 23 Jun 2024, Lot 399; from the "Tenby Collection" (otherwise unidentified).

 

8. Another unusual and ambiguous type. Hence the very lengthy footnote with numerous illustrations of other coins!

Claudius II Gothicus, Billon Tetradrachm, 269/270 AD (Year 2), Alexandria, Egypt mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, wreath ties type “e” (Milne) (one tie straight down and one pointing back), ΑVΤ•Κ•ΚΛΑV–ΔΙΟϹ•ϹΕΒ / Rev. Poseidon standing left, nude, hair bound with taenia, head looking downwards, right leg bent at knee with right foot resting on dolphin, holding trident in left hand and Lorbeerbäumchen (small laurel tree or branch) or palm branch [not sword or aphlaston]* in right hand, L – B (Year 2) across fields.

References:

RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. X Online 75618 [temporary ID number] (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/75618) (palm branch in Poseidon’s right hand);

Förschner 1151 (ill. p. 361) [Förschner, Gisela, Die Münzen der Römischen Kaiser in Alexandrien, Historisches Museum Frankfurt (1987)] (Lorbeerbäumchen in Poseidon’s right hand; see fn.);

Milne 4254 at p. 101 (same obv. legend) [Milne, J.G., Catalogue of Alexandrian Coins (Oxford 1933, reprint with supplement by Colin M. Kraay, 1971)] (sword);

BMC 16 Alexandria 2307 at p. 300 (rev. ill. Pl. II) [Poole, Reginald Stuart, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 16, Alexandria (London, 1892] (sword);

Kellner Teil 17, p. 51 (ill. p. 139 Abb. 6) [Wendelin Kellner, Die Münzstätte Alexandria in Ägypten (2009)] (jagged sword or cutlass representing navy];

Sear GIC 4742 (ill. p. 461) [D. Sear, Greek Imperial Coins and their Values (Seaby 1982)] (sword);

K & G 104.32 at p. 329 [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)] (aphlaston);

Emmett 3893.2 [Emmett, Keith, Alexandrian Coins (Lodi, WI, 2001)] [no mention of object held in Poseidon’s right hand];

Geissen (Köln) 3045 [Geissen, A., Katalog alexandrinischer Kaisermünzen, Köln, Band IV (Claudius Gothicus - Domitius Domitianus) (Cologne, 1983) (aphlaston);

Curtis 1718 at p. 124 [James W. Curtis, The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt (1969)] (sword);

Sear RCV III 11414 at p. 407 (“uncertain object”).

22 mm., 10.09 g., 12 h.

Purchased from CNG (Classical Numismatic Group, LLC) Electronic Auction 556, 21 Feb. 2024, Lot 418 [object held by Poseidon identified as “aphlaston?”), from the Dr. Thomas E. Beniak Collection**, ex A.H. Baldwin (London, UK), purchased 16 Oct 1989 (with coin tickets from Beniak Collection and A.H. Baldwin).

A photo I took of the reverse -- a bit blurry, but it shows the coin's actual dark brown color:

The A.H. Baldwin and Beniak Collection coin tags. (The 1989 date of Dr. Beniak's purchase from Baldwin is written on the back of that tag. Note the purchase price in GBP in 1989!)

*See Förschner, op. cit. at p. 361 fn., explaining as follows: “Die Rückeitenbeschreibung des Gegenstandes in Poseidons Rechten als Schwert (BMC 2307) oder Aphlaston (Slg. Köln 3045) is sicherlich nicht zutreffend und ‘undefinierbares Objekt’ (Datt. 5406 f.) wurde vermieden” [Translation: “The reverse description of the object in Poseidon's right hand as a sword (BMC 2307) or aphlaston (Cologne Coll. 3045) is certainly not accurate and ‘indefinable object’ (Dattari 5406 f.) was avoided.”] Thus, the aphlaston, “or aplustre, was a component of the ancient warship that was understood as an abstract form of a bird with multiple beaks facing inward from the stern.” See https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Aphlaston, illustrating the term with the following coin:

The object in Poseidon’s right hand on the reverse of the Claudius II tetradrachm, by contrast, is neither curved nor resembles multiple bird beaks in any way. I suspect that the idea that he holds an aphlaston may be derived from the fact that Poseidon’s stance on the reverse is immediately evocative of -- and was clearly modeled upon, directly or indirectly -- Neptune’s stance on the reverse of a famous denarius of Sextus Pompey, minted in Sicily in 37-36 BCE (Crawford 511/3a). On that reverse, Neptune’s stance is virtually identical, but he does, in fact, appear to hold an aphlaston or aplustre in his right hand. See this example at  https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=3107848:

And this one at https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=3511934 :

However, just because Neptune holds an aphlaston on the Sextus Pompey coin does not mean that Poseidon holds one on the Claudius II coin: the stance may be almost identical, including the raised right knee and the head looking downwards, but there are other differences, including the fact that Neptune’s right foot rests on a prow rather than a dolphin, and that he holds a chlamys rather than a trident in his left hand.

Nor, I believe, can the object in Poseidon’s right hand on the Claudius II tetradrachm, although straight, be reasonably interpreted as a sword. Swords do not generally have leaves on them, as this object certainly does – as can be seen even more clearly on these other examples illustrated at RPC X Online and on Acsearch:

From RPC X Online (ill. of Milne 4253 [same type as mine with diff. spacing of obv. legend]):

 

From RPC X Online (ill. of Geissen 3045):

From RPC X Online (ill. of BMC 2307):

 

From ACSearch (ill. of  CNG Auction 474, 12 Aug 2020, Lot 308):

I have little doubt that the object held by Poseidon on all these specimens, including mine, is, in fact, some sort of small tree or tree branch; whether it was intended to be laurel or a palm, I cannot be certain.

The closest parallel I have found to this type of Claudius II that was issued by any other emperor in Roman Alexandria is this rare type of Gallienus, Year 15 (Milne 4155, K&G 90.108), sold by CNG in 2019:

 

 

Except for the fact that Poseidon appears to be looking straight ahead rather than downwards, the style and elements of the reverse design appear to be the same as those on the Claudius II type. Although Milne identified the object held by Poseidon on this Gallienus type as a sword and K&G as an aphlaston, CNG identified it as a palm frond, and it appears indisputable to me that, as on the Claudius II type, the object is intended to represent some kind of small tree or branch.

It should be noted that there are other Roman Alexandrian types with reverses showing Poseidon with one knee bent, such as this Year 5 tetradrachm of Antoninus Pius (RPC IV.4 online 13467 [temp.]) depicting Poseidon resting his foot on a prow and holding a trident and small dolphin:

See also this similar Roman Imperial denarius depicting Neptune, issued by Vespasian (RIC II.1 Vespasian 1309):

 

But these types obviously shed no light on the nature of the object held by Poseidon on the Roman Alexandrian coins of Claudius II and Gallienus. Nor does Poseidon’s head face downwards on these types. That particular stance appears to be exclusive to the types of Sextus Pompey and Claudius II -- which is probably why I immediately thought of the Sextus Pompey denarius when I noticed my Claudius II tetradrachm listed in the recent CNG auction.

**See this autobiography of Dr. Beniak printed in the catalog for CNG’s E-Auction 556:

"The Dr. Thomas E. Beniak Collection

I was born on July 30, 1947 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to parents Edward Beniak and Evelyn Stodola Beniak. My childhood and adolescent years were spent in Cudahy, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee on the shores of Lake Michigan. I attended Cudahy public schools through high school, graduating in June of 1965. Following in the footsteps of my grandfather and father, I matriculated to Marquette University, graduating cum laude with an A.B. degree in psychology in May of 1969. I was fortunate to be accepted into the University of Minnesota’s doctoral training program in Clinical Psychology, beginning my studies in the Twin Cities in September, 1969.

Always a responsible student, college and particularly graduate school left little time if any for the hobbies I had enjoyed beginning in early childhood. Spare time in high school was largely consumed by interscholastic athletics. During college and graduate school, athletics were very limited and purely recreational. In retrospect, it was easy for me to identify a genetic pre-disposition to collect beginning with stamps and then the US coins that could be gleaned from circulation in the 50’s and 60’s. Thanks to the Stamp and Coin Department in Gimbels’s downtown store, occasional exotic foreign coins and perhaps even an ancient coin or two made the journey from New York to downtown Milwaukee and would catch my eye.

Acquiring my first ancient coin and the story behind it remain vivid in my memory. My maternal grandparents grew up on farms near Rice Lake, Wisconsin surrounded by lakes and the north woods. The highlight of each summer was to visit relatives there especially my two great uncles. Otto, the older of the two had enlisted in the Army in 1942 at 44 years of age to prevent his younger brother from being drafted. As fortune would have it, he ended up in a combat engineering outfit and traversed much of North Africa, Sicily, and the entire Italian peninsula. In June of 1959 while looking through Uncle Otto’s penny and dime jars, he blurted out “I think I’ve got a more interesting coin for you from Italy!” It came with an interesting story. His unit was assisting a British combat engineering unit clearing debris near Rome. In doing so, a clay pot was bulldozed spewing coins all over. British soldiers filled their pockets and later shared them with their American comrades and that’s how I got my first ancient coin, a beautiful extra fine sestertius of Phillip I with elephant and mahout reverse. Of course, it took me 13 years and a visit with Harlan Berk at the 1972 Central States Show to find out what it was.

Graduate studies allowed little time for hobbies. My academic interests and professional goals drifted away from traditional clinical psychology toward a relatively new subspecialty, clinical neuropsychology. Concerns over personality disorders and psychopathology were set aside and neurological disorders/patients became my focus along with how to evaluate the cognitive effects and deficits of same. Upon completion of my doctorate, I accepted a staff position at the University of Minnesota Medical Center and remained there for 10 years, working primarily with epilepsy patients, especially surgical candidates. In April of 1987, I continued this work in private practice. I also developed an active forensic neuropsychology practice which grew considerably after retiring from the university in 2015. Complete retirement essentially came on the heels of the COVID epidemic.

Despite working many long hours at my profession, I always found time to return to and indulge in my earlier passions including a love of history, classics (fostered by my father), and of course numismatics which now focused entirely on ancient coins.

Family life was also very important to me. In August of this year, my wife, Judith and I celebrated our 51st wedding anniversary. Originally trained as a nurse, Judith retired in 2017 after a long and very productive career at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center. Her work there ranged from staff RN on the organ transplant service to the founding director of the Health Careers Center. Judith helped lead this innovative center recruiting and coaching pre-health students in their exploration of health careers for 15 years. We have two children, Alexander and Larissa. Alexander is involved in security technologies and Larissa is a medical social worker.

My return to active coin collecting, especially ancients, dates to 1972 at which time Greek silver and Roman denarii and sesterces were the focus. As of November 1984 and owning only one billon tetradrachm, I initiated the pursuit of all things Roman Egypt, this quest lasting to the present. My efforts have provided me with enormous enjoyment, satisfaction, and a wealth of knowledge. Along the way, I have also made countless friends from the ranks of both dealers and fellow collectors. Ongoing involvement in the Twin Cities Ancient Coin Club since 1974 has also contributed significantly. All have played an important role in building my collection and most importantly enjoying it. Thanks to you all."

9. I fell in love with Carus's shiny bald head. And the altar too.

Divus Carus (issued by Carinus), Billon Tetradrachm, undated (struck Autumn AD 283 [death of Carus] - Spring 285 [death of Carinus]), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, ΘΕω ΚΑΡω ϹΕΒ / Rev. Flaming altar tied with garland; star to left of flame; ΑΦΙΕΡ-ωϹΙϹ [Consecration, Dedication = Latin Consecratio] around altar. 18 mm., 6.64 g. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. X Online 75880 [temporary ID number] (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/75880 ); BMC 16 Alexandria 2446 p. 316 (ill. Pl. XXX) (possible rev. die match?; ill at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/376891 as primary specimen of RPC type 75880) [Poole, Reginald Stuart, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 16, Alexandria (London, 1892)]; Milne 4733 (possible rev. die match?; ill. at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/376905  as 18^th specimen of RPC type 75880) [Milne, J.G., Catalogue of Alexandrian Coins (Oxford 1933, reprint with supplement by Colin M. Kraay, 1971)]; K & G 113.5 (ill. p. 341) [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)]; Emmett 3995 [Emmett, Keith, Alexandrian Coins (Lodi, WI, 2001)]; Dattari (Savio) 5570-71 [Savio, A. ed., Catalogo completo della collezione Dattari Numi Augg. Alexandrini (Trieste, 2007)]; Köln 3167-68 [Geissen, A., Katalog alexandrinischer Kaisermünzen, Köln, Band 4 Claudius Gothicus – Nachträge (1983)]. Purchased from Herakles Numismatics (Perry Siegel), Charlotte, NC, 12 Jan 2024 (at 2024 NYINC).*

*Regarding the possible reverse die matches, the placement of the letters differs slightly, but the altars and flames themselves are certainly quite close:

BMC:

 

Milne:

10. A coin with an interesting (and rather mysterious) pedigree.

Maximian (a/k/a Maximianus Herculius), as Augustus, Billon Tetradrachm, AD 288/289 (Maximian Year 4, = Diocletian Year 5), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Maximian right (both wreath ties pointing backwards, Milne type “c”), Α Κ ΜΑ ΟΥΑ ΜΑΞΙΜΙΑΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ / Rev. Alexandria standing left, wearing long chiton, peplos, and close-fitting cap surmounted by three turrets, holding long scepter in left hand and, in outstretched right hand, bust of Sarapis facing towards her, crowned with modius; across fields, date L – Δ (Year 4). 17.77 mm., 6.61 g. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. X Online 76037 [temporary ID number] (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/76037); Milne 4904 p. 117 (ill. RPC X 76037, specimen 17); BMC 16 Alexandria 2593 (p. 332) (ill. RPC X 76037, specimen 1); Emmett 4093; Dattari (1901 ed.) 5833; K & G 120.33 (ill. p. 352); Curtis 2053 (p. 146) [James W. Curtis, The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt (1969)];  Kellner, Teil 21, p. 3, ill. p. 5 (Abb. 21) [Wendelin Kellner, Die Münzstätte Alexandria in Ägypten, Teil 21: Diocletian, Jahr 3 – Jahr 7 (orig. pub. https://www.moneytrend.at/die-muenzstaette-alexandria-in-aegypten-teil-21, Jun. 2005, p. 150, ill p. 152)]. Purchased Jan. 18, 2024 from Marc R. Breitsprecher, Hazelhurst, WI; ex Colosseum Coin Exchange (Ira Teitelbaum), Hazlet, NJ, ca. 2005 (part of inventory purchase by MRB) (with Teitelbaum’s coin ticket)*; ex Harmer, Rooke Numismatics, Ltd. auction, New York City, May 27, 1971, including “Coins from the Celebrated Dattari Collection of Roman-Egypt,” Lot 763 (1 of 10 coins in  group lot). The coins in this 1971 auction supposedly consisted of approximately 1,300 “duplicates of the world famous Dattari collection of ancient Roman Alexandrian coins [p]ut together by Dr. Dattari . . . for Sultan Abdul Hamid II” [Sultan of Ottoman Empire, 1876-1909]; see Harmer, Rooke catalog p. 31).*

 

Photo of edge; the coin is unusually thick considering the diameter:

Coin ticket from Colosseum Coin Exchange (Ira Teitelbaum):

Harmer, Rooke May 27, 1971 auction catalog, cover:

Harmer, Rooke May 27, 1971 auction catalog, p. 31, introduction to Dattari Collection sale:

Harmer, Rooke May 27, 1971 auction catalog, p. 45, Lot 763 description:

*Marc Breitsprecher confirmed to me that the coin ticket is in Ira Teitelbaum’s handwriting, and that not all the tickets accompanying the inventory of approximately 7,000 remaining coins that Marc purchased in the mid-2000s when Teitelbaum retired have the Colosseum logo on them; some of his early tags did not have the reverse logo.

Apparently, Colosseum was most active in the 1970s through early 2000s, but the listings on its defunct website are not retrievable via the Wayback Machine. It is not possible for me to determine whether Colosseum/Teitelbaum was the direct purchaser of Lot 763 (or any other lots) in the 1971 Harmer, Rooke Dattari Collection auction: none of the old Colosseum catalogs seems to be available online. 

For the record, the Colosseum/Teitelbaum coin ticket for my coin gives an incorrect Dattari number, stating it as D. 5621 rather than the correct D. 5833, even though the ticket correctly cites Lot 763 of the Harmer, Rooke sale, which does have the correct Dattari number. (D. 5621 is not a Maximian issue but a similar type of Diocletian, also with Alexandria on the reverse.) The coin ticket also cites "C. 2050," which must be a reference to Col. Curtis's 1969 catalog: Curtis 2050 is indeed a coin of Maximian with a reverse depicting Alexandria, but was issued in Maximian's Year 1; this coin is from Maximian's Year 4, and should have been cited as Curtis 2053, as in my own writeup. 

Whether at the time I originally posted this coin in January (see the thread at https://www.numisforums.com/topic/5826-request-for-look-up-in-dattari-savio-illustrations-for-new-alexandrian-coin/#comment-76354 ), or since then, I have found nothing whatsoever about Dattari's supposed connection to Sultan Abdul Hamid II other than the Harmer, Rooke catalog itself, and nothing at all about how or from whom Harmer, Rooke acquired the coins. Harmer, Rooke went out of business in 1993, and the only person still around who already worked there in 1971 is probably Howard Rose of Arte Primitivo -- the son of Harmer, Rooke's then-owner Joseph Rose, who died in 2003. Coincidentally, Howard Rose began working for his father at Harmer, Rooke precisely in 1971, when he was a freshman in college (see https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e89d039f7266c5a6811f78/t/580f905fd1758ebb6aae3332/1477415011318/cATADA3-14web-new.pdf ). But he didn't respond to my effort to contact him by email, so the question of whether he remembers anything about the 1971 auction is academic. 

Other members confirmed to me that neither this coin -- nor, apparently, any of the others in the Harmer, Rooke auction -- was included among the 13,000 pencil-rubbing illustrations in Dattari (Savio). As to why that's the case, nobody knows exactly when Dattari made those 13,000 or so pencil rubbings, except that it was sometime between 1901 (when he published his original catalog describing about 6,000 coins) and his death in 1923. Presumably, he made the rubbings long enough after 1901 for him to accumulate an additional 7,000+ coins -- something he had apparently already accomplished by 1913, according to a well-known 2018 ANS magazine article about the Dattari Collection by Lucia Carbone  (see https://www.academia.edu/37026327/Giovanni_Dattari_and_His_Fabled_Collection_of_Alexandrian_Coins ).  The article doesn't mention the Harmer, Rooke coins, although it does show that Dattari made other dispositions of portions of his collections during his lifetime. Certainly it's logical to believe that he had already put together and disposed of the 1,300 Harmer, Rooke coins before he made the pencil rubbings, and that he must have made that disposition before 1909 (when the Sultan was deposed; he was held in captivity thereafter until his death in 1918; see Wikipedia). That conclusion assumes, of course, that Harmer, Rooke's "back story" about the Sultan was even true, and that Harmer, Rooke didn't fabricate it. 

I did also write, at @Curtis JJ's suggestion, to a well-known expert on Roman Alexandrian coins and an important writer on the subject, who shall remain nameless, and asked if he knows anything about the Harmer, Rooke 1971 auction.  That person got back to me, and said, among other things:

"I do have an original Harmer, Rooke auction catalog. I think it was a bunch of junk. I think it is a collection of remains from the various lots Dattari purchased over the years. The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto obtained a huge collection of coins from Milne who obtained them directly from Dattari. I forget the total number of coins but I would guess 40,000? They were also remains of lots. . . . Dattari also donated coins to MILAN. I do not think any were ever in his original or additional collection. . . . I have a hard time believing they were meant for a Sultan."

In other words, this person believes that Harmer, Rooke did fabricate the "Sultan story" as a pedigree for the coins sold in the 1971 auction. After all, it isn't as if Abdul Hamid II was still around in 1971 to contradict the story! That would explain my inability to find any other reference to the story, or even to the Sultan having been a coin collector. I think that what my correspondent is suggesting is that while the coins in the Harmer, Rooke auction -- as well as the Dattari coins that the ROM obtained from Dattari via Milne -- did, in fact, originate with Dr. Dattari, they were "remains" from the many lots he purchased, and were probably not part of what Dattari considered part of his actual "collection" to be included in his original or his planned supplemental catalog (i.e., the 13,000 coins reflected in the pencil rubbings published by Savio).

I think "junk" is a bit harsh as used to describe a good number of the 1,300 coins offered by Harmer, Rooke in 1971, including my own Maximianus Herculius tetradrachm which was the original subject of my post. However, the described condition of some of the group lots offered in the auction is so low that it's indeed difficult to believe that they would have been "put together" for the Sultan, as Harmer, Rooke stated. So perhaps a distinction needs to be made between coins being "ex Dattari" and "ex Dattari Collection"!

****

If you like, you can go to the poll and choose a favorite from  these ten coins.

 

Edited December 4, 2024 by DonnaML

[Rand]

Each of them is beautiful. Love the context of Claudius II Gothicus's Tetradrachm.

[DonnaML]

Thanks. I fixed the alignment issue with No. 10. Regarding the Claudius II Gothicus, it was fun listing the conflicting opinions of a dozen different authorities as to what Poseidon is holding in his right hand!

[ambr0zie]

A+ coins, but for me the canopic jars coin is the winner. Subjective choice as I always liked this reverse and I was more than happy to get a Trajan one (simple canopic jar although)

[Qcumbor]

The canopic jars are tremendous, they got my vote !

Nice bunch on alexandrian cois all around though !

Q

[Al Kowsky]

21 hours ago, DonnaML said:

This is my third Top 10 list for 2024, with the coins presented in chronological order like the other two.

I should add that it will be a while before I can post my list of Roman Republican coins, even though I didn't even buy ten of them this year: there are two I still haven't fully written up, even though I bought one of them back in January! Given all the differing interpretations out there, my experience is that write-ups of Republican coins can be far more complicated, and take far more work, than for any other type of Roman coin. And when something feels more like work than like fun, I tend to procrastinate! But I do hope to get to it before the end of the year.

For now, here's my Provincial coin list. Nothing particularly notable or unusual, but I'm happy with these coins nonetheless.

1.  Nero AR* Tetradrachm, AD 60/61 (Year 7), Syria, Seleucis & Pieria, Antioch Mint. Obv. Laureate beardless bust of Nero right, wearing aegis with snake rising up along the side of his neck (see McAlee p. 137 n. 203), ΝΕΡΩΝΟΣ [ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ – ΣΕΒ]ΑΣΤΟΥ (Nero Caesar Augustus) around from upper right / Rev. Eagle** standing on a thunderbolt, head left, wings spread; to left, palm branch upright; to right, Ζ (retrograde) over ΘΡ ( = Regnal Year 7 / Year 109 [9 + 100] of Caesarian era, calculated from 49 BCE). 24.9 mm., 14.596 g. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. I  4181 (1992); RPC I Online 4181 (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/4181 ); McAlee 257 (ill. p. 137) [McAlee, Richard, The Coins of Roman Antioch (2007)]; Prieur 81 [Michel and Karin Prieur, Syro-Phoenician Tetradrachms (London, 2000)]; BMC 20 Syria 190 p. 174 (ill. Pl. xxi.8) [Warwick Wroth, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 20, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Syria (London, 1899)]. Purchased April 20, 2024 from Forvm Ancient Coins, Morehead City, NC.  

 

*See McAlee Table 2 p. 17, stating that the mean percentage of silver in Nero’s Antioch tetradrachms from AD 59-63 was 79.39% (subsequently declining after the reign of Marcus Aurelius to a low of 10.77% under Trebonianus Gallus).

**See McAlee p. 133 on the introduction of the standing eagle reverse to Antioch tetradrachms under Nero: “In 59/60 there was an important reform of the silver coinage: the standing eagle became the standard reverse type, and continued as such for the nearly two centuries during which Antioch continued to coin this denomination. This change coincided with an increase in the silver content from 9.15 g. in the tetradrachms of 56/57 to 11.63 g. in the new coins. . . . [T]here is little doubt that the eagle tetradrachms struck from 59/60 to the end of Nero’s reign were worth four denarii.” See also id. p. 6, explaining that the “original significance [of the eagle] was as a symbol of Zeus, and it first came into common usage on coinage used in the east on the Hellenistic tetradrachms issued by the Ptolemaic kings. Later, it became the standard reverse type on the autonomous tetradrachms (or shekels) of Tyre, which contained more silver than most other contemporary tetradrachms and were valued at four Attic drachms, which were probably equal to four denarii. The adoption of the eagle as a reverse type on the Roman Syrian silver, under Nero, coincideds with an increase in the silver content of the tetradrachm and the cessation of the Tyrian shekels. Consequently, it is likely that the eagle on the tetradrachm was meant to signify that they were struck on the Tyrian standard, and thereby to indicate that they were valued at four Attic drachms.”

2.  Hadrian, Billon Tetradrachm, Year 9 (AD 124/125), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate bust right wearing paladumentum, cuirass, and aegis, seen from rear, ΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ - ΤΡΑΙ ΑΔΡΙΑ ϹƐΒ [translation: Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus] / Rev. Two Canopic jars of Osiris* standing on base facing each other, each wearing a similar crown of Osiris or Atef crown (combining various elements in slightly different ways, including the white crown of Upper Egypt with curved ostrich feathers on each side, a sun disk, uraei, and ram’s horns), the body of the one on the right decorated with draperies, and the body of the one on the left decorated with figures; ƐT – ƐNAT (Year 9) across fields. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. III 5490 (2015); RPC III Online 5490 at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/3/5490 [6 previous specimens listed, 5 of them in the collections of the British Museum, the BNF in Paris, the ANS in New York, and museums in Berlin and Athens; Specimen No. 7 is this coin from this auction; see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/482482] **; Emmett 829.9 [Emmett, Keith, Alexandrian Coins (Lodi, WI, 2001)]; BMC 16 Alexandria 632 at p. 75 [Poole, Reginald Stuart, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 16, Alexandria (London, 1892)] [Rev. ill. Pl. XVIII; also ill. as RPC III Online 5490, Specimen 1]; Curtis 377 at p. 16 [James W. Curtis, The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt (1969)] [described as “Very Rare”]; K&G 32.306 (ill. p. 127) [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)]; SNG France 4, Alexandrie II 1441 (with ill.) [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, France Vol. 4, Alexandrie II, Hadrien – Antonin le Pieux – Nomes (Zurich 2018)] [also ill. as RPC Online 5490, Specimen 2]; Dattari (1901 ed.) 1329 at p. 87 [rev. ill. Pl. XI] [Dattari, Giovanni, Monete imperiali greche, Numi Augg. Alexandrini, Catalogo della collezione (Cairo 1901)] [Specimen 6 of RPC III Online 5490, see second fn. below]; Milne – [not listed]. 24 mm., 12.38 g. Purchased from Kölner Münzkabinett Auction 122, 4 Oct. 2024, Lot 281; from Dr. Victor Wishnevsky Collection,*** acquired in 1972 from Coin Galleries (Stack’s), New York City, per “collector’s note.”

 

* For a discussion of Canopic jars of Osiris like those depicted on this coin and on the two tetradrachms I previously posted that each depict a single canopus, see https://egypt-museum.com/osiris-canopic-jar/, with photos of the well-known Osiris-Canopus Jar from Hadrian’s Villa, now at the Vatican Museum, describing it as “A Canopic jar with the head of Osiris emerging from it. In the cult of Isis and Serapis, during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Osiris-Canopus jars (also known as Osiris-Hydreios) were carried by priests during processions. As they are solid, each symbolically carried water from the Nile, fertility that originated from the god Osiris, one of Egypt’s earliest fertility gods. Osiris-Canopus was named after the ancient Egyptian town of Canopus, on the western bank at the mouth of the westernmost branch of the Delta known as the Canopic or Heracleotic branch – not far from Alexandria. Roman Period, ca. 131-138 AD.” See also https://followinghadrian.com/2017/05/16/art-and-sculptures-from-hadrians-villa-osiris-canopus-jar/ , describing the grey basalt Osiris-Canopus jar found at Hadrian’s Villa (Gregoriano Egizio: Vatican inventory no. 22852) as follows: 

“The vase represents a form of the Egyptian god Osiris depicted as a jar topped by a human head known as Osiris-Hydreios, or commonly Osiris-Canopus, because it was originally exclusively connected to the Canopic region of Egypt. It was discovered in the middle of the 18th century and is now in the Vatican Museums (Gregoriano Egizio: Vatican inventory no. 22852). It is thought to have come from the Antinoeion, a temple complex devoted to Antinous located along the monumental entrance of Hadrian’s Villa that led to the Vestibule. Several Egyptian-style sculptures were found at the Antinoeion during the excavations in 2002, including Egyptianizing architectural fragments and a small head with pharaonic headgear. . . . The lid depicts the head of Osiris. His hair is arranged in the Egyptian style called the klaft. He wears a crown and the protective uraeus (rearing sacred cobra). His body is in the shape of a Canopic jar, a vessel holding the deceased’s internal organs for the afterlife. The vase is decorated in relief with a religious scene: a winged scarab beetle is holding the sun disc flanked by two uraei (cobras) and surmounted by a shrine to the god Apis bull crowned by two falcons wearing the double crown of Egypt. Representations of Harpocrates flank the whole scene. Osiris-Canopus was named after the ancient Egyptian town of Canopus, located in the Nile Delta, not far from Alexandria. The imagery of Osiris-Canopus appears on Alexandrian coins in the 1st century AD and thrived in the 2nd century AD in Egypt and beyond. Osiris-Canopus’ representation is also known from Rome and Pompeii, where he was closely associated with the cult of the Goddess Isis.” Here are two photos of the basalt Osiris-Canopus at the Vatican Museum, followed by a photo of an extremely similar artifact in alabaster also found in Hadrian's Villa, now located in the Netherlands, at Leiden, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden. See  https://www.flickr.com/photos/jankunst/24853060659  and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canopo_di_osiride_in_alabastro,_I_secolo_dc,_dalla_coll._della_regina_anna_pavlovna_su_dono_di_pio_ix.jpg .

 

**In addition, https://www.acsearch.info/ lists only three previous auction sales of this type: one by Leu Numismatik on 8 Jul 2023 (ex Naville Numismatics 15 Dec. 2019 and ex Dattari Collection) [Specimen 6 of RPC III 5490, the one previous auction sale listed on RPC], one by CNG on 13 Mar 2013, and one that was part of a group lot of five coins sold by Stack’s Bowers on 8 Jan 2013. In total, then, there appear to be approximately ten known specimens of this type from Hadrian’s Year 9: the seven listed at RPC III 5490 (including my Kölner specimen and the Leu specimen from the Dattari Collection); the CNG and Stack’s specimens not listed in RPC; and the specimen illustrated at K&G p. 127 (from the Gilles Blançon [Hannover, Germany] Liste 31 in 1999-2000). Some of these specimens show a clearer distinction than mine between the headdresses on the two canopic jars, as detailed in BMC 16 and SNG France 4, cited above.

There was also a similar tetradrachm issued in Hadrian’s Year 10 (Geissen 902, cited in turn in Emmett and K&G, and as RPC III Online 5575), but I have been unable to find any specimens other than the one listed in Geissen, located in the museum in Köln. The Hadrian Years 9 and 10 tetradrachms are the only two Roman Alexandrian tetradrachm types I know of depicting two canopic jars of Osiris on the reverse. However, there were a number of bronze drachms with two canopic jars on the reverse, issued in various years by Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Faustina II, and Lucius Verus. See the listings at Emmett p. 292 and Milne p. 136.

***See this translated description of the Dr. Victor Wishnevsky Collection from the catalog for the Kölner Münzkabinett Auction 122, 4 Oct 2024, at p. 13:

“FOREWORD

We are delighted to present to you the third part of the Dr. Victor Wishnevsky collection under the title "Aegyptus in Nummis" as part of this year's autumn auctions. This catalogue includes around 1,000 individual lots as well as some attractive lots of ancient coins from Egypt from the Ptolemaic period to late antiquity. This is the heart of the collection of over 7,000 coins that the Munich chemist Dr. Victor Wishnevsky (1928-2023) has put together in almost 60 years of collecting. 

During a trip to Egypt that Wishnevsky took with his wife in the 1960s, his interest in the country's ancient numismatics was sparked. Wishnevsky was soon in contact with numerous dealers and began to build up his collection. When the Giovanni Dattari collection came onto the market in the early 1970s, he already had the necessary expertise and acquired numerous high-quality coins with the provenance that is so sought after today, so that the current catalogue contains over 300 pieces "ex Dattari". In addition, there are also pieces from other interesting provenances such as the Steger, Mabbott, Curtis, Aiello and Wetterstrom collections. The Wishnevsky collection will now join this series of illustrious special collections, which is certainly one of the best Alexandrian collections to have come onto the market in recent decades. The importance of the collection is based not only on the high density of pieces with interesting provenance and rarities, but in particular on the quality and variety of the pieces, which reflect the entire range of Alexandrian coinage. In order to do justice to the character of the collection in this catalogue, we have made a representative selection from the approximately 3,000 Egyptian coins in the Wishnevsky collection. Duplicates and additions to this catalogue will be offered as part of an e-auction next year.

We hope you enjoy studying this catalogue and look forward to your participation in the auction!

Cologne, September 2024.”

3. Here's another Hadrian tetradrachm from Roman Alexandria. I bought it, among other reasons, because it was issued to commemorate his famous trip to Egypt in AD 130 -- famous, among other things, because during that trip Antinous drowned in the Nile under circumstances which will always remain a mystery -- and was issued contemporaneously, rather than several years after the fact like the coins in Hadrian's Travel Series depicting personifications of Alexandria, Aegyptos, Africa, etc.

Hadrian, Billon Tetradrachm, Year 15 (AD 130/131), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind, ΑΥΤ ΚΑI ΤΡΑΙ ΑΔΡΙΑ CЄΒ [ = Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus] / Rev. Hadrian, laureate and togate, standing left with scepter in his left hand and extending his right hand toward Alexandria standing right, with her head bowed forward, wearing cap in form of elephant’s head, short chiton, peplos, and boots, holding vexillum in her left hand and extending two grain ears with her right hand toward Hadrian’s right hand [see Milne p. 152, standing Alexandria with Hadrian rev. type a(1)]; L – IE (Year 15) across fields (L to left of Alexandria, and IE between her vexillum and Hadrian).

References:

RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. III Online 5768 (at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/3/5768 );

Milne 1294-1296 at p. 32 (same date placement) [Milne, J.G., Catalogue of Alexandrian Coins (Oxford 1933, reprint with supplement by Colin M. Kraay, 1971)];

BMC 16 Alexandria 669 at p. 79 (rev. ill. Pl. XXVII) (same date placement) [Poole, Reginald Stuart, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 16, Alexandria (London, 1892];

Kellner Teil 6, “Hadrianus (Jahr 12 bis zum Ende),” p. 18 (ill. p. 107 Abb. 5) (same date placement) [Wendelin Kellner, Die Münzstätte Alexandria in Ägypten (2009)];

K & G 32.505 (ill. p. 138) (date placement var.) [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)];

Emmett 845.15 at p. 47 [Emmett, Keith, Alexandrian Coins (Lodi, WI, 2001)];

Förschner 450 (ill. p. 154) (same date placement) [Förschner, Gisela, Die Münzen der Römischen Kaiser in Alexandrien, Historisches Museum Frankfurt (1987)];

Sear RCV II 3736 at p. 173;

SNG France 4, Alexandrie II 1669-1678 (all illustrated; same date placement) [Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, France Vol. 4, Alexandrie II, Hadrien – Antonin le Pieux – Nomes (Zurich 2018)];

Curtis 409-412 at p. 17 (same date placement) [James W. Curtis, The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt (1969)].

 24 mm., 13.81 g., 12 h.

 Purchased from Leu Numismatik AG, Winterthur, Switzerland, Web Auction 29, 25 Feb. 2024, Lot 1511; “From the collection of a Cosmopolitan, acquired before 2005.”

This may be a common type, but for whatever reason, it isn't usually in this kind of condition, with this kind of detail.  (Also, the photo doesn't really convey its beautiful dark patina.) I  enjoy seeing so clearly that Alexandria is demonstrating her subordinate position with respect to Hadrian -- after all, Egypt was an "imperial" rather than merely a "senatorial" province -- by bowing her head to him.  (He probably wasn't aware when this scene took place that Nilus was lying in wait for Antinous!)

4.  This one, by contrast, is not in the greatest condition, but is a quite scarce type with an unresolved issue concerning the identification of the figure on the reverse.

Lucius Verus, Billon Tetradrachm, Year 1 (AD 161) [Joint reign with Marcus Aurelius], Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, wearing paladumentum, seen from rear, Λ ΑΥΡΗΛΙΟϹ – ΟΥΗΡΟϹ ϹΕ• / Rev. Helmeted Roma (or Ares)* seated left on cuirass, wearing armor including pteryges [short armored apron; see fn. 1], holding Nike on outstretched right palm, and, in left hand, a vertical spear with its bottom end resting on the cuirass; L – A [Year 1] across lower fields. 25.40 mm., 13.52 g. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Online, Vol. IV.4 2284 (https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4.4/2284) [Roma or Ares] (same obv. legend variant as this coin; RPC IV.4 2282  ends with “ϹΕB”); Emmett 2331.1 (p. 102) [Roma or Ares] [Rarity 3 of 5]**; K & G 39.3 (p. 224) [Ares] [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)]; Milne 2425 (p. 59) (obv. leg. var. as in RPC IV.4 2282) [Ares]; Dattari 3649 (p. 244; Rev. ill. Vol. 2 Pl. IX) [Ares] [Dattari, Giovanni, Monete imperiali greche, Numi Augg. Alexandrini, Catalogo della collezione (Cairo 1901)]; BMC 16 Alexandria  –– ; Kellner –– ; Förschner ––; Curtis –– ; Sear RCV II –– . 25.40 mm., 13.52 g. Purchased from Naville Numismatics, Ltd., London, UK, Auction 90, 23 Jun 2024, Lot 380.

 

*The earlier authorities seem to have uniformly identified the reverse figure on this scarce type as Ares. The more recent authorities have suggested an ambiguity as to whether the figure was intended to represent Ares or Roma. See the note to RPC IV.4 Online 2282 (the same type as this coin [RPC IV.4 Online 2284] except for the different ending to the obverse legend), stating “The figure is conventionally described as Ares but it is identified as Roma by inscriptions on some issues of AD 161. Ares (or Mars) is not normally shown as seated on Roman Provincial or Imperial coins.” (See https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4.4/2282.) Thus, on at least three of Lucius Verus’s Year 1 Alexandrian tetradrachms, a similar figure appears on the reverse, accompanied by the legend “ΡΩΜΗ” [ROMA] together with the year. See RPC IV.4 Online Nos. 2285-2287. The same is true for at least two of Marcus Aurelius’s own Year 1 Alexandrian tetradrachms; see RPC IV.4 Online Nos. 2263 (Dattari 9179) and 2295 (Dattari 9289).

However, in discussing the Dattari 9179 type of Marcus Aurelius with a similar reverse figure to the one on this type of Lucius Verus, Wendelin Kellner argues in his book (see Kellner Teil 9 Abb. 1 p. 26, ill. p. 114 [Wendelin Kellner, Die Münzstätte Alexandria in Ägypten (2009)]) that the figure should still be identified as Ares despite the presence of the legend “ΡΩΜΗ.” As translated from German, Kellner states:

 “A tetradrachm from the year 1 (Fig. 1, with L-A, from the Basel Coin Dealer auction 6, 940) features a motif that was already used under Nero (see moneytrend.at 2/2003 p.119 Fig.10): A figure seated to the left with a helmet, armor, sword (parazonium) and the inscription Ρω−Μ−Η. At that time, that was Roma, the city goddess of the capital. But now the seated figure is not wearing a chiton, but an armor with a short apron, by which one can recognize Pteryges. She is no longer sitting on a chair, but on armor. Despite the inscription "Rhome", that is no longer Roma, who was depicted in Amazon costume with her right breast exposed [note from Donna: she wasn’t always shown that way, certainly!], but Ares-Mars, the god of war. The ambiguity of the word "Rhome" was used, which can also mean "strength, military power". Such word games were just as popular at the time as images that allowed for multiple interpretations. Mars and Roma belong together - Roma can even be called the daughter of Mars. And Mars guarantees Rome that its military power will be maintained. In 161, his image is easy to understand. Immediately after the death of Antoninus Pius, the Parthians invaded Armenia. They had completely defeated Serverianus, the legate of Cappadocia, and his troops and forced them to throw themselves on his sword. Following this news, the rhetorician Fronto wrote a letter of consolation to his old student Marcus Aurelius, in which he said that the Romans had already experienced many defeats, but in the end the god of war Mars had always meant well for them.”

(For an explanation of “Pteryges,” see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteruges:

“Pteruges (also spelled pteryges; from Ancient Greek πτέρυγες (ptéruges) 'feathers') refers to strip-like defences for the upper parts of limbs attached to armor in the Greco-Roman world. . . . Pteruges formed a defensive skirt of leather or multi-layered fabric (linen) strips or lappets worn depend[ing] from the waists of Roman and Greek cuirasses of warriors and soldiers, defending the hips and thighs. Similar defenses, epaulette-like strips, were worn on the shoulders, protecting the upper arms. Both sets of strips are usually interpreted as belonging to a single garment worn under a cuirass, though in a linen cuirass (linothorax) they may have been integral. The cuirass itself could be variously constructed: of plate-bronze (muscle cuirass), linothorax, scale, lamellar or mail. Pteruges could be arranged as a single row of longer strips or in two or more layers of shorter, overlapping lappets of graduated length.”)

Perhaps, as is sometimes the case given the ancient Romans' propensity for combining the attributes of more than one deity on their coins (particularly during the Roman Republican period, as I’ve commented in the past), it is not entirely necessary to choose between Ares and Roma in identifying the reverse figure on this type. As Kellner himself suggests, the two always shared a number of the same aspects, including “strength and military power.” It is not difficult to imagine someone seeing this reverse in ancient Rome and thinking of both of them. If anyone has any thoughts on the identification of the reverse figure, please share them.

**This type of Lucius Verus -- including both variants of the obverse legend (RPC IV.4 2284 [my coin’s type] and RPC IV.4 2282), as well as RPC IV.4 2283, on which the bust of Lucius Verus is not cuirassed but shows only “traces of drapery, right” -- appears to be even more scarce than the Emmett rarity rating (Rarity 3 on a scale of 1-5, with 5 the most rare) suggests. Thus, RPC IV.4 2284 cites only two specimens of my type, i.e., with the obverse legend ending in “ϹΕ•” rather than “CEB,” something I would consider more of a variant than a difference justifying a separate type. Both specimens cited are in museums (one in Munich and one in Vienna), and I have found no examples whatsoever in the acsearch database that were sold on the market. As for RPC IV.4 2282, only five specimens are cited, four in museums and the fifth the specimen from the Dattari Collection itself (Dattari 3649, ill. Pl IX in the 1901 ed.), sold by Naville Numismatics in its Auction 63, 7 Feb. 2021, Lot 338 (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/120600). The acsearch database does not appear to include Naville Numismatics auctions (although the sale is recorded at https://www.coinarchives.com/a/openlink.php?l=1800919|4144|338|98b0268748312c6bda216d57305e13fc ), and I have found no other specimens of the type listed on acsearch. For RPC IV.4 2283 (the type on which Lucius Verus’s obverse bust does not wear a cuirass), only one specimen is cited, held by the Numismatic Museum in Athens. Thus, for the three types combined, RPC IV.4 cites a total of 8 examples, only one of them (the ex Dattari Collection specimen) sold on the commercial market. Mine would appear to be the second, even ignoring the slight difference in the obverse legend from the Dattari Collection specimen.

As for RPC IV.4 Online 2285-2287 (with  “ΡΩΜΗ” added to the reverse inscription, see fn. 1 above) -- the three types, all from Lucius Verus’s Year 1, differ in whether or not there is a shield at the feet of the reverse figure, and whether the left hand of the reverse figure holds a vertical spear, or a short diagonal scepter or parazonium -- RPC cites a combined total of five specimens, three in museums and two sold at auction, one in 1991 by CNA and the other in 2019 by CNG. So these types are similarly scarce. The same is true of two other Lucius Verus Year 1 types with similar reverses I found, namely RPC IV.4 Online 2307 (obverse bust of Lucius Verus left, reverse figure has shield at feet and holds short diagonal scepter or parazonium; no “ΡΩΜΗ”; three specimens cited: one in museum, one in the Dattari Collection, and one sold by Naville Numismatics in 2021) and RPC IV.4 Online 2308 (same as 2307 except Lucius Verus bust right; six specimens cited: three in museums and three sold at auction, one by Alex Malloy in 1979, one by Roma in 2018, and one by Savoca in 2019).  The two similar Marcus Aurelius Year 1 types cited in fn. 1 above are also scarce. See RPC IV.4 2263 (five specimens cited, four in museums and one sold in CNG Triton XIX in 2016) and RPC IV.4 2295 (two specimens cited, one in a museum and the other in a private Belgian collection).

5. Another scarce type:

Elagabalus and Julia Soaemias [his mother], AE Pentassarion [5 Assaria], 218-222 AD, Marcianopolis, Moesia Inferior [now Devnya, Bulgaria] (Iulius Antonius Seleucus, Consular Legate) (legatus Augusti pro praetore). Obv. Confronted busts of Elagabalus right, laureate, facing Julia Soaemias left, bareheaded and draped, ΑΥΤ Κ Μ ΑVΡ ΑΝΤΩΝΕΙ[ΝΟ]Ϲ ΑVΓ ΙΟΥΛΙΑ ϹΟΥΑΙΜΙϹ around from 7:00 o’clock / Rev. Homonoia* standing, draped, head left, holding patera in outstretched right hand and cornucopiae in left, ΥΠ ΙΟΥΛ ΑΝΤ  ϹΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ ΜΑΡΚΙΑΝΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ around from 7:00, E [mark of value for “5”]** in left field beneath patera. 27.2 mm., 10.41 g. (broken die at 12:00 on obverse).  RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] VI Online 1448 (temp.) (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/6/1448) [6 examples, including this coin as example no. 6; see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/474175 ]; Hristova & Jekov 6.27.36.2 [Rarity 7 on 1-10 scale] [Nina Hristova and Gospodin Jekov, The Coins of Moesia Inferior I-III c. A.C. MARCIANOPOLIS (2d ed. 2014)]; Pfeiffer 507.40 [Pfeiffer, H.-J., Die römischen Münzen aus Markianopolis: Sammlung H.-J. Pfeiffer (Kaarst, 2013)]; Varbanov I - ; AMNG I - ; Moushmov - ; BMC 3 Moesia -. [The type was unpublished until it was first listed in Pfeiffer (whether in the 2011 1^st ed. or the 2013 2^nd ed. is unclear) and then in Hristova & Jekov (the 2014 2^nd ed.).] Purchased from Kölner Münzkabinett, Cologne, Germany, Auction 121, 12 April 2024, Lot 185.***

 

*Homonoia (“Agreement” in Greek), was “the Greek equivalent of the Roman personification Concordia, usually shown in art standing by an altar with the attributes of a patera, branch or corn ear. Greek Imperial [i.e., Roman Provincial] coins occasionally announce a homonoia between two (or occasionally three) cities, which indicates that they had agreed to a religious and perhaps to an economic union of some kind.” John Melville Jones, A Dictionary of Ancient Greek Coins (London, Seaby, 1986) at p. 116 [entry for “Homonoia”]. See also https://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Homonoia.html (“HOMONOIA was the personified spirit (daimona) of concord, unanimity and oneness of mind”). On this type, in addition to a patera, Homonoia holds a cornucopiae, an attribute associated with a large number of specifically Roman personifications, including Concordia. See John Melville Jones, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins (London, Seaby, 1999) at p. 72 (entry for “Cornucopiae”). Note that Wikipedia, citing various sources, states that “[i]n ancient Roman religion, Concordia (mean[ing] ‘concord’ or ‘harmony’ in Latin) is the goddess who embodies agreement in marriage and society. Her Greek equivalent is usually regarded as Harmonia, with musical harmony a metaphor for an ideal of social concord or entente in the political discourse of the Republican era. She was thus often associated with Pax (‘Peace’) in representing a stable society. As such, she is more closely related to the Greek concept of homonoia (likemindedness), which was also represented by a goddess.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordia_(mythology) (footnotes omitted.) The distinction, if any, between Harmonia and Homonoia by the time of the Imperial era is probably not important for the interpretation of Roman Provincial Coins: an online search of all volumes of RPC yields 817 results for Homonoia and only one for Harmonia.

**I realize that it looks more like a Z than an E, but unless it's an engraver's error, a Z ( which = 7) would make no sense. I'm not aware of any 7 assaria coins!

***Regarding the rarity of the Marcianopolis pentassaria with confronted busts of Elagabalus and Julia Soaemias, see Curtis L. Clay’s comment on the subject, reproduced in the Numiswiki entry for the Pfeiffer catalog (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Pfeiffer), and originally posted in 2016 on the Forvm Ancient Coins discussion boards. He states that “Pfeiffer's catalogue illustrates the wealth of material from this mint that has become available on the international numismatic market since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989,” and, as an example, points out that Pfeiffer’s 2011 first edition lists “Six coins with the rare portrait combination, Elagabalus and Julia Soaemias, from four different obv. dies and with six rev. types. AMNG 979-81 knew only four coins of Elagabalus and Soaemias in all the world's collections, from two obv. dies and with three rev. types!” See also Curtis L. Clay’s comments on the Forvm discussion boards on June 14, 2010 (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=63627.msg396757#msg396757) (“Soaemias is rare at Marcianopolis, only four obv. dies for her and Elagabalus in my photofile”), and on June 21, 2007 (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=38277.msg242370#msg242370 ) (explaining that “Soaemias was dropped from the coinage” in Marcianopolis early in the reign of Elagabalus).

Even now, in 2024, as noted in text, RPC VI records only 6 specimens of RPC VI 1448 with the Homonoia reverse (including my example, added to RPC following the recent Kölner Münzkabinett auction), plus another 5 specimens of RPC VI 1449, a variant on which Elagabalus’s bust is draped and cuirassed. (ACSearch currently lists a total of only four specimens with the Homonoia reverse -- two depicting Elagabalus with a cuirass and two without -- although my specimen will presumably be added at some point.) In addition, at RPC VI 1443-1447 and 1450-1453, RPC VI lists small numbers of Marcianopolis pentassaria with the same Elagabalus/Julia Soaemias obverse design -- struck from the same four obverse dies -- but with different reverses, specifically Ares (1 known specimen), Asclepius (1), Athena (3), Apollo (6), Hermes (7), Hygieia (3), and Sarapis (7).

6. I like the stout little guy on the reverse.

Trebonianus Gallus, Billon Tetradrachm, AD 252-253 (Year 3), Alexandria, Egypt mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from front, Α Κ Γ ΟΥΙΒ ΤΡΕΒ ΓΑΛΛΟϹ ΕΥϹΕΒ [Translation: Imperator Caesar Gaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus Pius] / Rev. Sarapis standing left, crowned with kalathos [or modius], wearing chiton and himation [see Milne p. 146], raising right hand and holding scepter upright in left hand, date L –  Γ [Gamma] across fields [= Year 3], with Γ placed slightly higher than L. 23 mm., 10.84 g. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] IX Online, 2308 [see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/9/2308 ] [specimen no. 40 is this coin, from M&M GmbH Auction 14, 16 Apr. 2004, Lot 868; see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/25766 and below]; Emmett 3674.3 [Emmett, Keith, Alexandrian Coins (Lodi, WI, 2001)]; Sear RCV III 9703 p. 237; Milne 3852-3853 p. 92 [Milne, J.G., Catalogue of Alexandrian Coins (Oxford 1933, reprint with supplement by Colin M. Kraay, 1971)] ; BMC 16 Alexandria 2105 p. 275 [Poole, Reginald Stuart, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 16, Alexandria (London, 1892]; K & G 83.10 (ill. p. 310) ) [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)]; Dattari 5118 p. 345 [Dattari, Giovanni, Monete imperiali greche, Numi Augg. Alexandrini, Catalogo della collezione (Cairo 1901)]; Curtis 1467 p. 105 [James W. Curtis, The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt (1969)]. Purchased 3 Aug 2024 from Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., Chicago, IL, 228th Buy or Bid Sale, After Sale, Lot 601, ex Peter Lowrek Collection (Edmonton, Canada?), ex Münzen & Medaillen GmbH, Weil am Rhein, Germany, Auction 14, 16 Apr 2004, Lot 868 [ill. at RPC IX 2308, specimen 40, as described above].

7.  Purchased from the same auction as No. 4 above. I thought the portrait was interesting.

Valerian I, Billon Tetradrachm, AD 256-257 (Year 4), Alexandria, Egypt mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, wearing aegis, seen from front, Α Κ Π ΛΙ ΟΥΑΛ - ΕΡΙΑΝΟϹ ΕΥ ΕΥϹ / Rev. Homonoia [equivalent to Concordia] standing left, wearing long chiton and peplos, raising right hand and holding double cornucopiae in left; L - Δ [Delta] [Year 4] across fields, with Δ placed higher than L. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] X Online — (unassigned; ID 75341) [see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/75341 ]; Emmett 3711.4 (p. 187); BMC 16 Alexandria 2128 (p. 279); Milne 3923 (p. 94); K & G 88.25 (ill. p. 313) [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)]; Curtis 1513 (p. 109) [James W. Curtis, The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt (1969)]; Förschner 1033-1034 [both same type] (ill. p. 327) [Förschner, Gisela, Die Münzen der Römischen Kaiser in Alexandrien, Historisches Museum Frankfurt (1987)]; Kellner Teil 14 Abb. 25 (p. 44, ill. p. 131) (specimen with error omitting “o” in Valerianos) [Wendelin Kellner, Die Münzstätte Alexandria in Ägypten (2009)]; Dattari 5158 (p. 347) [Dattari, Giovanni, Monete imperiali greche, Numi Augg. Alexandrini, Catalogo della collezione (Cairo 1901)]. 22.00 mm., 10.36 g. Purchased from Naville Numismatics, Ltd., London, UK, Auction 90, 23 Jun 2024, Lot 399; from the "Tenby Collection" (otherwise unidentified).

 

8. Another unusual and ambiguous type. Hence the very lengthy footnote with numerous illustrations of other coins!

Claudius II Gothicus, Billon Tetradrachm, 269/270 AD (Year 2), Alexandria, Egypt mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, wreath ties type “e” (Milne) (one tie straight down and one pointing back), ΑVΤ•Κ•ΚΛΑV–ΔΙΟϹ•ϹΕΒ / Rev. Poseidon standing left, nude, hair bound with taenia, head looking downwards, right leg bent at knee with right foot resting on dolphin, holding trident in left hand and Lorbeerbäumchen (small laurel tree or branch) or palm branch [not sword or aphlaston]* in right hand, L – B (Year 2) across fields.

References:

RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. X Online 75618 [temporary ID number] (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/75618) (palm branch in Poseidon’s right hand);

Förschner 1151 (ill. p. 361) [Förschner, Gisela, Die Münzen der Römischen Kaiser in Alexandrien, Historisches Museum Frankfurt (1987)] (Lorbeerbäumchen in Poseidon’s right hand; see fn.);

Milne 4254 at p. 101 (same obv. legend) [Milne, J.G., Catalogue of Alexandrian Coins (Oxford 1933, reprint with supplement by Colin M. Kraay, 1971)] (sword);

BMC 16 Alexandria 2307 at p. 300 (rev. ill. Pl. II) [Poole, Reginald Stuart, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 16, Alexandria (London, 1892] (sword);

Kellner Teil 17, p. 51 (ill. p. 139 Abb. 6) [Wendelin Kellner, Die Münzstätte Alexandria in Ägypten (2009)] (jagged sword or cutlass representing navy];

Sear GIC 4742 (ill. p. 461) [D. Sear, Greek Imperial Coins and their Values (Seaby 1982)] (sword);

K & G 104.32 at p. 329 [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)] (aphlaston);

Emmett 3893.2 [Emmett, Keith, Alexandrian Coins (Lodi, WI, 2001)] [no mention of object held in Poseidon’s right hand];

Geissen (Köln) 3045 [Geissen, A., Katalog alexandrinischer Kaisermünzen, Köln, Band IV (Claudius Gothicus - Domitius Domitianus) (Cologne, 1983) (aphlaston);

Curtis 1718 at p. 124 [James W. Curtis, The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt (1969)] (sword);

Sear RCV III 11414 at p. 407 (“uncertain object”).

22 mm., 10.09 g., 12 h.

Purchased from CNG (Classical Numismatic Group, LLC) Electronic Auction 556, 21 Feb. 2024, Lot 418 [object held by Poseidon identified as “aphlaston?”), from the Dr. Thomas E. Beniak Collection**, ex A.H. Baldwin (London, UK), purchased 16 Oct 1989 (with coin tickets from Beniak Collection and A.H. Baldwin).

A photo I took of the reverse -- a bit blurry, but it shows the coin's actual dark brown color:

The A.H. Baldwin and Beniak Collection coin tags. (The 1989 date of Dr. Beniak's purchase from Baldwin is written on the back of that tag. Note the purchase price in GBP in 1989!)

*See Förschner, op. cit. at p. 361 fn., explaining as follows: “Die Rückeitenbeschreibung des Gegenstandes in Poseidons Rechten als Schwert (BMC 2307) oder Aphlaston (Slg. Köln 3045) is sicherlich nicht zutreffend und ‘undefinierbares Objekt’ (Datt. 5406 f.) wurde vermieden” [Translation: “The reverse description of the object in Poseidon's right hand as a sword (BMC 2307) or aphlaston (Cologne Coll. 3045) is certainly not accurate and ‘indefinable object’ (Dattari 5406 f.) was avoided.”] Thus, the aphlaston, “or aplustre, was a component of the ancient warship that was understood as an abstract form of a bird with multiple beaks facing inward from the stern.” See https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Aphlaston, illustrating the term with the following coin:

The object in Poseidon’s right hand on the reverse of the Claudius II tetradrachm, by contrast, is neither curved nor resembles multiple bird beaks in any way. I suspect that the idea that he holds an aphlaston may be derived from the fact that Poseidon’s stance on the reverse is immediately evocative of -- and was clearly modeled upon, directly or indirectly -- Neptune’s stance on the reverse of a famous denarius of Sextus Pompey, minted in Sicily in 37-36 BCE (Crawford 511/3a). On that reverse, Neptune’s stance is virtually identical, but he does, in fact, appear to hold an aphlaston or aplustre in his right hand. See this example at  https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=3107848:

And this one at https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=3511934 :

However, just because Neptune holds an aphlaston on the Sextus Pompey coin does not mean that Poseidon holds one on the Claudius II coin: the stance may be almost identical, including the raised right knee and the head looking downwards, but there are other differences, including the fact that Neptune’s right foot rests on a prow rather than a dolphin, and that he holds a chlamys rather than a trident in his left hand.

Nor, I believe, can the object in Poseidon’s right hand on the Claudius II tetradrachm, although straight, be reasonably interpreted as a sword. Swords do not generally have leaves on them, as this object certainly does – as can be seen even more clearly on these other examples illustrated at RPC X Online and on Acsearch:

From RPC X Online (ill. of Milne 4253 [same type as mine with diff. spacing of obv. legend]):

 

From RPC X Online (ill. of Geissen 3045):

From RPC X Online (ill. of BMC 2307):

 

From ACSearch (ill. of  CNG Auction 474, 12 Aug 2020, Lot 308):

I have little doubt that the object held by Poseidon on all these specimens, including mine, is, in fact, some sort of small tree or tree branch; whether it was intended to be laurel or a palm, I cannot be certain.

The closest parallel I have found to this type of Claudius II that was issued by any other emperor in Roman Alexandria is this rare type of Gallienus, Year 15 (Milne 4155, K&G 90.108), sold by CNG in 2019:

 

 

Except for the fact that Poseidon appears to be looking straight ahead rather than downwards, the style and elements of the reverse design appear to be the same as those on the Claudius II type. Although Milne identified the object held by Poseidon on this Gallienus type as a sword and K&G as an aphlaston, CNG identified it as a palm frond, and it appears indisputable to me that, as on the Claudius II type, the object is intended to represent some kind of small tree or branch.

It should be noted that there are other Roman Alexandrian types with reverses showing Poseidon with one knee bent, such as this Year 5 tetradrachm of Antoninus Pius (RPC IV.4 online 13467 [temp.]) depicting Poseidon resting his foot on a prow and holding a trident and small dolphin:

See also this similar Roman Imperial denarius depicting Neptune, issued by Vespasian (RIC II.1 Vespasian 1309):

 

But these types obviously shed no light on the nature of the object held by Poseidon on the Roman Alexandrian coins of Claudius II and Gallienus. Nor does Poseidon’s head face downwards on these types. That particular stance appears to be exclusive to the types of Sextus Pompey and Claudius II -- which is probably why I immediately thought of the Sextus Pompey denarius when I noticed my Claudius II tetradrachm listed in the recent CNG auction.

**See this autobiography of Dr. Beniak printed in the catalog for CNG’s E-Auction 556:

"The Dr. Thomas E. Beniak Collection

I was born on July 30, 1947 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to parents Edward Beniak and Evelyn Stodola Beniak. My childhood and adolescent years were spent in Cudahy, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee on the shores of Lake Michigan. I attended Cudahy public schools through high school, graduating in June of 1965. Following in the footsteps of my grandfather and father, I matriculated to Marquette University, graduating cum laude with an A.B. degree in psychology in May of 1969. I was fortunate to be accepted into the University of Minnesota’s doctoral training program in Clinical Psychology, beginning my studies in the Twin Cities in September, 1969.

Always a responsible student, college and particularly graduate school left little time if any for the hobbies I had enjoyed beginning in early childhood. Spare time in high school was largely consumed by interscholastic athletics. During college and graduate school, athletics were very limited and purely recreational. In retrospect, it was easy for me to identify a genetic pre-disposition to collect beginning with stamps and then the US coins that could be gleaned from circulation in the 50’s and 60’s. Thanks to the Stamp and Coin Department in Gimbels’s downtown store, occasional exotic foreign coins and perhaps even an ancient coin or two made the journey from New York to downtown Milwaukee and would catch my eye.

Acquiring my first ancient coin and the story behind it remain vivid in my memory. My maternal grandparents grew up on farms near Rice Lake, Wisconsin surrounded by lakes and the north woods. The highlight of each summer was to visit relatives there especially my two great uncles. Otto, the older of the two had enlisted in the Army in 1942 at 44 years of age to prevent his younger brother from being drafted. As fortune would have it, he ended up in a combat engineering outfit and traversed much of North Africa, Sicily, and the entire Italian peninsula. In June of 1959 while looking through Uncle Otto’s penny and dime jars, he blurted out “I think I’ve got a more interesting coin for you from Italy!” It came with an interesting story. His unit was assisting a British combat engineering unit clearing debris near Rome. In doing so, a clay pot was bulldozed spewing coins all over. British soldiers filled their pockets and later shared them with their American comrades and that’s how I got my first ancient coin, a beautiful extra fine sestertius of Phillip I with elephant and mahout reverse. Of course, it took me 13 years and a visit with Harlan Berk at the 1972 Central States Show to find out what it was.

Graduate studies allowed little time for hobbies. My academic interests and professional goals drifted away from traditional clinical psychology toward a relatively new subspecialty, clinical neuropsychology. Concerns over personality disorders and psychopathology were set aside and neurological disorders/patients became my focus along with how to evaluate the cognitive effects and deficits of same. Upon completion of my doctorate, I accepted a staff position at the University of Minnesota Medical Center and remained there for 10 years, working primarily with epilepsy patients, especially surgical candidates. In April of 1987, I continued this work in private practice. I also developed an active forensic neuropsychology practice which grew considerably after retiring from the university in 2015. Complete retirement essentially came on the heels of the COVID epidemic.

Despite working many long hours at my profession, I always found time to return to and indulge in my earlier passions including a love of history, classics (fostered by my father), and of course numismatics which now focused entirely on ancient coins.

Family life was also very important to me. In August of this year, my wife, Judith and I celebrated our 51st wedding anniversary. Originally trained as a nurse, Judith retired in 2017 after a long and very productive career at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center. Her work there ranged from staff RN on the organ transplant service to the founding director of the Health Careers Center. Judith helped lead this innovative center recruiting and coaching pre-health students in their exploration of health careers for 15 years. We have two children, Alexander and Larissa. Alexander is involved in security technologies and Larissa is a medical social worker.

My return to active coin collecting, especially ancients, dates to 1972 at which time Greek silver and Roman denarii and sesterces were the focus. As of November 1984 and owning only one billon tetradrachm, I initiated the pursuit of all things Roman Egypt, this quest lasting to the present. My efforts have provided me with enormous enjoyment, satisfaction, and a wealth of knowledge. Along the way, I have also made countless friends from the ranks of both dealers and fellow collectors. Ongoing involvement in the Twin Cities Ancient Coin Club since 1974 has also contributed significantly. All have played an important role in building my collection and most importantly enjoying it. Thanks to you all."

9. I fell in love with Carus's shiny bald head. And the altar too.

Divus Carus (issued by Carinus), Billon Tetradrachm, undated (struck Autumn AD 283 [death of Carus] - Spring 285 [death of Carinus]), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, ΘΕω ΚΑΡω ϹΕΒ / Rev. Flaming altar tied with garland; star to left of flame; ΑΦΙΕΡ-ωϹΙϹ [Consecration, Dedication = Latin Consecratio] around altar. 18 mm., 6.64 g. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. X Online 75880 [temporary ID number] (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/75880 ); BMC 16 Alexandria 2446 p. 316 (ill. Pl. XXX) (possible rev. die match?; ill at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/376891 as primary specimen of RPC type 75880) [Poole, Reginald Stuart, A Catalog of the Greek Coins in the British Museum, Vol. 16, Alexandria (London, 1892)]; Milne 4733 (possible rev. die match?; ill. at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/376905  as 18^th specimen of RPC type 75880) [Milne, J.G., Catalogue of Alexandrian Coins (Oxford 1933, reprint with supplement by Colin M. Kraay, 1971)]; K & G 113.5 (ill. p. 341) [Kampmann, Ursula & Ganschow, Thomas, Die Münzen der römischen Münzstätte Alexandria  (2008)]; Emmett 3995 [Emmett, Keith, Alexandrian Coins (Lodi, WI, 2001)]; Dattari (Savio) 5570-71 [Savio, A. ed., Catalogo completo della collezione Dattari Numi Augg. Alexandrini (Trieste, 2007)]; Köln 3167-68 [Geissen, A., Katalog alexandrinischer Kaisermünzen, Köln, Band 4 Claudius Gothicus – Nachträge (1983)]. Purchased from Herakles Numismatics (Perry Siegel), Charlotte, NC, 12 Jan 2024 (at 2024 NYINC).*

*Regarding the possible reverse die matches, the placement of the letters differs slightly, but the altars and flames themselves are certainly quite close:

BMC:

 

Milne:

10. A coin with an interesting (and rather mysterious) pedigree.

Maximian (a/k/a Maximianus Herculius), as Augustus, Billon Tetradrachm, AD 288/289 (Maximian Year 4, = Diocletian Year 5), Alexandria, Egypt Mint. Obv. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Maximian right (both wreath ties pointing backwards, Milne type “c”), Α Κ ΜΑ ΟΥΑ ΜΑΞΙΜΙΑΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ / Rev. Alexandria standing left, wearing long chiton, peplos, and close-fitting cap surmounted by three turrets, holding long scepter in left hand and, in outstretched right hand, bust of Sarapis facing towards her, crowned with modius; across fields, date L – Δ (Year 4). 17.77 mm., 6.61 g. RPC [Roman Provincial Coinage] Vol. X Online 76037 [temporary ID number] (see https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/type/76037); Milne 4904 p. 117 (ill. RPC X 76037, specimen 17); BMC 16 Alexandria 2593 (p. 332) (ill. RPC X 76037, specimen 1); Emmett 4093; Dattari (1901 ed.) 5833; K & G 120.33 (ill. p. 352); Curtis 2053 (p. 146) [James W. Curtis, The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt (1969)];  Kellner, Teil 21, p. 3, ill. p. 5 (Abb. 21) [Wendelin Kellner, Die Münzstätte Alexandria in Ägypten, Teil 21: Diocletian, Jahr 3 – Jahr 7 (orig. pub. https://www.moneytrend.at/die-muenzstaette-alexandria-in-aegypten-teil-21, Jun. 2005, p. 150, ill p. 152)]. Purchased Jan. 18, 2024 from Marc R. Breitsprecher, Hazelhurst, WI; ex Colosseum Coin Exchange (Ira Teitelbaum), Hazlet, NJ, ca. 2005 (part of inventory purchase by MRB) (with Teitelbaum’s coin ticket)*; ex Harmer, Rooke Numismatics, Ltd. auction, New York City, May 27, 1971, including “Coins from the Celebrated Dattari Collection of Roman-Egypt,” Lot 763 (1 of 10 coins in  group lot). The coins in this 1971 auction supposedly consisted of approximately 1,300 “duplicates of the world famous Dattari collection of ancient Roman Alexandrian coins [p]ut together by Dr. Dattari . . . for Sultan Abdul Hamid II” [Sultan of Ottoman Empire, 1876-1909]; see Harmer, Rooke catalog p. 31).*

 

Photo of edge; the coin is unusually thick considering the diameter:

Coin ticket from Colosseum Coin Exchange (Ira Teitelbaum):

Harmer, Rooke May 27, 1971 auction catalog, cover:

Harmer, Rooke May 27, 1971 auction catalog, p. 31, introduction to Dattari Collection sale:

Harmer, Rooke May 27, 1971 auction catalog, p. 45, Lot 763 description:

*Marc Breitsprecher confirmed to me that the coin ticket is in Ira Teitelbaum’s handwriting, and that not all the tickets accompanying the inventory of approximately 7,000 remaining coins that Marc purchased in the mid-2000s when Teitelbaum retired have the Colosseum logo on them; some of his early tags did not have the reverse logo.

Apparently, Colosseum was most active in the 1970s through early 2000s, but the listings on its defunct website are not retrievable via the Wayback Machine. It is not possible for me to determine whether Colosseum/Teitelbaum was the direct purchaser of Lot 763 (or any other lots) in the 1971 Harmer, Rooke Dattari Collection auction: none of the old Colosseum catalogs seems to be available online. 

For the record, the Colosseum/Teitelbaum coin ticket for my coin gives an incorrect Dattari number, stating it as D. 5621 rather than the correct D. 5833, even though the ticket correctly cites Lot 763 of the Harmer, Rooke sale, which does have the correct Dattari number. (D. 5621 is not a Maximian issue but a similar type of Diocletian, also with Alexandria on the reverse.) The coin ticket also cites "C. 2050," which must be a reference to Col. Curtis's 1969 catalog: Curtis 2050 is indeed a coin of Maximian with a reverse depicting Alexandria, but was issued in Maximian's Year 1; this coin is from Maximian's Year 4, and should have been cited as Curtis 2053, as in my own writeup. 

Whether at the time I originally posted this coin in January (see the thread at https://www.numisforums.com/topic/5826-request-for-look-up-in-dattari-savio-illustrations-for-new-alexandrian-coin/#comment-76354 ), or since then, I have found nothing whatsoever about Dattari's supposed connection to Sultan Abdul Hamid II other than the Harmer, Rooke catalog itself, and nothing at all about how or from whom Harmer, Rooke acquired the coins. Harmer, Rooke went out of business in 1993, and the only person still around who already worked there in 1971 is probably Howard Rose of Arte Primitivo -- the son of Harmer, Rooke's then-owner Joseph Rose, who died in 2003. Coincidentally, Howard Rose began working for his father at Harmer, Rooke precisely in 1971, when he was a freshman in college (see https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e89d039f7266c5a6811f78/t/580f905fd1758ebb6aae3332/1477415011318/cATADA3-14web-new.pdf ). But he didn't respond to my effort to contact him by email, so the question of whether he remembers anything about the 1971 auction is academic. 

Other members confirmed to me that neither this coin -- nor, apparently, any of the others in the Harmer, Rooke auction -- was included among the 13,000 pencil-rubbing illustrations in Dattari (Savio). As to why that's the case, nobody knows exactly when Dattari made those 13,000 or so pencil rubbings, except that it was sometime between 1901 (when he published his original catalog describing about 6,000 coins) and his death in 1923. Presumably, he made the rubbings long enough after 1901 for him to accumulate an additional 7,000+ coins -- something he had apparently already accomplished by 1913, according to a well-known 2018 ANS magazine article about the Dattari Collection by Lucia Carbone  (see https://www.academia.edu/37026327/Giovanni_Dattari_and_His_Fabled_Collection_of_Alexandrian_Coins ).  The article doesn't mention the Harmer, Rooke coins, although it does show that Dattari made other dispositions of portions of his collections during his lifetime. Certainly it's logical to believe that he had already put together and disposed of the 1,300 Harmer, Rooke coins before he made the pencil rubbings, and that he must have made that disposition before 1909 (when the Sultan was deposed; he was held in captivity thereafter until his death in 1918; see Wikipedia). That conclusion assumes, of course, that Harmer, Rooke's "back story" about the Sultan was even true, and that Harmer, Rooke didn't fabricate it. 

I did also write, at @Curtis JJ's suggestion, to a well-known expert on Roman Alexandrian coins and an important writer on the subject, who shall remain nameless, and asked if he knows anything about the Harmer, Rooke 1971 auction.  That person got back to me, and said, among other things:

"I do have an original Harmer, Rooke auction catalog. I think it was a bunch of junk. I think it is a collection of remains from the various lots Dattari purchased over the years. The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto obtained a huge collection of coins from Milne who obtained them directly from Dattari. I forget the total number of coins but I would guess 40,000? They were also remains of lots. . . . Dattari also donated coins to MILAN. I do not think any were ever in his original or additional collection. . . . I have a hard time believing they were meant for a Sultan."

In other words, this person believes that Harmer, Rooke did fabricate the "Sultan story" as a pedigree for the coins sold in the 1971 auction. After all, it isn't as if Abdul Hamid II was still around in 1971 to contradict the story! That would explain my inability to find any other reference to the story, or even to the Sultan having been a coin collector. I think that what my correspondent is suggesting is that while the coins in the Harmer, Rooke auction -- as well as the Dattari coins that the ROM obtained from Dattari via Milne -- did, in fact, originate with Dr. Dattari, they were "remains" from the many lots he purchased, and were probably not part of what Dattari considered part of his actual "collection" to be included in his original or his planned supplemental catalog (i.e., the 13,000 coins reflected in the pencil rubbings published by Savio).

I think "junk" is a bit harsh as used to describe a good number of the 1,300 coins offered by Harmer, Rooke in 1971, including my own Maximianus Herculius tetradrachm which was the original subject of my post. However, the described condition of some of the group lots offered in the auction is so low that it's indeed difficult to believe that they would have been "put together" for the Sultan, as Harmer, Rooke stated. So perhaps a distinction needs to be made between coins being "ex Dattari" and "ex Dattari Collection"!

****

If you like, you can go to the poll and choose a favorite from  these ten coins.

 

Great selection of Alexandrian coinage 🤩. I voted for the Hadrian, year 15 tet 😊.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I'll have to ditto the others.  I like the reverse of the Valerian.

[savitale]

Can’t stop thinking about Hadrian with the canonic jars. Too cool.

[David Atherton]

Gotta love those Alexandrians. Awesome list!

BTW, the Vespasian denarius cited should be RIC 25, Rome mint 70 AD. RIC 1309 from Tarraco is engraved in a different style.

[panzerman]

I voted for the Nero/ but my oh my/ you really do precise historical analysis of the coins. Really educational.

Thanks for that and sharing your nice coins😎

John

[Roman Collector]

Those are all really cool, but I have to go with the canopic jars because they are so Egyptian-themed! Nothing else like them in Roman numismatics! 

[shanxi]

I love the Elagabalus and Julia Soaemias. The portraits are so lively.

[robinjojo]

Wonderful coins, Donna!  What's better than one canopic jar?  Two!  So #2 is my choice.  I really like the blending of Egyptian and Roman motifs in Alexandrian coinage.

[MrMonkeySwag96]

Hadrian with the canopic jars is a type I’ve always wanted to own. It’s one of the few Roman-Egypt tetradrachms with a reverse design that’s truly Egyptian rather than Greco-Roman. 

Edited December 17, 2024 by MrMonkeySwag96

[happy_collector]

Thanks for sharing your newly added provincial coins, Donna. My favorites are the Hadrian with canonic jars, and Elagabalus / Julia Soaemias AE Pentassarion. Nice portrait of Julia Soaemias. 

[Alegandron]

Agreed. The Canopic bowling pins win me over!

Edited December 22, 2024 by Alegandron

[TIF]

I'm fond of most provincials, Roman Egypt especially, so the Hadrian tet with canopic jars is my favorite.

[Di Nomos]

Awesome coins again. I've got to get ready for work, so will catch up on the reading tonight, but I really like the reverse of number 2.