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A Rough Vespasian and Victory


David Atherton

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Coins with rough surfaces are hard to photograph, so I always go on the assumption they will look better in hand. Fortunately, that is the case with this common Vespasian as.

 

 

V1241.jpg.67e00bba5844b8f0558f7c2a2aeb9bd0.jpg

Vespasian

Æ As, 9.41g
Lyon mint, 77-78 AD
Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS VIII P P; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.; globe at point of bust
Rev: VICTORIA AVGVSTI; S C in field; Victory adv. l., with wreath and palm
RIC 1241 (C). BMC 851. BNC 853.
Acquired from London Ancient Coins, July 2022.

Late in Vespasian's reign the mint at Lyon (ancient Lugdunum) struck a fairly large issue of bronze at a time when the mint at Rome was winding down its own bronze production. Presumably this late issue was produced to address a shortage of bronze coinage in the Western provinces. Many of the types were recycled from earlier issues from both Rome and Lyon, such as this common Victory type.

 

Feel free to post your rough coins that look better in hand.

Thanks for looking!

Edited by David Atherton
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  • David Atherton changed the title to A Rough Vespasian and Victory

I understand, @David Atherton! Sometimes you gotta go to the rough side of town ...



... to get what you need.

[IMG]

Faustina I, AD 138-140.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 23.19 g, 33.5 mm, 12 h.
Rome, AD 139-140.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG PII P P, bust of Faustina I, draped, right.
Rev: VENERI AVGVSTAE S C, Venus, standing right, drawing drapery from right shoulder with right hand and holding apple in left hand.
Refs: RIC 1081; BMCRE 1120-22; Cohen 282; Strack 1224; RCV 4677; Hill UCR 146.


[IMG]

Faustina I, AD 138-140.
Roman orichalcum sestertius, 22.64 g, 32.6 mm, 5 h.
Rome, AD 139-140.
Obv: FAVSTINA AVG ANTONINI AVG PII P P, bust of Faustina I, draped, right.
Rev: IVNONI REGINAE S C, Juno standing left, holding patera in right hand and vertical sceptre in left hand.
Refs: RIC 1077a; BMCRE 1116; Cohen 216; Strack 1218; RCV 4675; Hill UCR 143.
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I recently bought an early Trajan as with a similar reverse. Nothing spectacular and in that period Trajan's portrait was similar to Nerva's and the reverses missed the spectacular motifs from the later part of his reign, but I found the coin appealing even if it is pretty rough

image.png.d871a8b1c3623a53da1d38ae6dfafe1b.png

Trajan AD 98-117. Rome
As Æ
28 mm, 12,76 g
Date Range: AD 98 - AD 99
IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM P M, head of Trajan, laureate, right / TR POT COS II P P S C, Victory, draped, advancing left, holding shield inscribed SPQR in right hand and palm in left
RIC II Trajan 402

This is the pic from the auction house, in my pic I think it looks slightly better (although the lightning is incorrect)

image.png.592e5651aede9bdf057bebd71ec8b53d.png

and in hand it's certainly better. Overall not bad for a 20 EUR coin.

 

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9 hours ago, Roman Collector said:

Sometimes you gotta go to the rough side of town ...

Pretty sure I live there.

LaodiceaCombusta.jpg.22dbb2ec41287b171eea9489b18f276c.jpg

Lycaonia, Laodicea Combusta (Catacecaumene). Vespasian AE24.

Obv: ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤⲰΡ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΟΥƐϹΠΑϹΙΑΝΟϹ, laureate head of Vespasian, r.
Rev: ϹƐΒΑϹΤΗ ΝƐΙΚΗ ΚΛΑΥΔΙΟΛΑΟΔΙΚƐⲰΝ, Nike holding wreath and palm, standing, l.
RPC II, 1612.

 

 

Syn.jpg.759bff51ec5559da683e618da76933a3.jpg

Phrygia, Synaus. Time of Vespasian AE20.

Obv: ΘEAN ΡΩMHN EΠI MAΡKEΛΛOY TO Γ, draped bust of of Roma right, wearing polos and stephane.
Rev: CYNAEITΩN AΠOΛΛOΦANOYC AΡXO, Apollo, naked, standing right, holding bow and reaching for an arrow from the quiver at his shoulder.
Magistrates Eprius Marcellus (proconsul for the third time); Apollophanes (archon).

 

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My Nero from Lugdunum with the similar reverse has a high resemblance from a decade earlier.

image.png.555c99f1ca9875ecc39590df52ca96c4.png
Nero, AE Dupondius
Struck 62-68 AD, Lugdunum (Lyon) Mint
Obverse: NERO CLAVD CAESAR AVG GER P M TR P IMP P, Head of Nero, laureate, left; small globe at point of neck.
Reverse: VICTORIA AVGVSTI, Victory walking left, holding wreath in right hand and palm in left, S-C in fields, II in exergue.
References: RIC I 410; Lyon 81; BMCRE 350; Cohen 346
Size: 29mm, 14.84g

On 8/6/2022 at 10:07 PM, David Atherton said:

Coins with rough surfaces are hard to photograph, so I always go on the assumption they will look better in hand. Fortunately, that is the case with this common Vespasian as.

 

 

V1241.jpg.67e00bba5844b8f0558f7c2a2aeb9bd0.jpg

Vespasian

Æ As, 9.41g
Lyon mint, 77-78 AD
Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS VIII P P; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.; globe at point of bust
Rev: VICTORIA AVGVSTI; S C in field; Victory adv. l., with wreath and palm
RIC 1241 (C). BMC 851. BNC 853.
Acquired from London Ancient Coins, July 2022.

Late in Vespasian's reign the mint at Lyon (ancient Lugdunum) struck a fairly large issue of bronze at a time when the mint at Rome was winding down its own bronze production. Presumably this late issue was produced to address a shortage of bronze coinage in the Western provinces. Many of the types were recycled from earlier issues from both Rome and Lyon, such as this common Victory type.

 

Feel free to post your rough coins that look better in hand.

Thanks for looking!

 

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For rough coins, the lack of three-dimensionality is a problem. In the hand, the motif emerges vividly, but on a two-dimensional photo, problems become apparent. 

On 8/7/2022 at 5:07 AM, David Atherton said:

Coins with rough surfaces are hard to photograph

Yes, the problem is that all the tricks that are usually used to make the coin appear more plastic only result in the flaws being highlighted. The only thing that helps is a homogeneous diffuse lighting. 

Here is a rought one which makes you desperate when you want to take an appropriate photo:

 

normal_Commodus_10b.jpg.f8a2262c307ec88d1d01b6421a33e9e2.jpg

Lydia. Hierocaesaraea
Commodus
Bronze, Æ 27
Obv: ΑVΤ ΚΑΙ Μ ΑVΡΗ ΚΟΜΜΟΔΟС, laureate-headed bust of Commodus wearing cuirass and paludamentum, right
Rev: ΙƐΡΟΚΑΙСΑΡƐΩΝ, Homonoia standin left, wearing kalathos, holding patera over lighted altar and cornucopia
Æ, 27mm, 9.09g
RPC IV online 1270

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Oh, I just thought of these ones now! One of the very few "sets" I've ever tried to collect is "(at least) one from all 10 major BCD Catalogs" and my BCD Corinth (Lanz 105) coin and first one from BCD Lokris (NAC 55) were both pretty rough, even for Roman Provincials:

 

Lokris, Lokri Opuntii AE21 (5.95g) with ex. rare combination of countermarks (helmeted head of Athena [?] & ΛO ligate)temp. Galba.
BCD Lokris 157.5 = RPC I Online 1342 example 14 (cited in RPC Consolidated Supplement [2015], p. 71) = Naumann 100 (Jarman Coll., Part I), 1215

image.jpeg.0c9fa7a5006d959b14284b1d900f2170.jpeg

 

Marcus Aurelius AE23 (8.15g, 9h) of Corinth. Rev: Concordia/Homonoia (or Fortuna/Tyche?) 
BCD Corinth 721 = RPC Online 7589.2

image.jpeg.bb0b5326bf29924c252fa08252da5b4d.jpeg

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