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 Replies: 273 / Views: 39,647 |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2838 Posts |
Quote:
The vcoins one is one that is on wildwinds on the market again I noticed that too, distinctive silvering and the 'MIP' blunder. |
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Valued Member
United States
422 Posts |
Thanks for sharing your history on the start of your collecting dougsmit. Great story! We all have our regrets don't we. Your Aurelian is absolutely awesome! I understand why you like the lion in ex., it is extremely unique, like most of the coins you have shown to us out of your collection.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1316 Posts |
By far, that is one of the nicest that I have seen on this Forum,  ...Thank you for the time to put this together and the history lesson .... |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3229 Posts |
The wrestler and slinger is towards the top of my want list for greeks. Yours with countermark is awesome! The Taros is a beautiful coin! Love the helmeted figure! I do not know how you beat a lion mint mark. Sweet! Sorry I do not have any info to add to it:( But between work and family I am studying hard to help in the future. This forum is helping my education immensely:) Thanks you all for sharing!!! |
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
Wow, super coin!! => man, I love those animal coins!!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2838 Posts |
I hope this wont be considered 'thread drift' but while looking at a few of the Lion MMed Aurelians yesterday I noticed something I thought was quite interesting. I get a bit annoyed when people claim to have found a 'new' variant, 'not in RIC' or error coin relating to a tiny insignificant difference to the known examples. An example would be a claim that a new coin has been found because an 'N' looks a little like an 'M' and therefore is 'new' rather than just a poorly executed 'N' or even something like a bit of debris stuck in the die or die damage when struck. The following coin is on Wildwinds and JW found yesterday that it is also for sale again for quite a price!  http://www.vcoins.com/ancient/ancie...roduct=22927It states in the sale description that it is 'An interesting and already rare type with an additional obverse legend error starting with MIP instead of IMP' Compare the above coin with this example:  http://www.ric.mom.fr/en/coin/1737?...0&from=iconoThese two coins are not die matches but both have very stylistic 'R's on the obverse legend that match each other extremely well. The same could also be said about the 'S's and the 'G's. I would go as far as to say that they have very likely been cut by the same hand. Now notice how the celetor has formed the 'IMP' on the second coin, the 'M' is little more than two vertical lines, nothing too special or out of the ordinary about that, many coins like this can be found. Whatever it is on the first coin that has made the legend look like 'MIP' rather than 'IMP' it is more likely to be damage, striking debris, uncleanded crud, indeed a number of things are more likely than a blunder but I guess none of those things add 'value' so are not favoured by the owner / seller. Looking at the other Lion examples on the second site I also think its likely most if not all were cut by the same person, quite an interesting set of coins I think. http://www.ric.mom.fr/en/search/ico...age=9&hpp=10Edited by bobbyhelmet
05/30/2012 1:47 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1549 Posts |
#4 Septimius Severus AR Denarius VENERI VICTR Alexandria mint All Alexandria mint denarii are slightly scarce. Coins in good condition with good metal are desirable even with common reverses. #4 has good metal, nice style and is a rare reverse. Some people would say it is a 'mule' with a reverse of Julia Domna and Julia does have this reverse but not using this die. This mint did not tend to share reverse dies between rulers so I can not accept this coin as an accident. There are Julia reverses with subjects that seem very masculine and this one for Septimius that seems better for an empress the way we see the matter but not the way Alexandria saw it.  There are several different styles of engraving attributed to Alexandria but I am not clear on details as to their order of issue or exactly how many engravers were at work. This one is probably the most 'wild' and easiest to identify as Alexandrian. The coin just made #4 because I like it but not because I understand it. I got it from the magnificent Kelly sale (Spink Auctions 18 November 1997). The catalog for this sale is a great reference for Eastern denarii and the 17 coins I won from that sale cost me more money than any other single day of my collecting life. Feel free to post your Alexandria denarii here. I would love to see them. |
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
... and Julia looks pretty hot walkin' away! => that's an absolutely gorgeous coin and a nice bit of coin-tale (coin-tail) ...   |
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Valued Member
United States
422 Posts |
Steve you blow me away!  I see a lot of Septimius Severus denarii on the market, but I can't remember seeing one from the Alexandrian mint. Very nice example! |
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Excellent reverse, Julia Domna was some lady.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1549 Posts |
#3 Septimius Severus AR Denarius "Emesa" mint Victory walking VICTOR IVST AVS Most common of the Eastern denarii of Septimius Severus are those from a mint without a certain location but known in the standard references as "Emesa". I will be interested in seeing the updated theories on this matter when the next standard reference is published. 99% of the Septimius "Emesa" denarii sold use the obverse legend IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II. The first months that the mint operated (possibly as early as very late 193 AD) a few coins used other legend variations including the same obverse used at Rome only in 193. There is no proof that these few coins actually were issued before New Year's Day 194 and a very few of them (the very rare among the rare) even have II COS on the reverse suggesting a date in 194 when Septimius assumed his second consulship. There are rather few obverse dies of "Emesa" using the "First" legend (lacking COS II at the extreme right) and one die is responsible for most of the coins produced with this legend. Coin #3 used that die.  Among the rarest reverses in this period is one I have always found most interesting. Several of Septimius' early reverses were copied from similar types of Pescennius Niger who was, by that time, losing ground to Septimius in that region. VICTOR IVST went so far as to copy IVSTVS the title assumed by Pescennius. After a very short time the legends were changed to VICTOR SEVER replacing the enemy appellation with one more appropriate. Septimius stopped being Just and started being Severe. I really would like to know if anyone was disciplined over that error. All coins with a form of the IVST reverse are rare but coin #3 is probably the most common. It might even be common enough (I have seen half a dozen but have no idea how many survive) that it would not rate making my top 25 were it not for one little factor that added interest to me. The coin illustrated in Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum (BMC) as #338 (Plate 15, 9) is very off center on a small flan losing the reverse legend at the right. The editors working from this one coin assumed the legend to be VICTOR IVST AVG. My coin and theirs are die duplicates (both sides) but mine clearly ends AVS rather than AVG. It is always dangerous to assume when you can not read a legend but when there is only one coin, what should one do? Should any future listings made from BMC 338 be changed to read AVS? Not so fast... It turns out that the listing for BMC 338 is perfectly good it just does not apply to the coin shown in their plate. While the die used by the plate coin did read AVS there is at least one other die that actually does read AVG so we need a listing for a coin "338a" to cover both possibilities. My out-of-the-25 coin below shows a 'real' AVG reverse used with the same obverse die. I am very lucky to have the pair. This brings out the fact that rare coins may not always be full legend mint state beauties that are easy to catalog. This error would have been avoided if my coin had been available to the authors of BMC back in 1975. I'm glad it is now.  Remember I said that all IVST coins are rare. Come back tomorrow. |
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
I continue to be amazed with your knowledge Doug.
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
dougsmit => you had me at "Septimius Severus"  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
I have one Sep Severus coin from Emesa. And, as you stated, it has COS II in the obverse legend. It is definitely not near as nice as yours. It is RIC 374a: OBV: IMP CAE L SEP SEV PERT AVG COS II, laureate head right REV: FELICITAS TEMPO, grain ear between two crossed cornucopiae  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1549 Posts |
REV: FELICITAS TEMPOR
Don't miss the R on the reverse.
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Posted 05/29/2012 11:44 pm
