7 Roman Silver Siliquas (I Think) A Little Help...

Thanks very much Bobbyhelmet, thats a great help. I showed them yesterday quickly to a dealer that knows a fair deal about ancients just for a quick opinion, he was happy they are genuine. I'd be interested to hear any opinions or info you have on the other 4.

#3 My guess is that it is Theodosius I , rev:CONCORDIA AVGGG,Mintmark TRPS .

Those two don't look right.....

I hope they are real. The specs on both are correct. They compare to others I have researched.

Eugenius AR Siliqua. DN EVGENIVS PF AVG, diademed, draped bust right / VIRTVS ROMANORVM, Roma seated left on cuirass, MDPS below. Weight 1.6 grams. Dem. 16 to 17 mm.

Valens AR siliqua. D N VALENS P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right / VRBS ROMA Roma seated left,
holding Victory & scepter, TRPS in ex. Weight 2.1 grams. Dem. 17 to 18 mm.

Hi,

Hey, don't get me wrong, I appreciate the feedback on any item I post. That is the purpose of the forum. It's about open discussion. Considering the Eugenius is a $1,500 coin you gave me a fright. A few years back I purchased a collection from an old time collector. These coins were in the lot. All the coins were in the old manila 2 x 2 envelopes. I would bet that he didn't look at them for years. Over half were not attributed. It took me close to 4 months to get through the group. I still find surprises thanks too the forum.

Thanks again for your input.

Magnus Maximus is right. I'm surprised so little has been said about the mintmarks. TR is Trier and MD is Mediolanum (Milan). Who is going to research the meaning of the PS that all the marks end with?

I have very few siliquae (another of those denomination names made for collectors but not proven by ancient use). They can get expensive unless damaged or clipped to reduce the silver. Please don't pay full price for coins that were trimmed down. Many are available either trimmed or with nasty cracks that should reduce the market price quite a bit.

dougsmit wrote :



The last letter (P, S, T, Q.....) is the letter of the officina (Prima, Secunda, Tertia et Quarta....).

before the officina, the letter "P" is "Percussa" that you can translatte by "struck".

TR P S = coin from TREVERI (TR) struck ("P") by the 2ème officina ("S")

Mintmark "PLON" is "struck ("P") in London ("LON")"



Thanks to elagabal2000

I disagree. Does anyone else have an opinion? Please note that all of the siliquae after a certain time end in PS so the above theory requires all were struck by the 2nd officina (unless someone can show a PP or a PT).

Answer below for those not wishing to research it themselves:

PS = pusulatum or refined. If you have RIC X look on page 13. I note that searching for pusulatum is not an easy find online but the answer is pretty well down this page:
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/share/reso...eSummary.pdf
where it says that the word is 'late Latin' possibly explaining its omission from dictionaries made for readers of Caesar and Cicero. I do not know if the word derives from pulsus or beaten. Was beating part of the refining process?

Also note that gold of the period has a mintmark ending in OB (obryzum meaning pure gold as opposed to pure 'refined' silver).