Coin Attribution Help

I think this is a Licinius II AE Follis with a reverse of IOVI CONSERVATORI CAESS, Jupiter standing left, chlamys across shoulder, leaning on sceptre, holding Victory on globe, captive at feet. I just haven't found it with the S in the right field yet.

JW

Placing it in a oven seems kind of risky to me. The heat could change the color of the metal or cause it to crack. I never tried it either, but I could be wrong. I wouldn't mind finding out either.

Maybe you could try it on a coin that isn't worth much and you don't mind losing it, if something bad happens.

Sounds like a great idea to me. Let me know how it turns out and of course other people.

I put a Conctantine AE4 in an oven once, just to see if that would help it.

Result? Total loss of the coin. The coin was worth very little to start with.
Just as well! I'll NEVER do that again!

OK, this coin has been bothering me since you posted it yesterday, so today I got up and did more research and I finally found it. It is an AE Follis of Licinius I, RIC VII Antioch 27, minted between 317-320 AD:

OBV: IMP LICINIVS AVG, laureate bust left in imperial mantle, holding globe & mappa
REV: IOVI CONSERVATORI AVGG, Jupiter standing left holding Victory & sceptre, captive at foot left, officina letter right (in this case "S"), SMANT in ex.

This is the best match and I think everything fits. The legend on the front is what made me go back to Licinius I rather then II. I should note that RIC lists this coin as R1 for rarity.

Sorry for my lapse in finding this coin. No excuse.

Regards,

JW

Actually, when RIC was being put together, the researchers concluded that certain coins were more rare then others so they gave them ratings. We've had this discussion before as well on this forum, but the rarity ratings generally mean very little. As more hoards have been found, for instance, obviously what was considered rare in the 1930's may not be so today. There are other reasons as well, such as the researchers only looked at major collections and museums and did not take into account small private collections.

But to answer your question, RIC would rate a coin "C" if common, and R1-R5 if considered rare. R5 being the more rare then R1.

I need to emphasize that these ratings are most generally not accurate any longer. But it is something to catalog with your coins, and it is nice to know information.

JW