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 Replies: 19 / Views: 2,207 |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2100 Posts |
Another recent addition.... Barbarous copies of the eastern issues don't seem to turn up that often. Septimius Severus barbarous imitation denarius Obv:â€" IMP CAE L SEPT ERT AVT COS II, Laureate head right Rev:â€" VICTOR SEV-E-R AVG, Victory walking left, holding wreath in right hand, palm in left Minted in unofficial mint Reference:â€" copies BMCRE 399. RIC IV 428. RSC 749. The style is pretty good and it copies a real type relatively well.  and here is the type it copies...  Doug... I decided to go for it after all... I made a low offer and it was accepted. Martin |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
For a barbarous coin it look almost like an offical issue. Nice coin. After seeing all the nice SS coins here I've been wanting to buy more.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1411 Posts |
Is it the other way around?
If not, the one it copies has worse style then it does!
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Pillar of the Community
 United Kingdom
2100 Posts |
I have it the right way round.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1411 Posts |
I read it as the Top one is barbarous and the bottom is Official
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2100 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4973 Posts |
nice maridvnvm!  with WC...i like the imitation better. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2100 Posts |
The engraving may be well done but it would not pass as the product of any official mint. The portrait is quite pleasing but look at the ear, which is too low on the side of the head. The legends are generally OK but too wrong even for these eastern mints.
Martin
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
Interesting that is one of the best Barbies I have seen. The legend on the first coin clearly reads gobbily goop. Neat coin.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
549 Posts |
As a long-time collector of ancient imitations I agree this is a really special piece. Congratulations Martin! For some other imitations, see: http://esty.ancients.info/imit/ |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1549 Posts |
I am astounded that anyone would prefer that low ear die to the Emesa but will admit that the official one (a die I have as well) is not among the best from the mint. What would you say about this coin. 2.6g and a bit thin but denarius size This is my only certain unofficial COS II coin. I have a few that fall in the gray area that I can not convince myself if they were just a bad day at the official mint or unofficial. Unofficial Septimius copying Rome are easy to find but I have no explanation why there are so few Eastern copies.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2044 Posts |
I thought that second one was a barb too from the different engraving style. Unless that's a normal engraving style for those COS II coins?
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2100 Posts |
Whilst the official COS II above isn't the best output of the mint it is well within the normal bounds of engraving and I have thought of as quite typical of the style of output for this issue. I too find it odd that people prefer the style of the barb but this is probably because I am so used to the official style. Oddly enough I only have one other barb from this issue and it is a die match to Doug's coin. Mine has lost all the plating and is simply the copper core. I only have an old scan of this one I am afraid. I need to dig it out to take a decent photo.  I have a couple of coins that I had labelled as barbs at one point but it transpires that they are official and "just a bad day at the office" coins. I am also on the look-out for babrs of the eastern IMP issues. This is the only one I have have found that likely fits the bill.  Warren's pages are a goldmine of information and examples I have never seen before. Wow. I only have a few barbs and tend to go for silver rather than fourees or cores though there are always exceptions to this rule. Martin |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1549 Posts |
While I love Warren's pages, he does not show an Eastern SS imitation. I do not consider Martin's last shown coin to be an imitation of Laodicea or the IMP mint but put it in the category I term 'original imitations' which are common for Septimius. These coins show some detail or legend not found on the originals. I have a page showing some fourrees and some solids of various categories: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/do...th/wild.htmlbut highlight one to make the point.  The reverse legend reads FELICIT AVGVST followed by a triple inverted V (or whatever). The reverse type should read TEMPORVM rather than AVGVST and is an Eastern type. The obverse is SEVERVS AVG PART MAXI from a lare Rome period but I have to ask if the extra I at the end shows the cutter knew the word being abbreviated was MAXImus or if he was copying a coin that ended in IMP XI? The coin is not so much a copy of an original but an original cobbled together from bits and pieces that came to mind. Severan imitations are a wild group worthy of study by someone but I am not sure how any sense will be made of any unofficial group without some lucky finds of large groups that can be tied to a location. Most I have seen have the look of field find individuals roughly cleaned rather than parts of large groups protected by pots. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2100 Posts |
How would we classify this one of Domna? It has the earlier IVLIA DOMNA AVG legend but the stytle doenn't match any official product. Coins with Liberalitas standing are produced at Emesa but I have never seen one seated for Domna through they do exists at Emesa for Septimius (my notes mention Domna RIC 627a but am away from my references so cannot check). Does this derive it's inspiration from Emesa? I don't know the answers but think it more likely than not but the style is distinctly not that of Emesa.  Martin |
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Replies: 19 / Views: 2,207 |
Posted 11/25/2012 3:43 pm
