Big Emperors Day Sale ! Mon Day Only !

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Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,449
FVRIVS RVFVS Pillar of the Community United States 3443 Posts	Posted 04/22/2018 04:49 am Foolishly I attended the nearby Bay State Coin Show. I say foolishly only because spending money on more coins at this time is really the last thing I should be doing at this moment in my personal financial history ! But having received an invite from my aged brother (MARCVS OBLIVIVS) I reasoned that going and searching for something to "flip" might justify the 15 minute drive down the road. Any excuse will do really but some of them work better on the wife than others ...... So I made a B Line for the table of old reliable "Nick". Two out of the last 3 years he actually has provided me with nice group lots that help create some wealth I used to justify buying some nice bronzes ! Alas Nick is now 2 for 4 ....... Not to be deterred from leaving without one small token of my visit I checked through 4 boxes of Romans. Some really nice stuff ....... but nothing that called out to me either. When looking to spend some money I really don't have I insist on only the very best of excuses ! Nick pulled out a 'freezer' bag from beneath the table with around 30 coin flips inside. "Just bought them this morning so I need to work out the prices...... but take a look and and see if anything is interesting" Music to my aged ears Beautiful bronze ! But too beautiful for my budget really I was looking to drop 100 maybe ..... maybe $150 ...... just a token coin nothing more. I pulled a handsome Severus Alexander dupondius and examined the reverse. A super portrait of Alex standing left holding a long spear and right hand extended (seemingly pointing at something with his finger). The legend read RESITVTOR MON and the ticket gave little more information than the RIC number and a "healthy" looking price tag. The legend puzzled me. I have never seen it before ! I handed the coin to Nick with the intention of asking his learned opinion on the reverse type. As he was handling queries from 3 directions he took the flip from me and before I could get my question in he returned a price quote ! A very very attractive price quote ! Stll more than I felt safe spending though. I thanked him very much but let him know my real question. The poor man deals with all too many of those at these shows. He hadn't had the chance to research these thoroughly so he gave the first answer that had also come to my mind. "Must be referring to Moneta ?" He was unsure ..... But why the emperor in uniform and not the goddess I asked ? My brother OBLIVIVS seated nearby examined it and thought quick ...... perhaps "Restorer of the Universe ?" No good I said ...... you're thinking MVNDI and this is clearly M O N. The more I examined the piece the more enchanted I became. A nice weighty dupondius from a time period when the denomination was quickly vanishing and the few produced were thin and not of high quality bronze. Beautiful green/black patination with a smooth gloss and only a few small imperfections. The portrait top shelf and the reverse ........ puzzling ! "Perfectly obvious" I asserted ! The reverse celebrates the re-establishment of the national holiday celebrating Caesars birthday ! Or in this case Augustus and Trajan and Antoninus and Marcus and .... So many birthdays that the frugal Septimius had abolished them all. Now his namesake Severus Alexander had restored them as "Emperors Day" to be celebrated on the third Monday every February. RESTITVTOR MON ....... what more evidence would you need ! And there is Alex on the reverse pointing down to the S C ...... Abreviation meaning watch out for Big Sales ! Alex was trying to make Rome great again by pitching some economic stimulus on the coins. But hey ...... I needed an excuse and it held as much water as anything else I was hearing ! So I bought it ...... hook line and sinker Nick helped out a tad with some 'easy' credit for a poor old customer ....... he always does AE Dupondius of Severus Alexander Obv IMP SEV ALEXANDER AVG Radiate bust of Alexander right Rv RESTITVTOR MON Alexander in military uniform standing left 13.54 grams 24-5mm Sear 8032 RIC 589 Getting home I found that David Sear has his own impressive explanation for the reverse type. But the hour is late now and I must retire ..... so for the present you will have to make do with my personal "interpretation" It really isn't that far off either ! Edited by FVRIVS RVFVS 04/22/2018 10:47 pm Report this Post to the Staff

echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 04/22/2018 09:20 am Super coin, the Roman version of Presidents Day. Excellent find and write-up. Report this Post to the Staff
Kamnaskires Pillar of the Community United States 7066 Posts	Posted 04/22/2018 10:00 am Nice pick-up and fun recap of your experience at the show. Well done! Report this Post to the Staff
antwerpen2306 Pillar of the Community Belgium 1194 Posts	Posted 04/22/2018 11:46 am Very nice coin and very interesting for the reverse . I think it had to do with the coinage or mint : MON = Monetae . Restitutor monetae : restoration by SEverus A. of the coinage or the mint .As there is no change in the money , I suppose he goes back to the old system without the antoniniani , introduced by Caracalla. albert Report this Post to the Staff
FVRIVS RVFVS Pillar of the Community United States 3443 Posts	Posted 04/22/2018 12:40 pm There are two clues visible here to the astute collector First is the weight ! 13.54 grams is a standard weight for a dupondius ........ Of the first century ! Secondly barely visible at the 1-2 oclock position are a few spots of golden color. The coin is minted of high grade orichalcum and not the 'ratty' recycled stuff or just plain old recycled bronze the third century is so well known for. According to Mssr Sear this reverse type is celebrating the return of dupondius as a plump golden colored half Sestertius. Beginning around the time of Septimius Severus not only had the silver coins suffered but the orichalcum had all but ceased to be produced. This theory is bolstered by the fact that no other denomination carry's this reverse type. An alternate theory mentioned by Sear is that the issue commemorates a statue of Alex erected at the mint of Rome. Since no mention or remains of any such statue exist I think my own theory of the Emperors Day Holiday sale is just as plausible ! I have always believed the orichalcum issues were made primarily for propaganda purposes anyway. The cost and difficulty of producing the alloy made them somewhat expensive to produce. But one can only imagine the hundreds of foreign ambassadors seated up high in the viewing stands watching a Roman Imperial parade celebrating some such holiday and reporting back to their foreign offices that the Roman Emperor showered his subjects with coins of gold as he made his progress to the great temples of Rome. Of course there would have been the economic stimulus too. But people being people I am sure the new heavier coins were hoarded rather than spent. Within a short time the bronze issues continued to decline and orichalcum once again vanished ....... As did the dupondius. Few are found by the time of Valerian and they are almost certainly all of recycled bronze. Report this Post to the Staff
travelcoin Pillar of the Community United States 1120 Posts	Posted 04/22/2018 1:57 pm Very entertaining and interesting write up final grade A++. Also very nice pick up. Report this Post to the Staff
Arkie Pillar of the Community United States 2637 Posts	Posted 04/22/2018 3:36 pm Quote: but nothing that called out to me either. I thought I was the only collector who had coins call out to him: "Take me home. I'm a better deal than you think. Spend the money you don't have, you'll regret it if you don't." Report this Post to the Staff
jskirwin Pillar of the Community United States 616 Posts	Posted 04/22/2018 7:43 pm Wish I had a brother like MARCVS OBLIVIVS, and more dealers around like Nick. Great coin. Thanks for the right up. Report this Post to the Staff
NorthSideTy Valued Member Canada 204 Posts	Posted 04/23/2018 2:28 pm Exceptional coin and excellent write-up!! Congrats Report this Post to the Staff
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