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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,475 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was an usurper who ruled for nearly a decade over the western provinces (historically known as the Gallic Empire). Postumus was ultimately murdered by his own troops when he forbade their sacking the rebellious city of Mogontiacum in Germania. This first one should be RIC 58 (RSC 39, Sear 10936).   The next specimen depicts Hercules on its reverse, and I have it as RIC 67 (RSC 101, Sear 10946).   The last example, which I identify as RIC 64 (RSC 91a, Sear 10944), also has a Hercules reverse, albeit I'd judge he's rather a bit portly in this instance.   Colligo ergo sum
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
Super coins! Postumus had an impressive array of reverse types, even for the middle third century!
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Three very nice examples, excellent bust details.
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Pillar of the Community
 Spain
2752 Posts |
Good looking trio! Nicely toned too...
I like his portraits they always seem to depict him with a very slight smile...Reminds me of my grandpa...Paul
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4883 Posts |
A footnote on these - the story related to me by the dealer from whom I bought them was that he had obtained them from a contact of his who had access to a recently discovered hoard. He showed me a picture of this, many hundreds of coins, that apparently consisted of mid-third century antoniniani. If the particular sampling of these he acquired was typical, perhaps half were issues of Postumus. The hoard would seem to be comprised of coins displaying varying degrees of circulation. I had the good fortune to be one of the very first retail customers to go through what portion of the hoard my dealer purchased, so from the standpoint of condition, the specimens presented here were most definitely cherrypicked.
Colligo ergo sum
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
A couple of enormous hoards are responsible for the ready availability of the coinage of the Gallic empire - very good for us, because we can get nice examples like these on the cheap. I have a few coins from a 3rd c. hoard discovered some time ago and sold piecemeal by the finder to various 3rd parties - I had the chance to rummage through a little tub of perhaps a hundred coins, priced £2 each, and the seller told me a little about the hoard (and told me had bought a pile of the silver coins, too). From the description, those coins were from the Shoreham hoard. Another big gallic hoard that has been split is the South Petherton hoard.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
Quote:
A couple of enormous hoards are responsible for the ready availability of the coinage of the Gallic empire...From the description, those coins were from the Shoreham hoard. The Shoreham Hoard was uncovered 20 years ago. I was given the impression that my specimens were from a much more recent discovery. Quote:
Another big gallic hoard that has been split is the South Petherton hoard. See: http://www.yorkcoins.com/south_petherton_hoard.htmAlso, on the topic of Gallic Empire coinage in general, this is worth a look: http://www.kenelks.co.uk/coins/gallic/gallic.htmColligo ergo sum
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
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Uncovered 20 years ago And yet, the guy I bought from told me it was a recent find (this was nearly 5 years ago) - when I actually looked into it, I was surprised to find that the Shoreham hoard matched his story perfectly. I think the finder was rather shrewd with it and kept selling chunks as and when he needed money, though he didn't seem to have gone far afield as I bought the coins only a few miles from the find spot. I'm sure the preservation and treasure trove process probably took some time too. Besides, compared to the 1700 years it spent in the ground, 20 years is no time at all! All the copper coins that I saw from that hoard had a curious speckled patina, probably as a byproduct of the cleaning method used - I occasionally see coins on ebay with the same patina which I assume are from the same source. The Chalgrove hoard that confirmed the existence of Domitianus has a similar patina. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
Well, I went back to the shop today thinking that while I was there I might peruse the lot again. It turned out that after I'd selected those I liked best, somebody had come in and bought the entire remainder. I also found out that the person who'd sold them to the shop was from France, in the area for the recently concluded gem & mineral show, so they may not get another shot at acquiring another group like this until almost a year from now.
Colligo ergo sum
Edited by Lucky Cuss
02/20/2019 5:38 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
I came across another of these today. I have this one as RIC 75 (RSC 199, Sear 10962).   Colligo ergo sum
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1120 Posts |
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we can get nice examples like these on the cheap. Yes, I got this one last year for under $30 (including shipping).   |
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,475 |
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Posted 02/15/2019 10:21 pm
