Share your Pocket Piece

[renegade3220]

First things first!  Keep this clean ladies and gentlemen!!!  I am talking about the ancient coin you carry around! 

Get your minds out of the gutters 

Ok, now... I have been wondering this for a while and now with the "share your rarest coin" topic, thought I would ask.

I know many people carry around a pocket piece with them.  I have always wanted to know what people are actually carrying. 

Please share your pocket piece, or favorite pocket piece if you have multiples!

I for one, don't have one yet...

[slokind]

My big old sestertius of Ant Pius, DIVO PIO, hooked my students to love studying Roman art as no other object could.  It is big and heavy.  It is worn: "Wow, ancient people actually held this!".
Though I'd love to have one in better condition, the value of this one as a pocket piece was like no other that I might bring, unless an Alexander, and that is no pocket piece.  They could drop the DIVO PIO sestertius and gasp and I could say, that's OK for this one.
Pat L.
• 01 XII 99  AE Sestertius.  24.92 g.  Commemorative bronze coin of Antoninus Pius struck by Marcus Aurelius. RIC 1269.  Obv. Bare head of A. Pius and DIVVS  ANTONIN [INVS (the first three letters faint).  Rev.  Column of Antoninus and Faustina, of which the base alone is preserved, at the Vatican; notice the statue on top.  It was not storiated but smooth.  DIVO PIO and SC, of which only PI and SC remain legible.
(I think someone put red varnish on it)

[Akropolis]

"Column of Antoninus and Faustina, of which the base alone is preserved, at the Vatican;"
Pictures below, provided to me a long time ago (as I recollect) by Dr. Lawrence (Slokind):

[Akropolis]

And:

[ancientdave]

I will sometimes carry this one around with me.

[mihali84]

Akropolis those are some heavy pocket pieces! 

I don't have one designated pocket piece as i usually carry whichever coin most interests me on any given day. 

I keep the coin in a little pouch so it doesn't slide out of my pocket, which was the sad fate of my first ATG drachm.  Having the coin in a pouch, usually in my shirt pocket, helps to prevent the wear that occurs from having it loose in a pants pocket.

Though i probably shouldn't be just carrying this one around (considering it has almost no wear, and i want to keep it that way), Here's today's pocket piece:

[Philoromaos]

Tend to just carry around my newest arrival for a couple of days (in a flip of course) untill either something new arives or the fear of loss or damage overcomes the desire to take it out and look at it every 10 minutes.


Adrian

[Will Hooton]

I used carry this Assarion of Commodus/Three Graces around in my wallet, and boy has it made for interesting conversations. Statements from people I have shown it to range from "Wow, this must be worth lots!!" to "Awesome! Naked chicks!" to " So this is the guy Maximus killed. He doesn't look anything like Joachim Phoenix!"

Since I almost chinned the issuer of the last statement I stopped carrying coins around with me.

[renegade3220]

" So this is the guy Maximus killed. He doesn't look anything like Joachim Phoenix!"

Since I almost chinned the issuer of the last statement I stopped carrying coins around with me.

Haha!  That is funny 

Great responses so far.  Mihali, you are a brave person to carry such fine pieces around.

It is great to see what people are willing to carry, what they chose to carry, etc.

I am starting to get some ideas on which coin I have that I would first carry as a pocket piece, too.  I find the idea very hard to cope with though.

Keep the awsome posts coming!

[Danny S. Jones]

I'm not in the habit of carrying one around all the time, but I got this one a couple weeks ago, and I've had it in my pocket (in a flip). It's got a dark black patina, but looks silvery in my latest attempt at shooting it. I've got better photos, but can't find them right now.

Diocletian AE Antoninianus
OBV: IMP-C-C-VAL-DIOCLETIANVS-AVG Radiate, draped, and cuir. bust right.
REV: CONCORDIA-MILITVM Diocletian standing left, receiving Victory on globe from Jupiter standing right.
A in field below. XXL in Exergue RIC 306 Cyzicus Mint. 285-293 A.D. 22mm 3.2gm

[rover1.3]

I think i will keep this "bottlecap" Antiochos VI from Antioch in my pocket for a while, looks attractive to my eyes, it is large enough (23mm), interesting history behind.



 

[Lloyd Taylor]

I think i will keep this "bottlecap" Antiochos VI from Antioch in my pocket for a while, looks attractive to my eyes, it is large enough (23mm), interesting history behind.

Watch out... it'll wear a hole in your pocket! 

[rover1.3]

I think i will keep this "bottlecap" Antiochos VI from Antioch in my pocket for a while, looks attractive to my eyes, it is large enough (23mm), interesting history behind.

Watch out... it'll wear a hole in your pocket! 

Are you literally or metaphorically speaking?   

[Lloyd Taylor]

Are you literally or metaphorically speaking?   

Both... nothing more disheartening than losing a pocket piece.... they can become more cherished than more substantial items in your collection. I used to carry a lowly, worn Carthaginian AE into meetings as a reminder that things might often need to be fought long and hard.  It became a bit of a good luck charm and I was a bit distraught when I happened to misplace it for a few days.

[Lloyd Taylor]

Here it is... probably silent witness as many meeting room battles in modern times as it did the real thing in Second Punic War!  Also one of my first ancient coins... cost me a few pounds in London in the mid-eighties. I'd just come out of the British Museum and wondered into Coincraft of all places, compelled by the urge to hold a bit of ancient history in my hand...I was ripped off, but its given me more than a few pounds of happy reflections and memories in the last twenty five years.  I wouldn't sell it for quids!

[rover1.3]

nothing more disheartening than losing a pocket piece....

I think it depends on each ones character. I am quite sure that for many reasons plenty of people find the idea of a pocket piece not a good idea at all.
They are probably right.
But for someone who loves to carry a coin, then yes...losing it can be really disheartening!
On the good side, i am not famous for being absentminded, hopefully i will have mine for many years.

I used to carry a lowly, worn Carthaginian AE into meetings as a reminder that things might often need to be fought long and hard. 

Here it is... probably silent witness as many meeting room battles in modern times as it did the real thing in Second Punic War! 

I like the poetical dimension you opened on the idea of a pocket piece. For sure, it is not  "just a random coin into one's pocket".
I have chosen mine because i like the contrasting idea of the innocent boy king on such a bloodthirsty environment.
All this contrast between purity and decadence it is almost paranoid, intrigues me a lot...

Another contrast on this coin i like very much, is the contrast on fields because of that red sand, although i have no idea how this will look after being a pocket piece for some time...

Best regards
 

[renegade3220]

I am glad this topic started back up.

I still have not chosen a piece.  I really want to carry one, but I am still too.... hmmm... scared? to do so. 

I just need to chose one and do it!

[Dino]

I use my pocket piece as a card marker.  It's a Hadrian sestertius.  You can see it at the top of the photo from a trip to Vegas last year.

[renegade3220]

Love the pic Dino!!!!

Ahh Vegas.  I really need to go back!

[Dino]

It was surreptitiously taken with my blackberry.   They don't like pictures of their tables... 

I'll be back there in March.   You'll know how I did based on whether I post a bunch of new coins in my gallery or wind up with nothing new for about 6 months....

[Lloyd Taylor]

.....  You'll know how I did based on whether I post a bunch of new coins in my gallery or wind up with nothing new for about 6 months....

..  nothing so humble after the next big win....I expect to see the next photo of your pocket coin being an Athenian Dekadrachm placed casually on the table .... good luck with next round to finance the upgrade of the pocket coin.

[Dino]

.....  You'll know how I did based on whether I post a bunch of new coins in my gallery or wind up with nothing new for about 6 months....

..  nothing so humble after the next big win....I expect to see the next photo of your pocket coin being an Athenian Dekadrachm placed casually on the table .... good luck with next round to finance the upgrade of the pocket coin.

Ha.  From your mouth to Zeus' ears.   

[casata137ec]

Not wanting to junk up Lucas' found pocket piece thread, and having a request for a pic of the Septimius Severus I mentioned, I figured I'd start a new one!

I carry an array of coinage with me actually, for various reasons, but mostly because I like them too much to toss and they arent really good enough to collect! lol

The three I always carry are: 1 worn Septimius Severus with a severly corroded rev., 1 serrated Seleucid (?) with a nice-ish and interesting bust and almsot smooth rev., and 1 nifty byzantine that was totally and thickly black on the obverse(?) and mostly covered on the reverse when I rescued it from a junk box. It has been in my pocket for about 3 years now, so I figure in another couple of years I should be able to attrib the obverse with this rate of wear! lol

As per requested here is the size and weight of the Sept Sev. The die axis is pretty much moot as you can tell.
27mm 13.51g...hmmm...I never weighed it...isnt that way too heavy for an as? Wrong metal too! Must have been a sestersius.

Chris

 

[curtislclay]

Thanks for the picture and data.

I agree, probably a sestertius, judging from metal color, laureate portrait, diameter, and weight. That's light for a sestertius, but the rev. corrosion could easily have removed 4 or 5 grams.

Seems to be a new obv. die to the 42 of 193 in my thesis. 193, because of obv. legend IMP CAES L SEPT - SEV PERT AVG.

[rover1.3]

Chris,

The serrated one is an interesting Macedonian issue,
http://www.acsearch.info/ext-record.html?id=141056

Best regards,

rover