Carissa T Before & After: Rd 14

[Carissa T]

Yay! Just got my entry coins yesterday and it looks like I will be running the gamut from really easy to really challenging.... really big to really small.... good lot for me because it's my first try at this!

[casata137ec]

That is a good lot! Welcome to the contest and good luck!

Chris

[Carissa T]

Well it's been a while but I'm back. Here are my results. Embarrassing as they may be.

#1...... who knows.

#2:

The encrustations on this coin were really bad. There was a little detail under the ones on the obverse but overall there was a lot of damage under there.

Justin II 565-578AD follis

Obverse:
Justin left and Sophia right, sitting facing both holding globe with cross.
D.N. IVSTINVS PP.AVG

Reverse: Large “M” with cross above, “ANNO” to left, “G” to right (regnal year 5), delta below (officina), CON in ex. (Constantinople mint)

(SB 360)

reference:
http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sb/sb0360.t.html




#3 (just a guess..):

Constantine I 307-337AD AE4

Obverse: GLORIA EXERCITVS (?)

Reverse: Soldiers stg. either side of one standard.  

(S3887)

reference:
http://wildwinds.com/coins/sear/s3887.t.html




#4:

Valentinian I  364-375AD   AE4

Obverse legend:
DNVALENTINI ANVSPFAVG

Reverse:
Victory advancing left holding wreath and palm branch.
SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE

(S4103)

reference:
http://www.tesorillo.com/aes/102/102i.htm




#5 (another guess):

The reverse of this one I hardly touched.... but apparently from being handled, the dirt came off and made it harder to see than when I started!

Constantius II or Iulianus II 357-361 AD AE4

Obverse: DNCONSTAN TIVSPFAVG (?)

Reverse: Emperor standing left with spear and globe. SPES REIPVBLICE

reference: http://www.tesorillo.com/aes/117/117i.htm

[Carissa T]

Oh and I did not smash that coin on purpose. I had spent HOURS on it trying to get some kind of detail out of it and just when I thought I was getting somewhere that happened to it.

[Carissa T]

Here are some close ups of the smaller coins. They are tiny, 11 - 15 mm. The order is 4, 5, 3.

[Joe Sermarini]

Oh and I did not smash that coin on purpose. I had spent HOURS on it trying to get some kind of detail out of it and just when I thought I was getting somewhere that happened to it.

Ouch.  I have never seen a bronze coin do that but the photo shows that it had very unusual internal corrosion.  Clearly not your fault.

[Andrew McCabe]

Ouch.  I have never seen a bronze coin do that but the photo shows that it had very unusual internal corrosion.  Clearly not your fault.

I've smashed a few coins in my time. More often crystallised silver. MY Republican bronzes seem to be immune to bronze disease, possibly because of the high lead content (not sure what that does). Or it may be that I rarely buy cleaned bronzes (prefer a little residual crustiness), and I NEVER clean my coins. Someone on this list remarked a while back that rampant bronze disease almost always has to relate to human intervention (because logically speaking, if the coin had such a big problem when in the ground 2000 years ago it would have disintegrated 1995 years ago).

One time I bought an evidently fragile but entire crystallised silver coin and received a small bag of dusty fragments. I didn't complain - I got what I knew I was buying.