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Author Topic: Help to ID Exceptional Contorniate AE Medallion [Unique??] of Valentinian III  (Read 1065 times)

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Offline Nassif

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Hi All;
I need Great Help to ID Exceptional Contorniate AE Medallion [Unique??] of Valentinian III
48mm
75g

12h
Obv:Emp.head to right DNPLAVALENTI  NIANUSPFAVG
Rev:BONIF   ATIUS Dancer or deity stg facing holding wreath in right hand and palm branch in left,small dancer? with globe in right field,and fire altar in left field
Exceptional size,weight,etc...not in RIC X[Close to 2171 with size,reverse,weight,etc...variations..]
I can't see it in Cohen
Could be Unique??
Thanks in advance for all help
Regards
Nassif

Offline Pekka K

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  • ...one coin at a time...

Did you look RIC 2184?

Pekka K

Offline Nassif

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yes,it's written:dancer stg.facing,holding wreath.??to left,small figure to right...it's different from mine...as i have palm branch and fire altar... ???and the weight is exceptional 75g,also the size...others medallion are smaller...
Thanks for your contribution
Nassif
PS:I have never seen such coins in Auctions or sales?? ???
     the coin is not mine :'(

Offline benito

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  • quousque tandem abutere Sadigh pecunia nostra
Bonifatius was a charioteer.

Offline curtislclay

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As Pekka K suggested, it is RIC 2184 = Alfoeldi 477, specimens in Bologna and Paris, both illustrated on his pl. 191.

Weight of those specimens: 21.90 and 46.70. Two others from the same obv. die but with quadriga reverse: 36.27 and 41.64.

Heaviest previously known contorniates: Valentinian III 59.36, Majorian 64.25, Alfoeldi 480-1.

So the 75g weight of this new one is certainly notable.
Curtis Clay

Offline curtislclay

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Actually the new specimen is from the same dies as Alfoeldi's second specimen, whose obv. legend has been remade into that of Julian II, but from different dies than his first specimen.

As author of Alfoeldi's die catalogue of contorniates, I wrongly thought these two specimens were probably from the same dies; the tooling of the second specimen concealed clear differences in the legend placement on the obv. that the new specimen now reveals.

To explain small differences in the reverse dies, especially the posture of the small figure on the right, I had to propose that the Paris coin was tooled on the reverse too. The new specimen shows that that reverse is in fact untouched, and is identical with the rev. of the new specimen, but different from the rev. of the specimen in Bologna.

Curtis Clay

Offline Nassif

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Great Thanks Pekka K,Benito & Curtisclay for your valuable help
Regards
Nassif

Offline Lone Wolf

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Fascinating contorniate in times when large bronzes were not minted at all (well, save for Cherson)... 

 

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