Anastasius solidus - is it?

[Numerianus]

This is my first ancient gold and I was proud to get.  I know that many  dealers now prefer not to process
solidi and aurei because there are so many fakes.  So, I choose  the  cheepest option and purchased Anastasius.
However,  It seems that I was mistaken and this is not  true  Anastasius but a barbaric imitation...  The problem is with COMOB in exergue.
It is referred to Rome mint but  the Italy was occupied at this time.
There so many entries in coinarchives: 310!  I am lost... 
Could someone  give a comment on this coinage?

[Rupert]

A big part of the art of getting the right answer is to ask the right question. I can well understand that you get lost when you enter "anastasius and solidus" in Coinarchives. Go ahead and enter "anastasius and comob". 17 results, many of which look quite like your piece (to me at least), and they're all attributed to the Ostrogoths under king Theoderic. Much more interesting and certainly also rarer than ol' Anastasius from Constantinople, isn't it? Congratulations from me, anyway!

Rupert

[Numerianus]

It is true: I got the answer entering  "comob" (it required some time to understand that this is the important keyword).  With the keyword "ostrogoths" I could find, using Google, the specimen  of the Forum: 

"An extremely rare and possibly unpublished variety, minted in Italy under Theodoric, the Ostrogothic King of Italy.
826. Gold solidus, unlisted in major references, choice aEF, 1st officina, Italian mint, 491-518 A.D.; obverse D N ANASTASIVS P F AVG, helmeted and cuirassed bust facing holding spear and shield, helmet with plume, trefoil ornament and diadem the ties of which show left, shield ornamented with horseman right spearing fallen foe; reverse VICTORIA AVGGG A, Victory standing left, holding long voided cross, star right, COMOB in ex; obverse legend is not listed in major references PF is normally PP or PERP; COMOB in reverse ex is listed for a single coin in Dumbarton Oaks (but with PP obverse)"

[Numerianus]

A cople of  examples from coinarchives, of high grades:

``In the name of Anastasius. Solidus, Roma circa 491-518, AV 4.40 g. D N ANASTA – SIVS P F AVG Pearl-diademed, helmeted and cuirassed bust facing three-quarters r., holding spear and shield decorated with horseman-enemy motif. Rev. VICTOR – I – AVGGGA Victory standing l., holding long jewelled cross; in field r., star and in exergue, COMOB. MIB I pl. 36, 9. MEC I 112. Arslan-Metlich, The Coinage of Ostrogothic Italy, 8.2. Very rare.11.05.2005" 

"COMOB. MIB 9.2. MEC I 112-113. Mettlich, The Coinage of Ostogothic Italy, 8. Kraus 6.
Rare.  04.06.2006".

There are others. So, rating "rare"  is an exaggration.  Almost all  examples has PF (though on some auctions it is copied as PP).

[slokind]

And check out where Theoderic the Ostrogoth was reared and educated...No 'barbarian' he!  Pat L.

[Numerianus]

By the way, what is the meaning of COMOB and CONOB?

[Jochen]

OB could be the abbreviation of OBRYZUM, meaning refined gold, the purest gold.
     or it could be the Greek number for 72 like LXXII on western issues, meaning that one
     solidus had been struck at a weight of 72 to a pound. This interpretation could be true in
     the eastern part of the Empire.
CON is CONSTANTINOPOLIS. So ANTOB, AQOB, TESOB and others are know
COM should be the abbreviation of COMES AUREI, or COMES OBRYZI. This was the title of the supervisors of the imperial gold supplies in the western part of the Empire, the 'Count of Gold'. These were found only in the western part of the Roman Empire.

CONOB first appears at Constantinopolis in AD 369 for Valentinian I, Valens and Gratian.
COMOB first appears on coins of Mediolanum and Thessalonica under Gratian and Valentinian II.

For silver the legend PUSULATUM was used in the same way.

(John Melville Jones, A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins)

Best regards

[Numerianus]

Thank you, Jochen. I read in the book by M.Schmitt and M. Prieur about the interpretation of COMOB as
"Comes Obryziacus".  It is strange that Eastern mint coding included the name in contrast to  Western ones...

[virtvsprobi]

David Sear says:

"CONOB = Constantinopolis Obryza, 'Pure Gold of Constantinople'. This form of mint mark, appearing in the exergues of late Roman and Byzantine solidi and fractional gold denominations, had its origins in the second half of the 4th century. 'Obryza', a word of obscure derivation, indicated that the gold from which the coin had been struck had been tested and was guaranteed pure. Initially, other mints employed a similar formula (ANTOB for Antioch, MDOB for Mediolanum, etc.) but eventually CONOB came to be utilized universally, without regard to the actual place of mintage. An important variation appearing at a number of western mints was COMOB. This may have had a slightly different meaning, the COM possibly indicating the office of Comes Auri ('Count of Gold'), the official charged with the responsibility of supervising the Imperial gold supplies in the western provinces of the Empire."

http://www.davidrsear.com/academy/roman_legends.html

G/<

[Numerianus]

Thank you,  G/<.  The word "obryza"  looks as a Polish one...

Now I have a question  about grades and pics. 
My coin was graded as  TTB=VF, irregular flan,  and this is correct.  The  photo corresponds to the 5-time magnification.
The color  is a close to the real one (reddish background is due to my red shirt). One can see
the natural irregularities of the metal surface, tiny scratches, etc.   This  is in a contrast
with other pics.  The Forum specimen seem to exhibit even more wear but one cannot see
the surface structure.  The examples from coinarchives are graded as
EF (they are 10-15 times more expensive than mine) but I do not believe that the fields could be smooth to such an extent.
Their color also seems not to be real...
Does this mean that the  photos were heavily processed in Photoshop (filtering, dust remove)?   
Or this effect is due to a clever lighting? 

[virtvsprobi]

The word "obryza"  looks as a Polish one...

Could be Russian as well, but it isn't.

If the word has not in fact gone in the other direction, then it may be of Persian descent:

ibris

In Turkish ibritz, I believe, although the normal word for gold is altin. (Altin Tepe = Gold Hill, a famous archeological site, and a gold mine. :-)

Then there is:

obruss.um            N      1 1 GEN P F                   uncommon
obrussa, obrussae  N    F   [XXXCO] 
assay; test; assaying/testing of gold; [aurum ad ~ => tested/fine gold];
obruss.um            ADJ    1 1 NOM S N POS             
obruss.um            ADJ    1 1 ACC S M POS             
obruss.um            ADJ    1 1 ACC S N POS             
obrussus, obrussa, obrussum  ADJ   [XXXFO]    veryrare
fine (gold); refined; assayed, tested (OLD);

Question is when did this word get into usage.  It would be fun to do some serious etymological research here.


G/<