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13.5 mm at widest, 180 degree die axisToo light for the kitchen scale to weigh... of course. Roman of some sort, flan is off. Obverse bust right, pearl diademed. Reverse figure standing. This was one where if I cleaned it, I was pretty sure I was going to lose whatever detail there was on the obverse. This is also paper thin. Wow. It's a really small coin. EvaJupiterSkies
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16mm at widest, 180 degree die axisThis is a FEL TEMP. The first layer of dirt just fell off this, and I was terrified I'd lose contrast if I took at more off/if anymore just fell off, so I'm done with cleaning this. Too light for the kitchen scale and paper thin again. Obverse bust right, pearl diademed. Reverse... I'm leaning towards the soldier dragging captive by the hair reverse, as he's leaning down to do something, but I see no weapon. Of course, this strike is off flan and I'm pretty sure there was more coin than this at some point, so I'm not sure. But I'm feeling like I can sniff this one out for identification somewhere. EvaJupiterSkies
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5 grams, 20mmIf there's one thing I dislike intensely at the moment, it's that my iPhone cannot take better pictures, and that I don't possess an actual camera. Humor me and Rorschach this one while you read this. I see a radiate bust facing right on the obverse. I jumped to Tyche in my mind, because that's the first thing that popped up, but if I can get more detail gleaned out of here, I might have to reevaluate. I know some later emperors were radiate also...
The lack of reverse detail means I can't make heads or tails of it (Anyone else laughing at my usage of that? Just me? Okay...). Something is there, and I think it's a someone, but I can't tell what's up or down, or anything, so I don't have a die axis. Boo. I really do love this, I promise it looks better in hand than in this frankly bad photograph, but I've got a feeling it's going to be tricky to pin down with certainty. -sigh-EvaJupiterSkies
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Antiochus IVFrom my uncleaned batch I got back in November. I love this little guy, though I am mildly embarrassed at how far into the cleaning process I got before I realized that was a head!
SC 1479. Struck circa 173/172 - 168 BC. Series 2 from the mint of Ake, known as Antioch in Ptolemais at the time, now known as Acre, Israel. EvaJupiterSkies
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Aurelian antoninianus, 270-275 AD, RIC 64I love Aurelian. I just do. The man knew what he was doing, had the appropriate force of personality to do what he was doing, and was an overall beast, reuniting the empire. And thanks to Mike Duncan from the History of Rome podcast, I will always remember that Aurelian is the Sandy Koufax of Roman Emperors: peak value.
I made have made mildly unhuman noises upon handling this coin the first time. It is ridiculous in hand. Pretty sure I can count the hairs in his beard.EvaJupiterSkies
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Between 1 and 2 grams, 15mm at widest, die axis 315 degreesWorking on attributing... no good leads, but I'm frustrated in that I'm pretty sure I saw one very similar to this recently somewhere around the boards, but I cannot for the life of me remember where, or what it was... EvaJupiterSkies
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Billion tetradrachm; Maximianus, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right obv; Nike flying right, wreath in hand, palm over shoulder in left rev; 6.739g, 19.6mmBillon tetradrachm, Milne 4860, Dattari 5957, Curtis 2098, Kampmann 120.29, Geissen 3295, Emmett 4147, VF, 6.739g, 19.6mm, 0o, Alexandria mint, 29 Aug 287 - 28 Aug 288 A.D.; obverse "A K M A OUA MAXIMIANO"C C"EB", laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right; reverse Nike flying right, wreath in right hand, palm over shoulder in left, L - "G" (year 3) flanking across field
It's like I fell in love at first sight or something. I couldn't stop coming back to this coin. It's my early birthday gift to myself. Would've bought another too, but I JUST found out my front left tire has a slow leak, so I need to start saving for new tires. BAH! With the sale I couldn't pass this one up though, so now it's mine!
Maximian, you were a great soldier and a crazy old man. I can't wait till you and Nike get here!
[Photo and description graciously taken from the FORVM, as I just hit the "buy" button like, five minutes ago!] EvaJupiterSkies
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Bronze quadrans, 81-161 AD, obv diademed and draped bust of Venus, rev dov stand right, S-C flanking across fieldMy first auction win! I'm very much all about deity, and am definitely planning to collect for the Greek and Roman deities if I can. Some near and dear to my heart, from preliminary scanning, I think will be hard to find (Hephaestus/Vulcan, I'm looking at you beautiful), but I'm happily determined. As to this particular coin, I cannot be happier to be starting out with Venus as my first coin, and first forum coin to boot!EvaJupiterSkies
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Claudius AE As, 41 AD; bare head left; S-C across field, Minerva standing right, brandishing spear and holding shield on left arm; die axis 180 degreesThis is my first Roman coin. I acquired it about a year ago at a renaissance fair, where I spent WAY too long (never long enough!) oogling the various ancient coins this vendor had set in jewelry himself. After a half an hour discussion about the merits of various emperors, I picked out this as the piece I had to have, not only because it has Minerva on it, but because as a history buff, I very much appreciate that Claudius had a career writing history before he became emperor. Plus, the guy gave me $30 off for my lively discussion. I was told it was an As from approximately 41 AD, and using that, along with knowing it was Claudius and Minerva, I narrowed it down to "Ref Claudius AE As, RIC 100, Cohen 84v, BMC 149" (Thank you, Wild Winds!). I wear it a couple of times a week, and over the last year, I can tell the oils on my skin are wearing down the patina, but I'm quite okay with that. Minerva has been gaining detail the more I wear it, and I appreciate that. Anyways, enough of my ramblings, and my apologies for the iPhone pictures. If there's anything I've gotten wrong with the attribution, please correct me. I'm a stickler for details on everything. EvaJupiterSkies
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Constantinian Commemorative, 18mm at widest, 180 degree die axis, Trier mintObverse: CONSTANTINOPOLIS; Helmeted bust of Constantinopolis left, sceptre over left shoulder
Reverse: Victory with sceptre holding shield set on ground and foot on prow, TR•P in exergueEvaJupiterSkies
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Constantius II camp gate, Arles mint, RIC VII Arles 290.Constantius II, AE3, 19mm. 325-326 AD, Arles.
Obverse: FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, laureate, draped, cuirassed bust left
Reverse: PROVIDEN-TIAE CAESS, Campgate with five layers, two turrets, no doors, star above. Mintmark QA crescent RL.
RIC VII Arles 290. EvaJupiterSkies
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Constantius II, pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right OBV - FEL TEMP REPARATIO REV - Thessalonica mintMy first forum purchase. This coin, for whatever reason, I find pleasing. Here's a stab at an attribution, I'm pretty sure I've got it, much thanks to Wild Winds and Helvetica!
Constantius II. AE3. Thessalonica. DN CONSTAN-TIVS PF AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right / FEL TEMP-REPARATIO, soldier spearing fallen horseman who is bare-headed, reaching backwards, officina letter D in left field (officina letter can be A to E). Mintmark: SMTS, RIC VIII Thessalonica 189.
It's the size that really helped attribute this. At 18.1mm, it's a relatively small coin, and scrolling through the spreadsheet of Fel Temps, not many actually fell in that size category, which really helped narrow it down significantly. The officina letter was the thing that clinched it for me, as I'm looking at a very H-looking A in the left field. I'm tickled pink over the whole thing, really. This little coin has got me hooked!
Weight: 3.024g
Size: 18.1mm EvaJupiterSkies
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Domitian as, 88 AD, Rome mintI love this reverse. Yes, there's not much to get off of it at first glance (or second), but looking up the RIC number... on a piece in better condition, I adore that reverse. I have a fondness for the pre-Christian empire for many reasons, and this depiction, which officially is listed below according to the RIC number, is something I hold near and dear to my heart. :)
COS XIIII-LVD SAEC FEC
Domitian standing facing at right, head left, sacrificing from patera in right hand over lit, garlanded altar, flautist and harpist at left standing right, hexastyle temple with wreath in pediment in background
S C in exergue EvaJupiterSkies
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Domitian dupondius, 92-94 AD, Rome mintDomitian. An emperor very much shaped by the circumstances of his upbringing, in a tumultuous and chaotic time, and neglected by (one of my more loved emperors) Vespasian in favor of Titus. I will give him serious commendation on the seriousness of his paranoia... "your lord and god Domitian" might have been paranoid, but he wasn't crazy in the vein of Commodus, Caracalla, or Caligula. For that, I can respect him.
Die axis 180 degrees.EvaJupiterSkies
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Faustina the younger draped bust obv; Demeter, standing left, corn ears in right hand, tall torch in left; ~8 grams, 25mm, die axis 225 degreesI squealed when I saw this in my hoard. Actually, physical squealing... with a head cold. Maybe "dying pig noise" would be more accurate! Anyways, I could make out the fact that someone's head was on it when I first pulled it out, and figured by the size that it was a larger Roman coin. The reverse had what I thought could be some detail on it, but I wasn't as confident as the obverse. Now... there's lettering on both sides, there's a whole figure on the back, holding something, and I'm feeling pretty confident in saying that's a bun on the obverse bust, so I'm dealing with one of the lovely Roman ladies here.
EDIT: May I present for your consideration, a (relatively confident) attribution? The only thing that bugs me is that the torch on the coin in hand really doesn't look like a long torch... it definitely ends at waist/hips level... but I can't find a Phillippopolis coin that has the shorter torch, so... :)
AE26, c147-175, c25mm, c8.4g.
FAVCTEINA CEBACTH, draped bust right / FILIPPOPOLEITWN, Demeter, veiled standing left, holding corn ears in right hand, resting on tall torch in her left.
Moushmov 5163.
EvaJupiterSkies
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GallienusIt might look a bit featureless on the back in the FORUM picture, but this coin definitely has more detail in hand. Haven't gotten it narrowed down yet, but here's what I know, and where I think I'm going.
Very similar to GALLIENVS AVG, radiate, cuirassed bust right / PROVID AVG, Providentia standing left, holding baton and cornucopiae, globe at foot. X in right field. RIC V-1 Rome 267.
2.747g, 20.3mm, 180 degree die axis.EvaJupiterSkies
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I sense an African theme...Top left: Can I sing some U2? "I stillllll haven't found... what I'm looking forrrrrr..."
Top and bottom right: Ptolemaic, not sure exactly which Ptolemy. Gorgeous though.
Bottom left: Carthaginian.
Bronze, 17 mm at widest, 4 grams (by my terrible kitchen scale)
Head of Tanit left, obverse
Prancing (or rearing?) horse right, reverse
60-75 degree die axis (ish)EvaJupiterSkies
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Late ConstantiniansIt's a bloody Constantius II camp gate! A beautiful, I can see every last detail on it camp gate! It's like Christmas! Mr. Constantinopolis has some stunning detail too. I have a feeling the Third Amigo is going to take a little digging, as the lettering on the front isn't very crisp, but I love the reverse on it. That's probably where I'll start looking. The camp gate really is a tiny magnificent piece of art though. Wow. EvaJupiterSkies
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My BabiesSee the individual posts for the big ones. That little one just has great tiny lettering that I can't read because of how small it is, but I'm feeling like it's Roman somehow.EvaJupiterSkies
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Postumus antoninianus - RIC V 75You can see every last hair on his head. This coin is stunning in hand, the strike on the back is a bit off flan, but this is a seriously beautiful coin. My boyfriend picked it up, took a good look at it, and told me he thought Postumus looks a bit like Santa Claus. Tis the season, eh?EvaJupiterSkies
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Probus AE AntoninianusIMP C M AVR PROBVS AVG, radiate draped bust right / CONCORD MILIT, Emperor and Concordia clasping hands.
Siscia mint. 3.453g, 21.8mm, 180 degree die axis. Still working on a RIC number.EvaJupiterSkies
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Super crusties!These are my coins from my bit of uncleaned hoard (1/16kg) that are super encrusted or don't have discernible detail. These are the guys who I'm sure six months to a year from now I'll be trying crazy things on to try and get them to any point of attribution or detail at least, haha. All sizes and shapes here. I'm sure I'll have some fun with these.EvaJupiterSkies
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The HopefulsCoins from my uncleaned hoard portion that have details, and I feel relatively confident that I should be able to give them some level of attribution at some point. EvaJupiterSkies
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Unknown, 7 grams, 16.5 mm, 5 mm thickI hate that all I can think of for the one side is "waffle iron." I really do. The M makes me think Byzantine, but I'd love an opinion, because I'm not even remotely sold on that...EvaJupiterSkies
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