looking for help with some ancients

Gription

i've got 22 ancient coins that i need to attribute. i bought these awhile ago, i had some ambition to branch out... but wow, it's like i need a 4 year degree to know what i'm dealing with. so.......... here i am with hopes that you guys love doing this. i'll put up a few here first and see what you think... for starters these are my favorites, any help is greatly appreciated:











there's those.... they kinda get worse after that, in fact i doubt a lot of these could ever be attributed because they're just crusty chunks of metal. but there's a start, anyone want to work with me? thank you

Sapyx

#1: this is a bronze sestertius of Roman emperor Gordian III (you can probably make out his name, GORDIANVS, in the obverse legend, from 9 o'clock to 12 o'clock). Reverse type LAETITIA AVG N SC (Gladness of the Emperors), Laetitia (Gladness) standing, listed in the latest Sear catalogue of Roman coins as number 8712., reported as being struck in the period 241-243 AD.

#2: another sestertius, but I can't pick it. It's an earlier emperor than the previous.

#3: This is a Roman Provincial coin; the language on it is Greek. The city name, ZEYGMATEWN, is inside the wreath: "of Zeugma". Zeugma was a city in what is now south-central Turkey, on the Syrian border. Roman Provincials aren't as well-studied and catalogued as mainstream Roman coins; this type isn't listed on the Wildwinds page for this city. The other side is supposed to show the emperor's portrait, but I can't even tell which way is up.

Gription

thank you. i'm jealous of your knowledge.. there's gotta be deals all over the place if you know what you're doing. here's a few more, i hope this is fun

Gription

<< <i>#3: The other side is supposed to show the emperor's portrait, but I can't even tell which way is up. >>



i didn't see it at first somehow, but how's this



all of a sudden i'm into these coins again, very thought provoking... just holding them makes ya think

Automan

In your first batch #2 is a sestertius of Septimius Severus. The reverse probably shows emperor (figure to left) being crowned by Victory Goddess (figure to right). #3 is, most likely, Lucius Verus, or (IMO) less likely Marcus Aurelius.

Auto

Automan

In your second batch:

#1: Can't say which emperor, but should be from sometime around mid-4th Century AD, give or take a decade or two.
#2: Constantius II
#3: Probably a provincial coin, quite possibly of Caracalla
#4: Possibly a Barbarous imitative, i.e. contamporary counterfeit (style looks a bit odd). 270s AD, maybe. It could also be real.
#5: Greek? Maybe not even a coin? Seal, possibly? Certainly not Roman, anyway.

Auto

Gription

how great is this stuff


how about these? (should i just post them em all? i dont want to be a pain in the ass......) my whole goal here is to have informative 2x2's

ColinCMR

it may help to number the coins so that it is easier to comment on them

looks like you have a broad selection there!

Sapyx

Using a unified, cross-post numbering system:

#4: could probably use some more cleaning, but it's clearly a four-soldiers-with-standards type.

#5: Constantius II as Caesar, GLORIA EXERCITVS reverse with two soldiers and standard; I can't quite make out the mintmark.

#6: this poor thing's been zapped to death - overcleaned by electrolysis. A more patient cleaning may have revealed enough detail to make it fully identifiable, but I think it's too far gone. Best guess: Roman Provincial, from Marcianopolis, Nikopolis or one of the other Bulgarian cities.

#7: this one is curious. There seems to be some kind of four-legged animal on the reverse, upside down compared to the rest of the coinage design. If that's really there, then I'd guess it's a barbarous radiate of some kind, though I've never heard of one being "personalised" with a picture of an animal like that.

#8: no idea, either.

#9 (the first of the third batch): Late Roman, looks like a VOT X MVLT XX in wreath type; several emperors issued these, and without more detail in the legend, I can't pick which one this is.

#10: An almost clearly identifiable Roman. Emperor Probus wearing a helmet, in heroic pose with spear. The reverse legend is VIRTVS PROBI, but there were a couple of different designs issued with that legend - there's one with Mars walking, another with the emperor on horseback and another with a trophy and two captives. I can't make out enough of the reverse design to tell which it might be.

#11: Another VOT X MVLT XX in wreath, similar to number 9. I think this one is later than #9, but I can't pick the emperor on this on, either.

#12: Can't tell which way is up, or even obverse and reverse on this one. Perhaps some more cleaning might help.

#13: I'm thinking Greek rather than Roman, but beyond that I can't tell. The top pic looks either like a sacrificial tripod-altar or (if tilted sideways) the prow of a ship.

CIVITAS

#4 is most likely an issue of Arcadius from 406-408 A.D. Reverse is three emperors standing holding spears.

Gription

numbering these - good idea. i'm just about lost myself, sorry

i'm taking notes, once we're done here maybe i'll go back and fine tune the weird ones (better pics, questions) but for now here's the last batch (9).. can't thank you guys enough, i appreciate it

14:



15:



16: eh..



17:



18: eh..



19:



20:



21:



22: is this info accurate?

Gription

bump......?

lordmarcovan

That's a very nice Gordian III in the top picture.

Sapyx

Sorry, end of the month's a busy time for me with editing my coin club Magazine; I don't get as much forum time as I would like, especially to try to answer so many mystery coins at once. Anyways, here we go:

#14: I can't make out the emperor's name on the obverse, but it's a 3rd century radiate. The reverse type is more clearly readable: it begins with AETERNIT... typing that into the Wildwinds partial inscription search gives several possibilities, but the one that seems to match the best is this one of Gallienus; the reverse figure is Saturn, god of time, holding his scythe. That's a way cool coin - Saturn doesn't show up on Roman coins very often!

#15: I spotted this one while looking for the identity of number 10: it's another Probus coin, this one with the reverse of two captives seated at the base of a Roman military standard. Similar to this example, but the porterait is somewhat cruder, and facing the other way.

#16: "Eh.." indeed. Your guess is as good as mine.

#17: Late Roman (Constantine or later); I can't say too much else for sure about it.

#18: Another 3rd century radiate; it looks like there might still be enough detail preserved under that brown crust to be able to identify it. I think some more cleaning is in order.

#19: Another post-Constantine coin, and again I can't read anything on the obverse to identify the emperor. The reverse appears to be an "emperor dragging captive" type, which normally has the reverse legend "GLORIA ROMANORVM". Example.

#20: Another post-Constantine bronze, and again there's no identifiable text. The reverse appears to be Victory walking, much like these examples. The mintmark on yours appears to be Alexandria: ALEH or similar.

#21: The information on that 2x2's a but vague; I'd agree it's a Constantine, most likely Constantine the Great (narrowing the date range to "306-337"). The reverse is the ever-popular "campgate"; quite a popular series to collect, especially among the "clean it yourself" crowd, since campgates are quite commonly encountered in batches of uncleaned late Roman bronze coins, and there are all sorts of varieties and types to look out for, with different numbers of turrets and doors, different mintmarks, etc. This one appears to be two turrets, one star above like these, mintmark .SM?T. (can't quite make out that third letter - a better pic might help).

#22: Yep, looks accurate to me. This coin is a Roman Provincial, from the city of Antioch-in-Pisidia (on the southern coast of Turkey, not the more famous Antioch-in-Syria in what is now far south-eastern Turkey). The Sear catalogue of Roman Provincials is often not much use, but it is in fact helpful for this coin. The obverse legend is supposed to read IMP C VIB AP CAL VOLUSIANO, but the catalogue also notes that the Latin legends on coins of this city "are usually blundered" at this time. On your coin it seems to read IMP C VIB AP CAL VSOLNO - it's a pity the actual name of the emperor was the only bit the die-cutter got wrong! Listed as Sear (Greek Imperial) #4381.