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Ancients I need help with
HoledandCreative
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I was told a couple of them are Augustus when I bought them but since I have been told otherwise. I bought these because they appealed to me. They are not for most collectors. I would like to know what I have. TYIA.
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Hi, HoledandCreative! I'm not seeing Augustus in that group, but here's what I see:
(1.) Modern reproduction, (poorly) immitating an issue of Alexander the Great. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/displayimage.php?pos=-15334
(2.) Roman copper As of Emperor Claudius (r. 41 - 54 AD).
(3.) A handsome Roman bronze coin (Sestertius?) combining the portrait of Emperor Antoninus Pius (r. 138 - 161) with that of his son-in-law, the future Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
(4.) Roman copper As, again featuring Antoninus Pius.
(5.) Bronze unit from the Kingdom of Macedonia, issued in the name of King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great.
(6.) This one I can't quite figure out. It's Roman Imperial for sure, but I can't make out anything besides CAESAR in the obverse inscription. Hopefully someone else will chime in. There aren't too many issues with a plain "S C" on the reverse.1. *
It's important to know that 'Augustus' went from being a name for a specific emperor to simply being a usual part of the emperor's many titles. So if you can pick out 'AVG' in an inscription, it doesn't especially denote the first man who bore the name 'Augustus', who died in 14 A.D. Portraits are very important clues too, as the portraits were often distinctive and easy to individually recognize, from around 30 B.C. until about 275 A.D. Titus Flavius did a great job on these, BTW!
Thank you TitusFlavius, very helpful. Thank you, also, BillDugan. When I bought the "Augustus", I was assured they were the 1st Augustus. It was just a whim with no homework involved. Oops!
You're welcome, HaC! Now if I could just figure out that last one...
Okay, I have a guess for the last coin! Going off the left facing portrait, the small and crowded obverse lettering, and the plain "S C" on the reverse, I'm going to guess Germanicus Caesar. He was clearly the intended successor during the reign of Emperor Tiberius (r. 14 - 37 AD), but died under mysterious circumstances while on campaign in the East in 19 AD. This coin was minted posthumously by his son, and Tiberius' eventual successor, Caligula (r. 37 - 41 AD).
Actually, now that I compare it to some other examples, the S C looks a little larger than is typical on the issues of Caligula. Another possibility is that this is a later restoration of the Germanicus types issued by the Flavian emperors Titus (r. 79 - 81 AD), and Domitian (r. 81 - 96 AD). Both of them included Germanicus in their series of bronze coins restoring designs from the preceding Julio-Claudian dynasty. Either way, it's an interesting old coin!
Is that a counterstamp on the fourth coin?! If so, what can you tell us about it?
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