Late Roman Bronze Coins
Coin talk => Unlisted => Topic started by: Victor on June 27, 2022, 04:06:22 PM
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This reverse is not listed from Amiens in RIC or Bastien.
Magnentius
A.D. 350-3
6.4g
D N MAGNENTIVS P F AVG, bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right; A behind bust.
FELICITAS REIPVBLICE, Emperor standing left holding Victory on globe in right hand and labarum.
In ex. AMB
RIC VIII Amiens/Ambianum --; Bastien –
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Congrats… finding a new reverse type is always a great pleasure!
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Hopefully it is not just a really good unofficial issue. Bastien thought that this issue was not officially struck at Amiens; but the unofficial example he illustrated is only 3g-- less than half this example.
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It looks an official strike. Only the eye is a little odd.
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Looks official to me. I put in a half-hearted vacation bid on it, mainly because Magnentius isn't my focus.
The patina/surfaces don't inspire much confidence, but that's more lack of a positive than a negative.
Of course the bust style doesn't look like other Amiens types, but it is close to early Trier which might confirm Bastien's suggestion that the Amiens mint had been setup using staff from Trier. The DN (vs IM CAE) is interesting - showing a break from Trier even at mint opening, and certainly proving this isn't a Trier die. The small "A" behind the bust is as expected for Amiens.
Assuming the engraver came from Trier, the spread chlamys on the reverse is maybe a little unexpected, but although atypical at Trier it does exist.
The weight also supports this being official - a bit heavy if anything. Size is apparently 22mm (I'd asked the seller).
Were you the buyer, Victor? If so, are you planning to get it authenticated (NGC slabbed ,perhaps) ?
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Not my area but the portrait has a modern touch for me. It is just a pure impression, without any rational arguments.
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Yes, I won it. I don't know if I will send it off to NGC. First, I would like to see it in hand...it might be very obvious, one way or another.
Plus I'm not sure how capable NGC is at making official versus unofficial calls...the "barb" below slipped through.
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Plus I'm not sure how capable NGC is at making official versus unofficial calls
Yeah - I'm not sure either. That's pretty sad to not recognize that the PTR mintmark, X-on-standard and style are all wrong!
If you wanted to resell it an alternative to NGC slab would be to consign it someplace like CGB that has the expertise, as well as clients, for something like this.
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No resell for this one...I am keeping it for my collection.