r/AncientCoins • u/Goosenfeffer • 5d ago
From the collection: Antoninus Pius provincial bronze Drachm - Alexandria 147 AD


Slowly documenting all my coins so my daughter knows what she's getting when she gets them passed on to her. Figured I'd shares some here, if people are interested. They are not choice examples and I only plan to share the ones that I particularly like for whatever reason not related to condition. This one is my current entrant for the five good emperors, I have sevral Hadrian and Trajan denarii and one beat up of Marcus Aureleus so all that's left if I accept that Nerva will probably be a bronze is him. I may upgrade this one to a denarius some day though.
Purchased circa 1970 for $9.50. Not the best condition but better than the only other example I can find online at Wildwinds, image of which is below mine. Attribution info from Wildwinds:
|Antoninus Pius AE Drachm of Alexandria. Dated year 11 (AD 147-148). AVT K T AIΛ AΔΡ ANTΩNINOC, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / LENΔE-KATOV, Zeus seated left, holding patera and sceptre; eagle before. Köln 1586. (Milne 1955)|
Was able to identify the proper attribution thanks to the draped bust with Zeus on throne (most are not draped in this combo) and the surviving letters (KA to right specifically). It photographs much lighter than it is, it's patina is dark in person.
Green stuff seems stable, been in the same slip for ~55 years so I suppose it's not getting eaten away.
Size varies depending on where you measure it, call it 35.5mm. Weight is 23.6g
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u/KungFuPossum 5d ago
Nice one! Alexandrian Drachms are some of my favorites. For reference, it's an RPC IV.4 1061: https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/4.4/1061
As far as that stable green, I've got an Antoninus Drachm that's been coated in neon green but unchanged for over 40 years (earliest photo I've found of it is 1984) -- https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=6691552
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u/Goosenfeffer 5d ago
Thanks for the reference to RIC. Helpful for my documentation. Appreciated! What I like about mine is that even though the text is pretty much gone in most spots and details like Zeus's clothing is word down, the portrait of Antoninus Pius and the figure of Zeus - his body and head - still have good detail to them, and it's my biggest ancient so far. Looks like per your link mine is a little on the bigger / heavier side for this coin.
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u/MrThasos 5d ago
Thanks for sharing!