index

    Interesting ancient coins, offered by Augustus Coins.

If you want to buy ancient coins, you are beginning at the right page. If you want to learn more about them, visit my educational ancient-coin website (begun in 1997 and expanded very many times since then). If you like to learn from books, visit my page of ancient-coin literature.  For more about me, see see here.

Contents: This is the main page with Roman coins and some of newest listings from other series too, at the top. For late Roman, Byzantine, or Greek coins, or books about them, use the links to the left.

Skip down to Republican, 1st C, 2nd C, or 3rd C
3rd C. more precisely: Septimius Severus, Caracalla, Elagablal, Severus Alexander,
  Gordian III, Philip, Valerian, Gallienus, Gallo-Roman, Claudius II, Aurelian,
  Probus, Tacitus, Carus and Family

Recent: 2021, June 21: Silver drachms of Trajan struck at Bostra, Arabia (at the top).
June 18: Galerius follis (at the top)
June 1: CONSTANTINOPOLI commemorative.
May 30: Oriental Greek, Hephthalite 1/4 drachm, at the top of the Greek page. Kushan, Vima Kadphises (top of this page). On the Byzantine page: Anonymous Class G. Justinian 10-nummi at Antioch. Constantine IV from Sicily. Arcadius, Theodosius, and Valentinian III, at the top of the late Roman page.
2021, May 26: Heraclius and two of Constans II, at the top of the Byzantine page.
May 24: Sestertius of Severus Alexander and Republican victoriatus (at the top).
May 18: A major AE rarity of Theodosius (first listing on this page)

  Books and sale catalogs. If you would like some literature to read, make me an offer. I think my prices are the lowest on the market, but I'd like to sell some of these to someone who would like to look at them. That might be you! Make me a offer. I might well accept!

wwestyc wwestypage

Prices are in brackets: [$xx].

To order, or simply to ask me questions, write me, Warren, at

.
(I am on Pacific time, so if you are in the east and write me at 8:00 am it is only 5:00 am where I am.)
My page of terms, which are essentially repeated here:

Terms of Sale. When you write me, please tell me if you are not in the US (it changes shipping costs).
After I confirm I still have the coin,
If you are in the US you can pay with Zelle (preferred) or PayPal to my e-mail address. (I also accept checks.) (Why I prefer Zelle.)
If you are outside the US, a VERY BIG CHANGE as of Jan. 21, 2021. Last time I mailed to an address outside the US the price jumped from the previous $3 to $17.25. Wow! The new Post Office software no longer allows me to mail an envelope as a letter if it has coins in it. See more here.

Shipping in the US is $2 for orders under $25, $3 up to $50, $4 up to $100, and an additional $2 for each hundred thereafter.
Shipping to other countries: See about new (Jan. 2021) very high shipping costs here.
All coins are guaranteed genuine.

Reminder: When you buy a coin you must add in the shipping cost. Don't think a coin offered at $20 elsewhere will cost you $20. It won't. Shipping could easily be $6 or more. In contrast, I charge only $2 for shipping a $20 coin in the US.

Purple means "SOLD" and no longer available

The settlement of Bostra (or Bosra) was first mentioned in the documents of Thutmose III and Akhenaten (14th century BC). Bosra was the first Nabatean city in the 2nd century BC. The Nabatean Kingdom was conquered by Cornelius Palma, a general of Trajan, in 106 AD. Bosra was made capital of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea and renamed Nova Trajana Bostra. It was the home base of the legio III Cyrenaica. The city flourished and became a major metropolis at the juncture of trade routes including the Via Traiana Nova, a Roman road that connected Damascus to the Red Sea. It became an important center for food production. Soon after the Roman occupation. Bosra began to mint its own coins.

Trajan, 98-117
19-18 mm.
Silver drachm struck at Bostra, Arabia
in celebration of Trajan's acquisition of Arabia (including Petra and Bostra, the capital of the new province).
obv. Laureate bust of Trajan to right, with slight drapery on his left shoulder
AYTOKP KAIC NEP TRAIAN CЄB ΓЄΡΜ ΔΑΚ
rev. Arabia standing left holding branch and bundle of cinnamon sticks
at feet, camel ΔHMAPX ЄΞ YΠAT S

These are never full flan. They are always very crowded or crowded.
[$35 SOLD]

Trajan, 98-117
Silver drachm struck at Bostra, Arabia
in celebration of Trajan's acquisition of Arabia (including Petra and Bostra, the capital of the new province).
obv. Laureate bust of Trajan to right, with slight drapery on his left shoulder
AYTOKP KAIC NEP TRAIAN CЄB ΓЄΡΜ ΔΑΚ
rev. Arabia standing left holding branch and bundle of cinnamon sticks
at feet, camel ΔHMAPX ЄΞ YΠAT S

These are never full flan. They are always very crowded or crowded.
[$36 SOLD]

Trajan, 98-117
19-17 mm.
Silver drachm struck at Bostra, Arabia
in celebration of Trajan's acquisition of Arabia (including Petra and Bostra, the capital of the new province).
obv. Laureate bust of Trajan to right, with slight drapery on his left shoulder
AYTOKP KAIC NEP TRAIAN CЄB ΓЄΡΜ ΔΑΚ
rev. Arabia standing left holding branch and bundle of cinnamon sticks
at feet, camel ΔHMAPX ЄΞ YΠAT S

These are never full flan. They are always very crowded or crowded.
[$33 SOLD] (You can see the edge of the obverse die at 7:00-9:00.)

Trajan, 98-117
17-16 mm.
Silver drachm struck at Bostra, Arabia
in celebration of Trajan's acquisition of Arabia (including Petra and Bostra, the capital of the new province).
obv. Laureate bust of Trajan to right, with slight drapery on his left shoulder
AYTOKP KAIC NEP TRAIAN CЄB ΓЄΡΜ ΔΑΚ
rev. Arabia standing left holding branch and bundle of cinnamon sticks
at feet, camel ΔHMAPX ЄΞ YΠAT S

These are never full flan. They are always very crowded or crowded.
[$32 SOLD]

Galerius as Caesar under the First Tetrarchy
293-305
27 mm. 8.52 grams.
This type is only from Cyzicus and only for the Caesars
(Everywhere else was using GENIO POPVLI ROMANI)
GENIO AVGG ET CAESARVM NN
KA
RIC VI Cyzicus 9b "Scarce" page 580
Lovely even strike very well-centered on a good flan. Dark color. [$75] (As always, please compare with vcoins prices.)

CONSTANTINOPOLI (not ending "LIS". The "LI" ending is from mints around the Bosporus)
19-16 mm.
SMKA
Cyzicus mint
RIC VII Cyzicus 107 "r4" but that is just for the "A" officina and it is more common than that if you include the other officina and varieities, as you should.
EF. Look at the details. [$19 SOLD]
See here for the history: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/CON/Founding.html

Indo-Greek
Kushan
Vima Kadphises, 85-120 AD
28 mm. Large! 16.86 grams.
A full unit. Do not confuse with the smaller half unit.
Siva and bull
King standing left by altar
Whitehead 57. Mitchner 3006ff.
(There are several varieites with this design and I can't tell them apart)
The legend says, according to Plant, "King, king of kings, prince of the world, great prince, Vima Kadphises, savior" (Modest guy!)
Large. Nice bull. [$85, reduced to $79]
Bought in Denver at All Nations coin shop June 13, 1992.

Roman Republican
211-206 BC
Victoriatus
16 mm. 1.81 grams.
(Smaller than a denarius. Issued in the same time period as the earliest denarii.)
Crawford 44/1
Sear I 49
Head of Jupiter right
Victory right crowning trophy
ROMA below
[$39, reduced to $35 SOLD] An unusual denomination.

Severus Alexander, 222-235
Sestertius. 30-29 mm. 21.44 grams.
PM TRP X COS III PP
Sol standing left, right hand raised, holding whip in left
Sear II 7999
RIC 513 [Rome 231]
Very good details. The reverse adhesion is not as green on the coin as it is in the photo. Sol has facial details! The portrait of Severus Alexander is very sensitive. The ear and laurel wreath, and hair are clear. A nice, hefty, coin. [$79 SOLD]

AE3. 18-16 mm. 1.70 grams.
Theodosius, 379-395
GLORIA REIPVBLICE
Camp gate, Δ in left field,TES in exergue
Obverse with consular bust left, holding mappa and scepter.
385 [DO, dated 385 because of the consular bust. p. 108]
As I write there are none on vcoins or MA-Shops, and, none in CNG or acsearch archives. That's really rare!
Minted at Thessalonica. RIC Thessaloncia 62
This design was minted only at Thessalonica. Theodosius has a big historical connection to Thessalonica--the famous massacre of Thessalonica. Left-facing busts are very rare in this time period and the "campgate" type of this era is usually right-facing and AE4, not AE3. A rarity for the specialist. Extremely rare. [$195 SOLD] (I paid $250 for mine seven years ago and this is the first one I have seen since.)

Alexander the Great, 336-323, lifetime obol.
Very small at 10 mm and 0.64 grams.
Price 3606 minted at Babylon
Sear Greek 6736
The usual tetradrachm design very much reduced to fit on a 10 mm obol!
[$89 SOLD]

Rare emperor and rare, historical, architectural type
Hostilian, 251, younger son of Trajan Decius and Herennia Etruscilla.
Large at 23 mm and 4.05 grams.
From the scarce Antioch mint with an interesting obvese legend
C OVAL OSTIL MES COINTIS CAESAR
in which "Hostilian" is without the "H" (it is close to silent) and the rest of his name is abbreivated: Gaius Valens Hostilianus Mesius Quintis
(Note the coin's eastern-mint spelling of Quintus.)
SAECVLVM NOVVM
"new age", a type of Philip who issued it to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of Rome. The six-column temple is apparently that of Roma and Roma is seated within.
Die break at hairline. Single dot (for the first officina) below the bust.
RIC Trajan Decius 199b, for Hostilian. Coins of Hostilian are scarcer from the Antioch mint, and I like the interesting legend a lot! [$225 SOLD]

Lead tessera, uniface.
15 mm.
Centaur standing right
Possibly from Roman Egypt.
See this webpage (not mine) about lead tokens from Egypt:
http://www.coinsofromanegypt.org/html/library/milne/milne_tokens.htm
Bought in 1997 from Dan Clark of Clark's Ancient Coins for $21.
Here [$25 SOLD]

Medieval Hungary, Bela II, 1131-1141
Tiny! Silver. 11 mm. 0.42 grams.
The denomination is called a "denar"" It is sometimes called a "penny."
Ouline of facing head, around
REX bELA in crude lettering
Reverse cross in circles.
Huszar 50. Rethy-Prohszt 59. Grierson CME 224, page 100.
Sharp. Good silver. Perfect centering. [$39 SOLD]
ex Frank Robinson auction 3/11/2008 lot 339B

Medieval Hungary. Anonymous. 12th C. 1141-1161
Tiny! Silver 12 mm. 0.33 grams.
The denomination is called a "denar"" It is sometimes called a "penny."
Cross and crescents/cross in circles
Huszar 92. Rethy-Probszt 88, plate V group V p. 57, between 1141 and 1161.
Small, well-struck, and cute. [$27]

Medieval Hungary. Stephan II. 1114-1131
Tiny! Silver. 11 mm. 0.33 grams.
The denomination is called a "denar"" It is sometimes called a "penny."
Rethy-Probszt 66, plate V, Stephan II 1114-1131
Excellent centering on a small silver coin [$27]

Medieval Hungary. Anonymous.
Tiny! 13 mm. Silver. 0.33 grams.
The denomination is called a "denar"" It is sometimes called a "penny."
Time of Beles III, Emmerichs, and Andreas II" c. 1173-1235
according to Rethy-Probszt X-146 group D, plate IX page 64 and page 62.
Wonderful multiple crosses. Very well struck and centered. Rare. Have you ever seen a coin with this many crosses? [$79]

Valentinian III, 425-455
AE2. 22-21 mm. 5.51 grams. Large for the 5th century.
DN VALE -- ANVS P EA
CONCOR A PF ACV (both legends blundered, as always, and backwards Ns, as usual)
CONS in exergue
RIC X 461 "R4" page 276. Struck "?437"
Esty Type 75. Cherson type ES2.
Sear V 21302
Very rare. Very rarely in nicer shape than this one.
One on vcoins as I write, not as nice, at $750.
[$575, reduced to $549]

Pamphlyia, Aspendos
465-430 BC
(Later the city has the well-known Slinger and wrestlers type)
Thick silver 20-19 mm. 10.95 grams.

Hoplite warrior right holding spear horizontal and shield in left, turtle between legs
Triskeles (three human legs running)
lion standing left behind lower leg [What an interesting type!]
EΣT (an abbreviation in Pamphylian script of the city name) all well-centered in an incuse square
A very old dumpy thick archaic coin! [$355, reduced to $325]

Crusader
Roger of Salerno, Prince of Antioch, 1112-1119
23 mm.
St. George, spearing snake-like dragon (not really visible)

ROTSEP (i.e. ROGER)
PIΓKΠ (Prince)
CANT (Antioch)

Schlumberger II.12
CCS Antioch 9
Metcalf CCLE 95, plate 6, page 25 type 9, the third type of Roger.
[$75, reduced to $45]

RPC II 986 plate 43 (Their photo is of a smaller coin, only 14 mm, and equal on the obverse but slightly worse on the reverse, so this is a very good one "for type")
Her imperial coins are extremely rare, so this rare lady is usually found on a provincial coin.
[$119, reduced to $109]

core of a fourree denarius, with all the silver plate gone.
Prototype, L. Torquatus, 113-112 BC
18-17 mm. 2.54 grams
Roma
horseman charging left with big circular shield
Sear 172. Crawford 295/1.
Unusual. Ex Baldwin's in London, March 9, 1988 (no ticket)
[$16, reduced to $14]

Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD)

North Black Sea area
Phanagoria in the name of Agrippia, 14-12 BC
Honorific name for the city adopted 14-12 BC because Agrippa under Augustus intervened in support of Polemo I.
late 1st C. BC.
21 mm. 5.79 grams.
Veiled female head right (Aphrodite Aptura, according to MacDonald)
AΓPIΠ-ΠEΩN prow left
H (H indicates value 8)
MacDonald 275/1 (is slightly worse). RPC I 1935 (is equal quality).
[$95] Very nice quality. The published coins I found are not better.
Not an imperial portrait, but issued in the time of Augustus.

Tiberius

Kingdom of the Bosporus
(Northern Black Sea area)
Aspurgus/Tiberius c. 35-37 AD
Aspurgus right
Bust of Tiberius right, TIBEPIΩY KAΣIAPOΣ legible
22 mm. 9.75 grams.
MacDonald Bosporus 300
[$169]

Claudius/Agrippina Jr.

Kingdom of the Bosporus
(Northern Black Sea area)
Under Kotys I, 45-63 AD.
22 mm. 5.96 grams.
TI KLAVΔIOY CEBACTOY KAICAPOC
Βust of Claudius right
IOVIAN AΓPIΠΠIAN CEBCTHN
Bust of Agrippina II left, monogram before neck
MacDonald 327 (photo has shorter obv. legend variety, quality about the same)
Anokhin 349 (worse)
Stancomb 970 (worse)
Smoothed and tooled. (Look on acsearch and you will see almost all are smoothed and tooled) There are not any on vcoins.
Rare and two imperial portraits. [$149]

Claudius, 41-54

Claudius, 41-54 AD.
Roman Alexandria.
26-25 mm.
Good portrait/eagle
[$95, reduced to $69]

Nero (54-68)

Vespasian (69-79)

[SOLD]

Titus (79-81)

[SOLD]

Second Century

Trajan (98-117)

Hadrian (117-138)

[SOLD]

Antoninus Pius (138-161)

[SOLD]

Commodus (177-193)

[$59, reduced to $49] Septimius Severus (on right) and Caracalla (on left) at Beruit (Berytus). Two heads!
AE23-22, 8.16 grams. SGI city and obverse of 2301, different reverse.
Poseidon (Neptune) holds dolphin and trident. BER to right.
L&K 2264. BMC Berytus 130. SNG Copenhagen Phoenicia 107. [$59, reduced to $39]
ex Joel Malter XXXIV lot 587 Decem

Struck at Heliopolis, Coele-Syria
25-23 mm, thick, 11.70 grams.
agnostic urn on table with ornamental legs
COL HEL
Sear Greek Imperial --
L&K --, Lindgren III 1283variety (legend), Weber --, McClean 9440 variety, BMC Syria --
SNG Copenhagen Syria -- (439 has urn with no table, SNG Righetti --
[$65, reduced to $45] Ex Colosseum Coin Exchange, list of April 1988, lot 106, with ticket.

Rare Valerian at Flaviopolis, Cilicia. 253-260 AD. AE27-26. 11.99 grams. bust right/bust of Zeus right (not the usual Serapis w. slightly larger flan). Sear GI --, SNG France --, SNG Cop--, SNG von Aulock --, Lindgren & Kovacs --, L III --, SNG Righetti 1558, very similar. Note how few collections have this type. Rare [$35, reduced to $29] (This reverse type is sometimes on Maximinus I.)

[$95, reduced to $69] Gallienus, 30 mm.
Struck at Side in Pamphylia
E countermark over the original "IA" at the neck.
E = 5 assaria. Howgego Countermark 805
Sear Greek Imperial --,
von Aulock -- cf, plate 158, volume II for Valerian
L&K 1174 for obverse
SNG Copenhagen VI Pamphlia -- Supplement 523
Weber III --, SNG Righetti 1309 variety
ex Cederlind at $100, his #345 (list date uncertain, maybe 1990s?)
[$75, reduced to $65]

Aurelian usually comes as a radiate, either pre-reform or post reform. He also comes as a scarcer "denarius"--however almost always VICTORIA AVG. Far rarer, offered less than once a year, I think, is this PROVIDEN AVG denarius type.
None on vcoins. None at MA-Shops.
Roma had one, not better, in e-sale 27 for $143 including fees + shipping. CNG had one in 2010 for $185 + 12% + shipping. Elsen had one in 2011 for $207 + fees + shipping.
IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG laureate bust right
PROVIDEN AVG
Providentia standing left holding wand over globe.
RIC 68 very rare type of an unusual denomination. You have seen his "Victory" reverse denarius, but likely not this type [$95]

Probus, 276-282
22-20 mm.
PAX AVG
RIC 706 Siscia. Sear III 12000 [$44] ex Berk in 1994

Probus, 276-282
CONCORDIA AVG
XXI in exergue and VII in the right field
RIC Siscia 661
Sear Roman Coins 11966
[$45]

Probus, 276-282
Antoninianus. 21-20 mm.
Probus in consular robes left, hlding eagle-tipped scepter.
VIRTVS AVGVSTI
RIC 234
Sear Roman Coins 12063
Struck 277-8 (The robes indicate it was a year he was Consul)
Beautiful detail in the robes. [$69]

Tacitus