Coin Information: Tantalus S/N 26912
Click coin images to view at maximum resolution.
Image Rights: Copyrighted by User = Free to Reproduce with Copyright Holder Acknowledgement
Image Rights: Copyrighted by User = Free to Reproduce with Copyright Holder Acknowledgement
| This item has been viewed 833 times. | |||||
| Coin type: | Roman Imperial | ||||
| Entered by: | rasiel (Seller rating: 5.0 out of 5, based on 16 buyer responses) | ||||
| Added on: | Sep 3, 2007 | ||||
| Ruler: | Quintillus (Augustus) | ||||
| Coin: | AE Antoninianus IMPCMAVRCLQVINTILLVSAVG - Radiate, draped bust right. VIRTVSAVG - Virtus standing left, resting hand on shield and holding spear | ||||
| Exergue: |
| ||||
| Mint: | Rome (270) | ||||
| Wt./Size/Axis: | 2.76g / - / - | ||||
| References: |
| ||||
| Acquisition/Sale: | Incitatus Coins 8/17/02 | ||||
| For Sale: | This coin is for sale. ($150.00) About this seller | ||||
| Notes: | Sep 3, 07 - Claudius II, beloved general and emperor of the Romans, succumbs to the plague without leaving an heir. Carpetbagger brother Quintillus, more a froufrou noble than a man of the people, tells the Senate it is his duty to take over the reins of government. But the armies weren't consulted. And they didn't have much stomach for aristocrat sissies either. So Aurelian, a man's man and the epitome of a battle-hardened soldier, steps forward to contest Quintillus' self-promotion.
As Aurelian heads from the battlefield to Rome at the head of his army Quintillus shrinks and cowers in fear, counting off the days til the war hero arrives to depose him. The stress got to him and within a couple months of his having taken the robes of emperor he decides to end it all very romantically by taking a dagger to his veins. Quintillus leaves behind a scant numismatic record due to his short stay at the top but his coins are not outright rare. Two or three months is enough during this age to ensure millions of coins bearing his name and portrait go into circulation a few tens of thousands of which still survive to this day. As far as technical condition this here is about as good as it gets. The holy grail of a latter-day Ant is to come across a specimen with full silvering; that oh-so-thin silver wash which easily wore off once the coin started changing hands or had the misfortune to come into direct contact with the ground. This one's coat is mostly intact thoughout the surface but has thinned to the point that the coppery heart is asserting its essential Darkness over the silvery Whiteness. The coin also suffers from having been hammered with warped dies. As a result most of Virtus on the reverse has a gouged-out appearance and the detail is also missing from the back half of Quintillus' head. For some reason this is a commonly seen effect during this period. See here for a similarly afflicted coin. | ||||
|
| |||||
| Comments: |
[+ Post Your Own ] No comments have been posted for this coin. |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
