Hi Jereme,

I assume the other ID help request which came in at about the same time as yours
was one of your classmates, one who did not give me a name. Both of your coins
seem to have obverses on which the portrait is radiate, so I'll try to answer
them together since a lot of the same information applies to both.
Unfortunately, both of you also neglected to give us many of the most simple
things the request form asks you for.

The "metrics" of a coin are more important than you might think, and since it
takes no special knowledge or equipment to describe what the metal seems to be
(bronze? brass? silver? gold?) - you don't have to be "correct", but knowing
what general color the metal is may be a big help. It also only takes a second
to record this, as does measuring the diameter of the coin - you don't have to
have fancy calipers. Do you have a ruler with millimeter divisions on it
somewhere in your classroom?

Well, at any rate, I can make a few assumptions from the fact that both of your
coins have radiate busts. The chances are very good that you both have what's
known to us as an "Antoninianus" (from "Antoninus Pius", a formal name of
Caracalla, who introduced the denomination around 215 AD) This was the
"workhorse" denomination of the 3rd century, and virtually the only circulating
coin towards the century's end at the time when Diocletian reformed the coinage.
The other likely possibility is a denomination we call a "post-reform radiate".
Introduced as a part of Diocletian's reform, these look almost identical to the
last of the antoniiniani, but were fractions of a new major coin, which we call
a "follis".

This is where it becomes a little more complicated, however, because although
the post-reform radiates used only a small handful of reverse types, the
Antoniniani of the 3rd century could have any one of literally hundreds of
different reverse types. I can't think, offhand, of any reverse types for
either Antoniniani or post-reform radiates which might resemble a "3-leaf
clover". A single standing figure of "a soldier with a sword and his abs
showing" could be any one of dozens of gods or allegorical personifications who
might appear on an Antoninianus.

So, what we're faced with here, is 2 coins of which we have no images, no
measurements, no known alloy of metal, not one letter recorded of the obverse or
reverse legend of either one - and I'm afraid that unless you are able to
provide a bit more information than you have so far, what I've already told you
is about all I can say, given the bits of description you have provided.

The advice I'd give you at this point would be this: The legends are absolutely
the MOST important source of information for identifying coins - study carefully
what's written on them, even partial legends or a letter or two in the right
place can make all the difference between a positive ID and a piece which
remains unidentified. The letter-forms may seem foreign to you, but I guarantee
that all the letters you will find on Roman coins are the same as our capital
letters - the Latin alphabet was almost identical to ours, with a couple fewer
letters. There should be no character you will be unable to recognize if you
try.
Photography is a great tool for sharing information about coins - if you don't
have access to a digital camera which is able to take close-ups, you probably do
have access to a scanner, right? - at home or at school?

Always share whatever information you ARE able to record - measure the diameter
- if you have access to an accurate scale, it may help to know the weight, etc.

You need to go back and give your coins a bit more attention. Good luck, and
let me know how you make out - with a little more information, I feel sure we'll
be able to identify your coins.

Mark


----- Original Message -----
From: ace.id.help@...
To: ace.id.help@...
Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2009 5:45 PM
Subject: [ACE] Coin ID Help





A_name: jereme l
B_school:
D_Metal: other/not sure
E_Diameter:
F_Weight:
G_Bust_Facing: Right
H_facing_comments:
I_headgear: Radiate crown
J_head:
K_Bust_Type: Head and shoulders (undraped)
L_Bust:
M_other_obv_items:
N_obv_inscrip_:
O_obv_feild:
P_obv_comments:
Q_rev_inscr:
R_rev_scene: single standing figure
S_rev_fig_facing: right
Submit: Submit
T_rev_detail_desc: a man with a sword with half a shirt with like a skirt
thing. shows the abs of the soldier.
U_rev_above:
V_rev_l_field:
W_rev_r_field:
X_rev_b_scene:
Y_exergue:
Z_message:
a_image_url:

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