[Home, My eBay, Site Map, Sign In/Out] [eBay logo] [Main Navigation] [Browse Sub-Navigation] ORC2545 "Bonosus" Sayles plate coin, gVF Item # 1293072574 Coins:Coins: World:Ancient:Roman: Imperial Bidding is closed for this item. Checkout Details Checkout Instructions & Return Policy Item price $6,000.00 PAYMENT INFORMATION FOR THIS ITEM: U.S. Shipping http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/oldromancoins.com and Handling $0.00 Shipping Insurance per - item Sales Tax (none) [Image] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Spacer] [Show description]Currently $6,000.00 First $6,000.00 Buy It Now for bid [Leave feedback] $6,750.00 (to seller) This option disappears once a bid is placed. Quantity 1 # of 0 bid history bids Time left Auction has ended. LocationNew England Country USA Started Nov-03-01 13:38:28 PST Ends Nov-13-01 13:38:28 PST Featured Plus! Auction [Image] Seller (Rating) oldromancoins.com (1414) [star] [about me] view comments in seller's Feedback Profile | view seller's other auctions | [Image] High bid -- [Image] Payment Money Order/Cashiers Checks. Personal Checks. Visa/MasterCard. Discover. Other. See item description for payment methods accepted Shipping Seller pays for shipping. Seller ships internationally (worldwide). See item description for shipping charges. [Image] Seller Services Relist this item Seller assumes all responsibility for listing this item. You should contact the seller to resolve any questions before bidding. Auction currency is U.S. dollars ( $ ) unless otherwise noted. Description Classical Cash and [Image] present -- our 125th weekly eBay Sale! [Image] [Image] ORC2545 "Bonosus" Sayles plate coin gVF "Quintus Bonosus" c. 280 AD, billon antoninianus, (3.60g) [M C] BONOS AVI (?) Radiate and draped, bearded bust right. / IOVL X AIVN Emperor, holding transverse spear, standing facing, head right. RIC- (but see p. 592, note, and plate xx, #15-16); Wayne Sayles, Ancient Coin Collecting III, p. 107 (this coin illustrated); another similar piece with this reverse Hess/Leu 41 (1969). Good VF / VF, crude blundered legends, toned billon, a bit silvery at the worn high points. Ex-Rhode Island collection, purchased 12/96 at $4000 Ex-Stack's 12/96 #812 (as a "barbarous radiate Æ antoninianus represented to the consignor as Bononus (sic) an ephemeral imperial figure," Nice VF, estimated $150-200, sold $1650. Ex-Athena Fund, Merrill Lynch Ex-NFA XX, #440 (as Bonosus, VF+, estimated at $8-10,000, unsold) Ex-Myers-Adams 4/7/74 #471 (as Bonosus, VF, sold for $3300) The change in attribution and estimates in the last 27 years is unusual, but so is the coin which is, "As Bonosus as they come." A very controversial piece, formerly called Bonosus, which is called by many modern experts a barbarous radiate, probably because of the crude style for the date assigned to Bonosus. However the legends and portrait are reasonably clear, distinctive, and quite different from the usual Claudius II, Tetricus I and II, or other emperors less frequently appearing on barbarous radiates. The portrait is the same portrait as those coins assigned to Bonosus by RIC (plate 20, 15-16) The reverse is unpublished, but a similar coin with this reverse, and called "unikum" sold in Hess/Leu 41 (1969) for 8,500 S Fr. Quintus Bonosus was a general of British ancestry who usurped the purple in Cologne during the reign of Probus. He was defeated after a severe struggle. NFA XX #441, a prior listing of this coin, notes, "The somewhat imperfect historical record of the time records that about the year 280 two generals, Proculus and Bonosus, rebelled against Probus. Apparently, they feared the emperor's wrath for having failed to deal effectively with a German invasion across the Rhine. Probus marched against the rebels and defeated them in separate engagements. Proculus is not known to have left behind any numismatic record, but a small number of crudely produced antoninianii appear to be attributable to Bonosus. These closely resemble the "barbarous radiates" of the period of the Gallic empire, though a little thicker and heavier than most of these issues. The present specimen also exhibits traces of original silvering." An important article on this coinage appeared in Festschrift für Peter Berghaus zum 60. Geburtstag am 20. 1981. D. Salzman wrote an article entitled, "Die Münzpragung des Bonosus - eine moderne Fiktion" In it he illustrates a number of tooled and fake coins called Bonosus. He writes that they are actually barbarous radiates or altered from coins of other rulers. The Hess/Leu 1969 specimen is #10 in his article. Coins of the usurper Valens have faced a similar challenge, earlier in the century. "The coins of Valens so closely resemble those of Licinius and Constantine that their authenticity has been questioned. Perhaps coins of Valens are altered coins of Licinius I (Rass. Num. 1935, p384.) Current thinking is that the Valens coins are genuine but rare. This shows that a study of tooled and altered coins cannot eliminate the possibility of a genuine coin. RIC VII p. 699 notes, (NC 1958, pp. 56f) which notes an example which is not recut from a coin of Licinius, disproving Rass. Num. 1935. Writing in 1997 Wayne Sayles summarizes, "The coins attributed to him are highly controversial, very rare, and resemble the barbarous radiates of the period - poorly struck and of very poor design." Writing in 2000 David Vagi writes, "The double-denarii attributed to Bonosus are now generally dismissed as altered or mis-described "barbarous radiates." However, the case for Proculus - whose coinage was unknown until very recently - is perhaps stronger. His coinage seems to be represented by a single specimen which many authorities accept as genuine: a silver-washed double-denarius of a crude style reminiscent of the later products of the Romano-Gallic Empire." The unique Proculus coin, also a coin of controversy, sold in an Aufhauser sale in 1991. The style, lettering, and flan of the Proculus photograph seem similar to this coin. If there are coins of Bonosus, this seems likely to be one. Do you believe in Bonosus? This lot includes copies of the Salzman article, the NFA listing, the Myers-Adams listing, and the Aufhauser listing of Proculus. before you bid, if you have a question about this item. to see ALL the items in this sale and how to pay if you win ------------------------------------------------------------------------ On Nov-03-01 at 14:12:35 PST, seller added the following information: I'm a trusted ReliableMerchants member -- click and find out why! 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