Mysterious Countermark on an Enigmatic Undertype

439, Lot: 267. Estimate $300. Sold for $200. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

UNCERTAIN EAST. Æ (30mm, 9.29 g). Countermark applied 1st century AD. [Π]ΔT around ncertain object (harpa?) in an oval countermark on an uncertain Julio-Claudian period imitation. Howgego 500. Host Near Fine, c/m VF, green patina. Unusual.

From the Richard Baker Collection.

Howgego is unable to fully explain the types and legends of this countermark, suggesting that the legend may be a date in an uncertain era, and the type may be a trophy or the birth of Malakbel from a cypress tree. The undertype also defies explanation. It appears to be double struck, with partial legends in both Latin and Greek. The eight specimens recorded by Howgego are all on Tiberian dupondii from Commagene.