Limes

2 hours ago, Ancient Coin Hunter said:

I've been poking around looking for a Caesar Elephant coin and they seem to have a bevy available on Ebay. About $975 for a G/VG coin and $1250 or so for a F/F+ example. VF ones seem to be to be over $2000. I am wary of fakes. Any advice on where to procure one of these outside of Ebay? I'm looking to perhaps pull the trigger by July, appropriately enough (the month named after the Dictator-for-life). I am down to three needed for a complete set of Suetonius' 12 Caesars needing only Otho and Vitellius after Julius.

Suggestion (from personal perspective too): try to aim for one where the 'CAESAR' is legible. Furthermore, I agree with the advice of @Ursus, for what its worth. 

Good luck hunting! 

I can't handle this much beauty!

Feeling shame? No. Feeling ashmed? To whom? Nobody in my surrounding cares 😁

1 hour ago, DonnaML said:

I remember being utterly fascinated by the idea of holding something 1,500 years old in my hands.

I think this is import to realise, no matter how terrible the state of preservation of a coin is. All coins have value, are interesting, tell a story, simply because they are thousands of years old and part of human history. The only question relevant is: what quality is acceptable to you, as a collector (including budgetory reasons). 

I think this is just one example of a coin in my collection of 'poorer' quality. But unless I win the lottery, I will not depart from it, and I really love it. 

I must say I sold quite a few coins. I didnt feel like they were fitting in the collection for some reason. I used the money to buy other coins. But 'shame' does not apply to the coins I've sold. 

2 hours ago, AncientJoe said:

Phil's price wasn't far off when counting the BP and exchange rate (~$1.3M all in). It's quite a record but pretty justifiable in my eyes, especially considering what some ugly examples have sold for recently. 

The bidding was also strategic, with the underbidder trying a cut and the internet bidder completing the cut. That means the support level is within ~25K CHF of the final bid, a strategic move. The underbidder was probably pushed away by the psychological level of 1M CHF even though it would have been a comparatively small jump.

I'd hate to think what the Garrett coin (1888 pedigree and stronger detail) would sell for if it were to come around... in the meantime, I'm happy with mine even if it isn't an "old world" pedigree (but still pre-2011 for what that's worth).

Interesting to see the bidding action indeed. Wondering about that online bidder though, my guess is its a dealer,  but thats just a guess. 

Your example is fantastic, I remember you posting the photos.

The EID MAR issue is an iconic type. In one of his podcasts, Aaron Berk talked about he type getting ever more expensive. I think with the inflow of new collectors since corona pandemic thats not surprising. Where's the limit? Its as much as someone is willing to pay. 

Im not familiar with that Garrett issue though. Ill try to look it up. 

4 hours ago, Phil Davis said:

I think it may need 1.5 mill.

Ended up selling for 950.000 CHF. A "bargain"? 

Thanks for streaming. No fear of pressing the wrong button here though, my  biddr limit wont suffice 🙂

About the mortgage story reg the Agrippina, see: https://coinweek.com/roman-coin-profile-sestertius-of-agrippina-senior/  Sold for 200k CHF.

On 5/8/2024 at 8:06 AM, Jabes said:

Congrats Phil and Joe, those are some beautiful coins. I wonder what the other eight coins are Phil? My main miss was the 20 asses, a stunning coin but it went beyond my budget.
On the bright side, and to my surprise, I ended the day with exactly what I wanted going in.

 https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378142

 https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378262 

 https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378322

(This also marks my first posting on this forum. Newbie here 🙂)

Great wins! And welcome to the forum 🙂

Thats a fantastic coin @CPK! Left facing, the typical Galba portrait and his name is fully legible. Well done! 

Here is my first Galba denarius. I still really like this coin with it's action packed reverse and great Galba portrait (even though its also not a coin worthy of the Dioscuri collection 😁)

By the way, I'm also very interested to see how the EID MAR will do. Will it fetch more than one million CHF? 

23 hours ago, Coinmaster said:

The auction prices were truly absurd, often ranging from 3 to 10 times the regular market value in my opinion. The auction room seemed to be filled with millionaires, bidding against each other with gusto, which was bizarre.

Don't think absurd though. Clearly, many of the coins were the best of the best out there. And with coins (and provenances) like that and offered by NAC, they will fetch high prices. You dont have to be a millionaire to participate, some Severans went for 100+ something CHF only. But I'm happy, and do hope, that millionairs spend their money at NAC, or the NY sales in January, and not at some random e-sale 😁

And congratulations to all the winners! Fantastic coins. 

Thanks everyone for replying. The number of messages and replies is absolutely heartwarming, I didn't expect that many replies! Some good ideas too! I'll see if I can follow up on that. And thanks @Kaleun96 for the discord channel. I'll check that out. 

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for someone or maybe a group of people, to deliberate potential coin purchases with in upcoming "lower-end" auctions. I'll explain myself. 

I've always collected Romans on a somewhat tight budget and my coin purchases/year are on the low side in comparison to other members (10 to 12 / year). This year the budget is even tighter. So far I've never disussed my targets and how to go for them, with others on this board or on CT, public nor private, and don't have other collectors in my own surroundings. However, I've noticed that I would like to talk with people about upcoming auctions, my targets, my chances and how to spend the budget wisely. I'm not looking for a dealer, but a private individual or individuals to have a nice talk with about these matters, which also means it would go both ways :-) And to be clear: I'm looking at Romans in general, and mainly at e auctions, and definitely not the high end stuff. 

I realise that there are some difficulties, for example what if me and the other person are interested in the same coin. And I don't know how to deal with such a case, or something similar. But certain agreements can of course be made I think. 

I do believe however that such interaction is enriching for my hobby experience. So, my question: is someone interested, and willing to start conversations? Please let me know. A PM is much appreciated! Thanks. 

Addition: 

Out of curiosity, I've been looking at some fakes posted on FAC and comparing them with offerings, via aCSearch. I've noticed two reverse dies. One where the 'p' in Agrippina is with an 'open' round p, and one where the round is closed: 

Open: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/displayimage.php?pid=925 Also notice the 'v' in Drvsilla. 

Closed and open together: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/displayimage.php?pid=4136 

Now see this listing at a German auction house, which was withdrawn: https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?lot=3880&p=lot&sid=7286 The reverse looks very much like the coin you posted in the OP. Notice the reverse open 'p' and the 'v' in Drvsilla. These parts of the reverse die also appear on the fakes on FAC, with the 'open p'. 

About the coin withdrawn by the German auctioneer; also notice the obverse. E.g. how the 'R' in GERMANICVS runs into the hair. And the nose of caligula is very comparable. 

I think they could be a match. So that could perhaps mean the OP coin is a fake? It would deserve some additional comparison. But I would be quite nervous as the owner of this coin. 

Weight peaks according to RIC for the sestertii of Caligula are 28.25 - 27.25 gr. Of course, other factors are relevant too and its difficult to determine its a fake from just weight in my opinion. There appears to be some corrosion / pitting on the coin you show, which could explain the lesser weight. Maybe it had some active corrosion going on, that was removed and the coins was repatinated. Surely the latest seller / auctioneer would not mention that, they never do unfortunately. And they do list a fake coin every now and then. It was previously sold by Vico, in 2020, for half what it sold (?) for in the recent auction. Unfortunately, there's no weight mentioned in that listing, nor any other details about the coin. 

Talking about weight, here's my sestertius of Gaius. It weighs a mere 20.55 gr. Way off. But you can see that the surface is heavily veiled. And not showing on this photo, so are the sides. It's smaller, and thus lighter, than all other issues I've looked at. A fake? I don't think so, maybe someone tried to turn it into a strange piece of juwelry, or a curiosity piece. 

fantastic coins @DonnaML. I believe you have shown the one below before, but I can't find it. Would you be so kind to give some addition info? It's a fantastic coin! 

On 5/3/2024 at 1:41 AM, DonnaML said:

Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., Auction XX, 29 Oct. 2020, Lot 384.

On topic; I avoided Roma somewhat after Brexit because of import taxes. I look back at Roma with pleasure. I got some really nice coins from them. And my Athens tet! I will miss the lovely provenances, such as 'from the inventory of a UK dealer' 🤣 

I'm not feeling sorry for mr. Beale, for what its worth. Play with fire... etc. And his actions did not do the hobby any good, that's certain. I think it's hard to predict what his case will do to the hobby / profession on the long run. Seeing the current state of the market, I absolutely see nothing to believe that the hobby is suffering from it at the moment. Just looking at the listings on e.g. biddr, lots of sellers are active and prices do not go down it seems. I do hope the staff of Roma ends up well, but reading that they're already switching to other offices is a good thing. 

Anyway, the coins:

9 hours ago, Prieure de Sion said:

Today i am little shocked too... 😉 

Make a biddr checkout from a yesterday auction.

 

 

From EU Belgium to EU Germany - 15 Euro for a registered letter? I know registered letter will cost around 8 Euro. Thats a nice winning. 

But 30 Euro for a registered letter with insurance. I know the insurance prices of the market - let me calculate, 8 Euro for the letter and 22 Euro for the insurance of a 500 Euro coin? Normally 99% of the Insurance company`s will take 1% fee of the invoice amount. For a 500 Euro coin = 5 Euro insurance fees. Nice winning.

50 Euro FedEx include insurance. Same. 

Some companies seem to have found a second way to make money. Don't get me wrong - I'm a salesman myself. But if you have earned money from the goods and again from the sales fees. Ok - I understand. But if you now want to earn money from the goods, the sales fees and the shipping. I don't think that's good.

What company is it? It will go on my blacklist. 

I always try to find shopping costs in the terms of a seller. Its very annoying if its not clearly mentioned. 

Thanks for the interesting post @Roman Collector! I have the same type as @Marsyas Mike:

And here's an appropriate song:

2 hours ago, Roman Collector said:

That's certainly more generous than what Seth Stevenson had to say about it in A Dictionary of Roman Coins, Republican and Imperial.

 

Well, as we say here, "daar is geen woord Frans bij" 🙂

Thanks for sharing, did not know about this statement. I would not use the same qualifications of Claudius, but yes, I dont think he was the Superman amongst Emperors! 

Nice addition David. The tradition in the imperial era is also shown on this issue of Claudius. Perhaps for saving the citizens from Caligula? 

On 4/25/2024 at 5:25 PM, kirispupis said:

Although I mostly focus on Greek coins, I'll occasionally pick up Romans and my general goal is to obtain one coin from each emperor in a sort of Pokémon craze. Because I focus mainly on affordable coins in this space, I'm missing quite a few. However, one emperor that has been at the top of my list has been Nero, primarily because we share the same birthday.

Because of that, I'd been planning to make a "big splash" by purchasing an extremely nice coin, but this one came up recently at auction and I rather liked it.

Nero 54-68 CE
Denarius Lugdunum 56-57 CE
AR 19.00mm, 3.67 g
Bare head r.
Rev. EX SC within wreath C 207
RIC 12

 

What drove me to this coin was that it was minted during the early part of Nero's reign, which was considered quite good. He's depicted young here, before he became the fat monster that made him infamous. I also like that his name is very prominent.

The funny thing is I wasn't even watching this coin at the auction, but I was targeting two rare Greek coins and two Koinon of Macedons. When I lost out on my top two targets but picked up the two others at minimum bid, I decided to aim for some "anti-snacks" and bid on three Roman coins with the aim of winning one to make the shipping worth it - only I wound up with all three (the others were Drusus son of Tiberius and Clodius Albinus).

So, even though it's nowhere near as impressive as many Nero coins, I'm very happy with my pickup and I can now cross off the top Roman target from my list.

Feel free to show your Nero examples!

Nice first Nero issue, since mostly available in silver are the Salus reverse types. For your first nero issue, you certainly got a very interesting type!

My first issue was this AE As. 

My latest issue is this one, with Nero. as Apolle, playing the lyre. Never a dull moment with Nero... 

Nice looking upgrade, @Sulla80. The price of these 'tribute penny' issues seem to be ever on the rise. It's quite hard to find e reasonably priced type in acceptable quality. The portrait style of your old issue is very appealing by the way. And, interestingly, my kids have a (somewhat forced) remarkable partiality towards the cucumber too. (Melon not so much.) It's a good replacement for candy 🙂

Anyway, here's an upgrade in my collection: 

@panzerman That pie looks very tasty 🙂

@DonnaML The one I bought is this one https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Holders-Countertop-Pedestal-Collectibles/dp/B01575VTE8?th=1 

I put in 'multi level transparant display stand plastic' in google, and then searched for a specimen with the right measurements. They also use names like 'make up stand' or 'cupcake stands'. You can try those words too. (I swear, I wasnt looking for a display stand for my cupcakes...!) 

@lordmarcovan Your cat looks very relaxed. I like how they always end up in funny spaces. Well, decided to show a photo of one of our cats, chilling, while the youngest is playing with her dolls. I hope the cat isnt pondering about the possibilities to mess up my coin display! 

Had some fun re-arranging my private coin museum. Decided to put several imperatorial and Imperial denarii together on the transparant stand. Looks pretty good in my opinion.

The 12 C's and some friends placed together:

I have some cats sleeping somewhere as well. But the internet is already filled with cats. No crocodiles walking around though. 

7 hours ago, ela126 said:

 

I picked this one up a few days ago from Marc B.. my first Leo 3. Looking at a few other examples, while the strike leaves a bit to be desired, the size of the flan is huge for the type, it’s a wafer thin example, kind of amazing it survived unbent and undamaged.

I used Marc’s write up here:

Attribution: Sear Byzantine 1530 Syracuse mint
Date: AD 721-730
Obverse: Facing bust of Leo, holding globus cruciger
Reverse: Facing bust of Constantine V, holding globus cruciger; large M below
Size: 26.17mm
Weight: 2.99 grams
Rarity:  6
Description: VF. ex Bill Rosenblum with his tag priced at $150.
 

Besides the coin, I also like your rarity bar 🙂 Did you create it yourself? How does it work / do you use it; from a scale of 1 - 10? 

Fantastic portrait!

Two of my favorite portraits of Domitian, and both within the time period you mentioned David 🙂