Limes

No, I did not join the party. Leu seems to attract bidders with deep pockets, maybe too deep. Although some prices realised are fair, and even some coins can be had for a friendly price, the large bulk of the prices are ridiculous if I compare them to other sold or offered items elsewhere. It seems to be going like this since covid and earlier Leu auctions were better from a buyers perspective. But I have no data to confirm this, its a mere feeling. 

Another problem for me at least, but this also goes for other auction houses, are the rising fees, shipping fees and customs fees. Latter is the case with Swiss (and Britain since brexit too) but also because buyers need.to pay customs clearance costs (?) over all packages, always, and it has become a lot stricter. 

So, all these fees eat a larger and larger.portion of my budget. So i have to chose more careful when I buy a coin from a non-EU country, and do so on fewer and fewer occasions. 

In no way is this a complaint, it's a fact and I know it comes with this hobby. Its just a bid sad though, especially the rising buyers fees. And Leu has great material to offer, so that attracts bidders of course. 

I apologize if this appears as a pointless rant, not my purpose.

Dynastic issues are interesting issues, and the issues served several puproses. E.g., for emperors these coins were a way to show the start of a new dynastic era, by promoting family members or adoptive family members as emperors-to-be. Another reason to issue dynastic coins was to honor family members that passed away and giving them divine status, or to boost your own image by honoring a notable and famous ancestor. The practice was already present in the times of the Republic (e.g., Brutus honoring his ancestor), and continued in Imperial times. 

Below you mag find two issues I added to my collection this year. Please show me your dynastic issues! 

Trajan's father, M. Ulpius Traianus, came from Italica in Baetica (souther Spain)  and commanded Legio X Fretensis under Vespasian during the Jewish War. He was later granted patrician rank by the Emperor Vespasian and honoured with a consulship, probably in 70 AD. Governor of Syria for several years in the mid-70s, the highly successful public career of Trajan senior culminated with the prestigious proconsulship of Asia during the reign of Titus. His death probably occurred around 100 AD, but his deification and appearance on the Imperial coinage did not occur until late in the reign of his son, Emperor Trajan. Philip Hill argues that, similar to various other coin types of Trajan, the reverse of this coin was copied from a statue. 

The reign of Severus was unique for the production of an extensive series of coins combining the portraits of various members of the Imperial family in a variety of combinations - many of great beauty and exceptional iconographic interest. Issued mostly in the middle years of the reign, the aurei and denarii feature effigies of Severus himself, his wife Julia Domna, their sons Caracalla and Geta and Caracalla's wife Plautilla. All are rare to vary rare today. 
After the death of Septimius Severus at York, in Britain, on 4 February 211 AD, his sons Caracalla and Geta succeeded him. The joint rule would prove ill-fated however. After their fathers death, both Caracalla and Geta returned to Rome where they lived seperatly and talked about dividing the empire. Their relationship was marked by hatred and envy towards each other, but their mother, Julia Domna, exerted a great effort to mediate their differences. Her efforts would prove futile, as Caracalla on February 1, 212 AD, had Geta murdered in the arms of his mother by a deputation of centurions. Following Geta's murder, Caracalla ordered the proscription of Geta's supporters; by some accounts some 20.000 were executed. 

This coin also replaces my older Dynastic issue, shown below. It will be offered for sale soon next year. 

6 hours ago, Amarmur said:

Certain Reverses just speak the character or accomplishments for emperors like Africa for septimius Severus or the Trajan's column for Trajan. What are your "must haves" or most fitting reverses for your ancients? 

Yes, I think more than half of the coins in my collection have been added because of their reverse. I like coins which show buildings on the reverse, or refer to a specific event. 

I have a wishlist which comrpises of mainly reverse types, which is comrpised of types I will most likely never gain, to the more 'common' types of which I just have not found the right one (yet). 

Some examples of coins in my collection, I got because of the reverse:

edit: @CPKmentioned the coin of Titus, I have a specimen in my collection. It makes for a perfect stand in for a sestertius with colosseum reverse 😉

Crossed this issue of my want list a couple of weeks ago. Despite the marks on the reverse and the wear, I enjoy the details of Nero's market building.  

In his book Monumental coins, Marvin Tameanko notes that in 59 AD, Nero dedicated a new market building on the Caelian Hill, in Rome. The Macellum of Nero was designed by his court architects, Severus and Celer, two professionals who are mentioned by Tactitus as "having the genius and audacity to attempt by art what nature had refused" referring to the dome, and the Macellum of Nero indeed shows an impressive dome. Tameanko notes that the original dome might have measured 36 meters in diameter. The market building is last heard of in the 4th century. Whether or not the church of S. Stefano Rotondo was built over the remains of the Macellum of Nero is debated. 

According to Tameanko, Rome (had) possessed at least three Macellums, market buildings. The first, burned down in 210 BC and rebuilt in 179 BC, was removed to make way for the new imperial fora. Another market building, the Macellum Liviae, was built by Augustus and dedicated by Tiberius in 7 BC, and was located on the Esquiline Hill.

The two-story market building of Nero would have contained various shops for luxury goods and foods, but also would have housed service providers such as bankers, loan brokers and other commerce businessess. Historians believe the building would have been part of a larger open structure, housing various stalls, a covered portico and animal pens.
 
Philip Hill notes (p. 40) that MAC AVG stands for MACELLUM AVGVSTI, the market of Nero (ref. Mattingly). 

Wow! That's a huge haul in 2022! And all are exquisite coins as well, beautiful! They are not in your top 10, but for example your coins of Domitian, Nerva and Verus are marvellous and really stood out for me.

When it comes to your top 10, I really like the portrait of Nero, with a little bit of chin hair shown. And your tribute penny is a beautiful specimen as well. 

56 minutes ago, Al Kowsky said:

I believe the Trajan Decius double denarii also depict Dacia on the reverse holding a carnyx. I won the coin pictured below from a John Anthony auction. Trajan Decius, AD249-251. AR Double Denarius: 4.2 gm, 22 mm, 12 h. RIC IVc 12b, p. 121. 

 

I think the reverse is described as: DACIA, Dacia standing left, holding draco standard or vertical staff surmounted by ass's head. I don't have RIC, so basing it on online resources. 

Nice catch! I can image that the sound of dozens of those carnyces in the dark woods of Dacia would have been very impressive (and scary)! 

I don't have a specimen of your coin, but here's a coin with the carnyx on the reverse:

As others have noted, Commodus is an interesting figure in Roman history. One would think he is quite popular due to the successful hollywood movie in which he was the 'star' (Ironically, if only he would know, how big of a theatre he would be acting in...!). But on the other hand, his coins are overall scarcer in comparison to the other emperors of his dynasty (I always add Commodus to the nerva antonine dynasty) and of lesser quality. And maybe, the again, he's not a favorite guy in the collection, because by some he is blamed for the rapid demise of the golden age of the Roman empire (currently reading in a book by Sydenham, Historical References to coins of the Roman Empire, who states that "The weak son of Marcus was the worst possible successor to the principate and no one has yet arisen who attempted to whitewash his caracter, fouled by all that is loathsome and despicable".... Ouch!).

Nevertheless, his coinage is interesting as they are references to various events during his rule. And some of these events must have been traumatic to him, maybe even causing his behaviour to further deteriorate: the plague ravished the empire (already starting during the rule of Marcus), there were several conspiracies even by his own sister and one of his ministers almost caused a civil war due to his colossal corruption. An absolute must have in my opinion, is a coin showing him dressed as Hercules. A very interesting reference to his crazy, and last years of his reign. 

A sestertius, not in RIC, probably a hybdrid of some sort (BRIT in the legend and pax on the reverse refer to victory in Britain):

There are some gems to be found. I personally love this denarius, which, although the strike is somewhat weak, shows a splendid portrait:

Great coins, congratulations on a great coin collecting year! Always difficult to pick favorites, but no's 7 and 10 stood out for me. The scene on the reverse is not only interesting, but brutal too! You can see the legs of the bull on your coin, pointing upwards, as if it were a small puppy playing around...! And no. 10, overall quality is very nice, but the reverse scene is action packed as well, I like it! 

Amazing additions, from a historical perspective but also quality wise; all are magnificent coins. Congratulations on such a good year. To keep up with tradition, I picked 3 favorites, being the Sikyon Stater, the Ptolemy I Tetradrachm and the Seleucus Nikator Tetradrachm, although I doubted between the latter one and the drachm of Larissa. But the elephants pushed me in their direction, so ... 😉 

My favorite of the lot is your Sikyon stater (contrary to popular opinion). I'm simply drawn to the rendering of the Chimaera on the obverse. Such a beautiful design, and your specimen is of great quality, making all the lovely details visible. I also really enjoy the dove on the reverse, the feathers are beautifully engraved. I wish I will be able to add a specimen to my collection one day. 

Did you happen to find a sponsian coin? Much to do about it these days 😄

1 hour ago, Qcumbor said:

Bump to page #1

 

As a side note, I made some investigations/sleuthing and think I found out who my Secret Santa might be (without opening the inside envelope), but I will not reveal, of course 😄

 

What are the rules by the way, if one thinks one knows the identity of ones Secret Santa? Send that person a pm? Or never speak of it, and keep your secret to your grave? 😁

With an exceptional piece like that medaillon I wonder how it came to light. Was it dug up a long time ago? I have no idea. There should be more info right? I mean, if you dig up this piece, you at least go to the local press or museum? 

The earlier GM sale mentions a purchase in 1972 at munzen medaillen in Basel, Switzerland. Wonder why NAC did not mention this. 

Great selection of coins, it's been a great year for you. I have the same Hadrian denarius, and like you, I got it because of the interesting reverse. I did not vote for that one however, but went for your Caesar, which is an lovely, and also historically interesting piece! 

Shopping ended, and hopefully found a gift my recipient will enjoy! Funny thing is, that at the specific shopping venue, I missed out on my targets, but I am nevertheless pleased to score the gift I wanted for my giftee. Its part of the fun, and its interesting to go deeper into the persons coin interest and find something that matches that interest. Yes, its the first time I join the Saturnalia festivities, and happy I did! 

6 hours ago, Mucius Scaevola said:

Nice ones in here!

I only have one Galba, it's not my target normally.

 

Sestertius 26,22g or sth like this 🙃

great coin, strong portrait! Be sure to weigh it 😉

By the way, I saw a typo in my description. Since I'm not an English speaker, it's easy for me to make those mistakes. I fixed it though, who can spot it? 😄

I'm missing the celebratory-fireworks-like, as I think it would be appropriate for the birth of your son 🙂

Goes for your penny of 'Cnut' too, by the way (I wonder how one should pronounce it...). It's a lovely coin, with attractive (golden?) patina.

17 minutes ago, Roerbakmix said:

Anyway, please share the coins that were in the back of your head for a long time until you bought it!

There are a few coins that are top on my wishlist, that I've been hoping to acquire for a long time. I've missed out one a few of those this year, but mainly due to my own doing because the aureus I got earlier this years ate most of my budget away. But I was lucky to strip off a few nevertheless, one of them being a Galba with an attractive portrait "that does it for me". Ironically, I've been on the look out for a Caracalla denarius and a Hadrian sestertius for a long time. I have a very, very personal requirements; an interesting reverse, and an appealing portrait. Both the denarius and the sestertius are not rare, but finding the right one has proven difficult. In time, I will find one. 

By the way, while typing this, I found out how to pronounce the name: 'kəˈnjuː' with the 'u' as in goose. Thank you wikipedia 🙂

36 minutes ago, Severus Alexander said:

That first one on the list is a fourrée. Otherwise it would have been a truly stupendous deal!

That makes sense! 

Yours as well! And for the same reasons you mention. So, good choice, and hopefully you had a nice dinner 🙂

Thanks everyone for the replies and sharing your coins, I really appreciate it and enjoy looking at them! I'll toss in my two other coins of Galba, because.. why not? 🙂

I really like the reverse of his one, Galba on his horse fanatically rallying the troops (or, according to some description, merely saluting them)! I haven't seen this type a lot. 

Lovely set @LONGINUS! And a lot of nice coins posted in this thread, I enjoy looking at them. 

In accordance with this thread, here's two Athena style helmets on the reverse. 

This topic made me wonder though, is the lion head, a helmet, or a 'hat', or a hairdress? 

Funny thing is though, those prices are so extraordinary (for me at least...) that I dont know if those prices realised are 'doofus' (dit I type this right?) prices, normal market prices, or bargains...!

Berk in their latest podacst commented on the estimates in the NAC sales, saying the previous buyer sold them at insane prices, hence the estimates are absurd as well. I dont know if these decadrachms were from the sjeik too, but the estimates turned out okay, a bit on the low side even. 

15 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

My suggestion to keep on top of the auctions and place lowball bids isn't worth much without knowing what a lowball bid is... in my opinion an acsearch account is essential for this strategy. (I remember back when I just used CNG results and thought I knew what lowball was. Ha! 😆)  What you do is restrict your search by date and order the results by increasing hammer.  Here's what the first few entries look like going back to 2018. It's amazing that a 506/2 sold for the equivalent of 86 bucks in 2020, even if is severely worn!

Just track down to where you hit the level of quality you're looking for, and see what the lowest ones went for within the past few years. If you don't like Ed's suggestion and want to eliminate fourrées from the list, just add -(fourr* subaer* plated) to the search string.

If everyone followed this strategy prices would come down pretty fast! 🙃

The first one in this list appears to be better quality than the one I bought in 2016 and later sold via AMCC. I got mine 'cheap' as well. Ergo: it pays off to look around, there are possibilities out there, not per se slugs like mine, but somewhat better types can go for okay prices. 

Hello everyone,

My latest addition is this lovely coin of Galba. I had been looking for a coin with a decent portrait for a while and when it comes to portraits of Galba, there's the choice to be made between the funky and cartoonish provincial portraits, or a Roman mint one with the stern, elderly, imperial portrait. But when I saw this one, I was attracted to the portrait immediately. Maybe I'll ad that funky one to the collection another day... 

Anyway, the reverse is interesting as well. Here's a few words about it. After his recognition by the Senate of his imperial authority in July 68 AD, Galba struck coinage bearing the honory title 'SPQR OB S C' within an oak wreath (corona civica).  SPQR OB C S stands for awarding Galba with the corona civica by the Senate and the Roman people (SPQR) for saving the citizens (Ob Cives Servatos). Originally, the corona civica was given to a citizen who saved another citizen's life. The saved citizen was expected to testify of this.

Together with various other honours, the corona civica was given to Augustus by the Senate, for returning standards from Parthia and captured soldiers. Literally for saving citizens. But after the reign of Augustus, the title was given anyway. Although Tiberius refused the title, it was quickly picked up by Caligula, and Claudius after him. I have two more coins with the 'corona civica' reverse, of Caligula and Claudius. You may find them below. Allegedly, Claudius was given the title and crown for saving the citizens from Caligula. Now that I can understand...! 

Please show your Galba's, and/or coins with the corona civica! Thanks for reading! 

Nice addition! Why is it called a demi pistole? I couldnt find the answer online 🙂

Here's one of my two out-of-jail-coins: