Limes

@robinjojobeat you to it 😉 Its a great discovery nevertheless. Its all over the news here too.

Haha, thanks! And I hope that the person who got the Claudius denarius, is happy with it. It does raise another question: how 'low' quality does one find acceptable. Claudius is a very difficult emperor to get in silver. But I dont think I would add that coin to my collection. I held this coin in hand, in May this year. I was in doubt whether to go for it or not. In the end I did not, because it did not appeal to me enough, because of the wear and pitting, even though many details were visible. I dont regret it (well, maybe just a tiny bit...). I draw a line sometimes, I guess.... Would others have done the same?

Yes, be careful, on the other hand, its difficult to know what to do when youre new to the hobby and have questions about a coin you want to purchase. @Hughie DwyerPerhaps try to send a private message to a member of this board. If you have a question you can ask me, and ill try to help you as best as I can (I dont have all the knowledge in the world though!)

Attractive obverse! Here's the one I got this year. I don't have any other bronzes of Septimius Severus.

Thanks for showing your sestertius. I believe you posted this before, its a lovely example with an impressive bust. Its interesting to think that for us it's a mystery who's temple we are dealing with here. But to think for the Romans; its likely that for them it was pretty clear what the Best of the Princes' did and what temple it was. So there's perhaps not need to make it explicit on the coins, just as long as its clear who did it.

I dont know how much it is listed for, is it 200? Personally, I think there are definitely better coins for that money out there. Take a look at e.g. MA shops, or on biddr. Trajan also has coins with more interesting reverses, but thats a matter of taste of course!

Thanks for the article, I liked reading it. To answer your question, I echo the words of @sand, above. What's the reason for me to buy a coin? Is it because of the reverse, that makes me want it? Or is the emperor I'm after quite rare, and difficult to obtain? Or am I looking for the best portrait I can get within my budget? I will settle for a horrible denarius of Claudius, with a must-have reverse, simply because a better example is unafforable. Another thought entered my head. There are many variables that influence the price of a coin, and many of those a very unpredictable. For example, I wonder what if the third coin you list was not offered by NAC, but by al lesser renowned German auction house? Would that make it sell for less? Or what if it was slabbed, and offered via Heritage? Would that increase the price? And there's ofcourse the possibility of two Sabina fanatics entering into a bidding war... Basically, what I'm trying to say is, that although generally speaking a better coin is worth more, the better coin is not always worth the price. (Does this make sense??)

Hi there, Yesterday I watched a new series on History Channel. Its about the Colosseum, and has 8 parts. Here in the Netherlands, the show started yesterday and is available on normal cable network. Here's the link for more info: https://www.history.com/shows/colosseum Its quite entertaining, and next to enacted scenes, various scholars are interviewed giving it a bit of an educational feel as well. But, as with other shows such as 'Roman Empire' on netflix, its more about the entertainment. Nevertheless, I recommend it. And here's a coin of one of the main characters of the first episode, with a fitting reverse theme:

Thanks for the comments! The theory posted by @Zarco by M. Tameanko sounds interesting. Coincidentally, I've corresponded with David about the book by forementioned author, and ordered it. I do wonder two things. One, is the possibility of the statue of beging of Trajan. Would this mean the statue would have been there before his death? I thought that worshipping living emperors at that time and in such an explicit manner was a taboo? Will have to look into that. Second, the explanation of Hadrian not having places the monument on his coins, could be the case, but is however not very strong, as many emperors before and after him have put monuments on their coins that they did not build, but finished, or repaired. Anyway, whatever the case, I'll doubt we will ever know for certain... @David Atherton, just wanted to add that your Domitian coin is absolutely magnificent. I have never seen it before, very rare indeed. An excellent addition to an excellent collection. @Orange Julius, thanks for sharing your imposing coin. It's a drachm, I assume? There are many, many temples depicted on provincial coins, its overwhelming. If I were to start collecting those, I think I'll be unable to ever complete it... 🙂

Hello everyone, One of my latest acquisitions is an interesting (and in my opinion absolutely lovely!) AE As of Trajan, with a temple reverse. The identity of the reverse however is uncertain and various sources identify it differently. However, if the sources are compared, it seems the majority points in the same direction. A note before I start: when it comes to sources, I have to do with a limited amount. I don't have BMC or RIC, so I look online (acsearch, wildwinds, ocre). I do have some books (Sear, van Meter, etc) and of course there are articles online. So, if you happen to have sources that shed another or additional light on this matter, please feel free to add it in this discussion! My coin is an AE As, and there's also a sestertius version of this type. It caused a bit of confusion on my side, that both have the same RIC number: 575. There's also a dupondius (RIC 567) on wildwinds, and the reverse is described as showing the temple of Pax. It however looks the same as RIC 575. RIC 577 also shows a temple, but a different one with 'side porticos' that is mentioned by Van Meter in his book, unlike RIC 575. This coin shows the temple of Jupiter Victor. The 'temple coins' were not part of the coinage commemorating Trajan's building projects, which includes coins showing the Via Traiana, the Aqua Traiana and the famous Forum of Trajan. Sear dates my temple AE As at 107 AD, just before the decennalia of Trajan. This appears to correspond with Clive Foss (p. 97) who mentions that the temples of Honos and Venus Genetrix had already been restored before that anniversary. The building of the Via Traiana for example, commenced in 109 AD. Now, about the sources: RIC: RIC identifies the temple shown on the AE as as the temple of Pax. The temple is to be sought in the provinces. The sestertius (RIC 575) is identified as the temple of Venus Genetrix (via https://www.wildwinds.com). Sear (p. 112, 116): Sear cites Hill, stating that the temple is the temple of Honos. The temple was part of the twin-temple complex of Honos and Virtue, and situated outside the Porta Capena in Rome's First Region. No remains are existent today (wikipedia). According to Sear, RIC 577 shows the temple of Jupiter Victor, at the north eastern corner of the Palatine. Hill: Philip Hill (pp. 9-10): Hill refers to the large series of bronze struck by Trajan to commemorate his tenth anniversary, and identifies the figure as Honos (picture 1 shows the sestertius), since it is identical with on of the figures on the 'Honos and Virtus' types of Galba, Vitellius and Vespasian. Hill also states that it is impossible to identify the temple exactly, since details of the temple are lost, but because a large and imposing building is shown, we may assume it is the temple dedicated to Honos and part of the twin-temple complex with Virtus. (Do note the reference to the tents anniversary, which contradicts with Clive Foss.) Clive Foss (p. 97, 102): Prior to his decennalia, Trajan had restored the temples of Honos and Venus Genetrix. Two coins show the restored temples: RIC 575 (sestertius and AE as) shows the temple of Honos (as and sestertius), and RIC 577 shows the temple of Venus Genetrix. Ursula Kampmann (2009) in Coinsweekly (https://coinsweekly.com/a-temple-for-honos/) identifies the temple as the temple of Honos. She theorizes that temple is shown on the coin because Trajan had received the title 'to the best of princes' by the people of Rome and the Senate. Many auction houses follow RIC and identify the temple as the temple of Pax, or leave the identification vague and merely mention a 'temple with "Kultbild"'. Some question remain, however. For one, I don't understand why RIC differentiates between the temple of Pax for the AE As and the temple of Venus Genetrix for the Sestertius. Both statues look identical to me. Another issue is that Hill shows the sestertius in his book, mentions a 'large series of bronze', but does not mention the difference between the AE As and the sestertius as mentioned in RIC, and links the issue to the decennalia of Trajan (105 - 107 AD). Enough question remain to dive deeper into this coin, and other coins part of the series and the dating. If only I had more time .... Hoping to hear what other members of this board think! And please post your temple coins, your Trajan's or coins with a mystery! Books: Sear, Roman coins and their values II, reprinted 2010. Philip Hill, The monuments of Ancient Rome as Coin Types, 1989 Clive Foss, Roman Historical Coins, 1990 David van Meter, The handbook of Roman Imperial Coins, reprinted, 2000 Online: Acsearch, wildwinds, coinweekly

Good on finishing your exams, I hope you passed them! And neat coin, with the 'X' is scarcer indeed. I found the following a while ago, by auction house Kunker (translated from German to English via google translate, piece to be viewed here: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=2655174😞 The piece celebrates, as Reinhard Wolters was able to prove, the lex Valeria Cornelia and was coined in AD 5 either in Lugdunum for a city-Roman audience or possibly even in Rome itself. The law provided for the establishment of 10 electoral centuries for the primary election of consuls and praetors. The X on the reverse and the choice of the Gaius/Lucius type after the death of Augustus' grandsons can be explained by the fact that the 10 centuries were named after Gaius and Lucius Caesares. For dating, interpretation and mint see Wolters, Gaius and Lucius Caesares as designated consuls and principes iuventutis. The lex Valeria Cornelia and RIC I² 205 ff., in: Chiron 32 (2002), p. 297 ff. Below is my example (horrible photo's, I need to take new ones), but without the 'X'. I really find the development of the portrait interesting; very stylized in comparison to earlier denarii, and denarii struck when 'Augustus' was just 'Octavian'.

This has to be the absolute pinacle of your life! I'm envious 😉

Thanks @Roerbakmixand @John Conduitt for the information. I'm still getting my head around the many variants. I found the informative site of the Zeeuws Genootschap, kzgw online, and dive deeper in the world of the E series... 🙂

Congratulations @panzerman! I scored a Galba denarius in yesterdays auction, with a magnificent portrait.

Caracalla with reversed spear and in military outfit dominating a crocodile....

Fascinating @Roerbakmix. I have a sceatta of the Dorestad mint on my wantlist, for next year. But I'm a bit confused by the determination of mints in various descriptions. Sometimes I see descriptions saying 'Frisian mint (perhaps, or likely Dorsestad)'. Do we know for sure Dorestand had a mint? I see that you mention Frisia in your desciptions. Do you have any advice? I can 'high-five' you on this one... Wishing you and your wife the best of health and luck with no. 4 arriving soon (we stopped at three 😉)

Nice catch David. Had to share this one. Best of both worlds: good portrait, lovely and interesting reverse. Not a bargain per se (well, compared to todays prices maybe yes), but I have good memories of this one. I used a description found via ACsearch: Ara Providentiae Augusti, which refers to an altar. I dont know the book by Marvin Tameanko, but sounds interesting to see if I can get a copy somewhere. Thanks.

Thanks for the link (and a little laugh too)! With these kinds of shows, I always take in the message with a bit of salt. Issues may be showns exagerated, because, well, it's a show. But the underlying message is very interesting though. And this is what I think is contrary to the underlying message. The examples shown in this show surely won't lead to a discussion who the 'owners' should be. And if you use arguments like this, it's too easy to ignore those issues, only because of other artifacts it's impossible to locate the current 'owners'. Why not simply return the obvious (numerous) cases? I simply do not understand why any sane person argues that those things rightfully are owned by a museum (some did in the show though, but those people were clearly insane) that looted them, or bought them as loot, not that long ago. Worried about the way they will be treated? Well, that's not your concern in the first place! You want to study them? Buy a ticket to Nigeria, and study them there. Affraid there wont be anything left on display in European museums? Well, first, bullocks, second, maybe, just maybe, if you act nicely, they will lend you them. But most importantly; it's other peoples heiritage, culture, history. The only right thing to do, is to let them decide what to do with the artifacts.

Maybe I missed what's going on about climate controlled environments for storing coins? I only know those from keeping cigars in fancy restaurants 🙂 A friend has a special refrigirator of some sort for keeping his wine. I'm not fancy enough to taste a difference though. Hence, I sure am not 'gentlemen' enough to store coins in a perfectly articificial storage environment. Nope, I simply keep them in a couple of red trays, which stand up in our cabinet, for everyone to see (which in practice means I only look at them because nobody cares). The trays contains squares. One has round spaces in the squares, of 20 mm in size. The other tray just the squares, which measure 40 mm. The first one is for denarii, the second one for the big bronzes. I use round plastic devices for the big bronzes, which I can cut into the right size, and place those in the square, so the coins wont 'slide down'. Some other coins that don't fit (middle bronzes) are in small standards or a small display case. My collection is small (130 something), and I like that I can always look at my coins, take them out, touch them, reorganize them etc. I've bought two coins in slabs, which were taken out, because slabs don't fit in my display cases. In a Dutch museum in Leiden (antiquities) there are some denarii on display, of the 12 C's. Those are the only 'old cabinet' toned coins I've seen. They look like the old silverware of grandmother that has not been cleaned for ages. I absolutely love that toning, and even though I dream of it, I don't think that kind of toning will ever be achieved in my cabinet. (If anyone has some advice, please let me know.) I've had three issues with BD (collecting for 7 years), when little green, powdery spots emergedon the coin. All three the coins had signs of earlier issues (pitting, no patina on areas), but were to some extent clean when I got them (in my eyes, at least). But nothing that a bath in DW won't fix. I dont think it has to do with the environment in my house. As I understand it, the green (and brown, and black) stuff we call patina, is a (mostly) solid layer caused by some sort of chemical reaction between coin and soil, which forms over time and actually protects the coin from the environment. BD on the other hand (and in my limited experience) seems to appear on the areas where there is no patina, and interacts with the core metal in an agressive way, actually biting in to it, so to say, causing e.g. pitting. But then again, I should stop talking now because I'm no expert 🙂 There are online sources on BD and how to treat it though.

I think you are on the right path when it comes to a cheaper type: provincial, no silver. There s also he dupondius issue with octavian. A bit more expensive, but imho a better type when it comes to value for money. Perhaps saving some cash for a longer time and go for that type?

Nice coins! @maridvnvm, those busts of Clodius Albinus and the last Probus are lovely (and I believe I've voiced my love for that Probus before). I'll toss in this one:

Nice addition. And one can never have enough Constatine coins, there are many interesting types. Two of my favorites, with the 'eyes towards the heaven' obverse. Is it a Christian theme? Or a throwback to Greek hellenistic times?

Im not a general collector, and I dont buy many coins in a year. This year, I had 10 additions to the collection, and maybe by the end of the year I can add one more. The coins vary a lot in value. This year Ive added an aureus, but also a small group of three Trajan denarii, which were about 80 eur. each. So, its hard to give a general price range.

Yup, todays e live venue did not bring me any coins either. My budget was low, yes, but I had decided to put it all on 2 coins. I missed the first one, and the second one by a mere 25 eur, but of course I did not know how high the other bidder would go. Interestingly, as was in the previous e live auction some bidders seem to be bidding against themselves again. No patience I guess. What annoyed me was that this 'premium' e live venue had a few of 25% also. Seems a bit strange to me, why do they levy the same fee on an e live venue, as on the floor auction? In any case, I was more lucky in the cng auction. Then again, i already fear the tax levied and the annoying handling costs of the shipping company. Ah well, thats the life of a collector I guess.

Out of curiosity; what shop? Congratulations on the win, that's a lovely RR. About that Augustus, it's a more than nice example of the type, although I've seen an example of a not so much lesser quality (obv and rev a little off center, good details on reverse, nice toning) for sale in retail for 450 eur. Not saying that this one sold by Kunker isn't worth the 2.200 EUR (someone thought it was worth it), but if I had to chose I'd rather go for the 450 EUR one. In the end I guess it's a matter of quality - price and where one stands on that scale, which makes the answer to the question what is it worth a very personal one.