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I wouldn't put a trachy coin in a flip. I would be worried, that the pressure of the flip, would flatten the trachy, and perhaps cause the trachy to crack. Also, if the flip were in a page of flips in slots, and if you were to put other pages of flips, on top of the page with the trachy, then that could flatten and crack the trachy. One solution, is to put the trachy, into a coin tray, and put a photo of the trachy, in a flip.

@Al Kowsky Beautiful coins. I've been fascinated with the Byzantine Empire, ever since I saw a Byzantine exhibit, in a local museum, when I was 11 years old, on a school field trip. It was a wonderful museum. The first room was an exhibit of ancient Egypt. The next room was ancient Greece. The next room was ancient Rome. The next room was medieval. The medieval room was dark. In one corner of that room, was the Byzantine Empire. A wonderful experience, for a little kid. Ever since then, for me, the Byzantine Empire has always been a dark, mysterious time in the past. In school, the Byzantine Empire was never mentioned, except for that museum exhibit. The Byzantine Empire seems like a dark secret, hidden away by the powers that be, at least in the West. Why? Who knows? Is it because of the schism between the Western Christian Church, and the Eastern Christian Church? Is it because of the Christian nature of the Byzantine Empire? Is it because the Byzantine Empire gradually became more Greek in nature, even though it kept many aspects of ancient Rome? About the Byzantine coins. To me, the coins are very spiritual. The coins show many aspects of the After Life, which is fascinating to me. Also, it's fascinating, how the Byzantine coins changed, over the centuries. From coins that looked similar to ancient Roman coins, but with an increasingly decadent style. To increasingly strange coins, with an increasingly spiritual nature. When it comes to strangeness, perhaps the strangest Byzantine coins, are the trachy (cup shaped) coins. When I first started collecting Byzantines, I disliked the trachy coins. But then, all of a sudden, a light bulb turned on in my head, and I started liking them, and I've been a "trachy enjoyer" ever since. Here are 3 of my favorite Byzantine coins, in my collection. Justinian I The Great : AE 40 Nummi Follis. Regnal Year 12. 538 AD To 539 AD. Nicomedia Mint. Sear 201. DO 116b.1. 44 mm. 21.73 grams. Obverse Justinian I Bust Facing Front. Reverse Large M Mint "NIK" Officina B. Basil II or Constantine VIII AE 40 Nummi Follis. 1023 AD to 1028 AD. Constantinople Mint. Class A3. Sear 1818. 28 mm. 9.27 grams. Obverse Jesus Christ With "EMMANOVHL" On Left Edge Greek For "Emmanuel" Meaning "God With Us" And "IC XC" On Left And Right Abbreviation For "IHSUS XRISTUS" Greek For "Jesus Christ". Reverse "IHSUS XRISTUS BASILEU BASILE" Greek For "Jesus Christ King Of Kings". Andronicus I Billon Aspron Trachy. 1183 AD To 1185 AD. Constantinople Mint. Sear 1985. DO 3. 28 mm. 3.40 grams. Obverse Mary Full Length Facing Front With Halo Standing On Dais Holding On Breast Head Of Infant Jesus Christ With Halo Facing Front M-Rho On Left Theta-V On Right. M-Rho Theta-V Is Abbreviation For "Meter Tou Theou" Greek For "Mother Of God". Reverse On Left Emperor Full Length Facing Front Holding Labarum In Right Hand Holding Globus Cruciger In Left Hand On Right Jesus Christ With Halo Full Length Facing Three Quarters Crowning Emperor.

@thenickelguy Can you move your microscope lens closer, to get higher resolution photos, of just the end of the club, and the monogram?

@Curtis JJ Nice limes denarii. I know very little about limes denarii. I don't know enough, to know, if your limes denarii are authentic or fake. Limes denarii are rather interesting. Here is an article on Forum Ancient Coins, which says, that some limes denarii were cast, and some were struck. https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=limes denarius

@robinjojo Are those the seller photos? Or are they your photos? The reason, that I'm asking, is that, I wouldn't pay $2,500 for a coin, if the seller photos were such low resolution. I would want to see, higher resolution photos. Or, I would want to see the coin, in my hand, and under a microscope. However, maybe someone on this forum, can look at the photos, and figure out, if the style looks correct.

P.S. : Perhaps a cheap coin microscope, or a loupe, or an even higher resolution photo, would reveal the truth.

@thenickelguy You may be correct. However, I wonder, if the round thing at the top of the monogram, that you think may be an "O", may be the round end of the club, or maybe a spike on the end of the club. Perhaps there is a light spot, on the center of the rounded club end or spike, which makes the rounded club end or spike look like an "O". It's just a theory, of another possibility. You have the coin in hand. Therefore, you can see the coin better, than I can. Here are 2 examples, from ACsearch, of an alpha (A) monogram, including a larger photo of the coin that @Marsyas Mike found. Here's a zoomed in view, of your coin.

I'll take a whack at it, even though I'm not an expert in Greek letters or monograms, and I'm not familiar with the Sardes Lydia Apollo club coin type. Hopefully, someone who is more expert, will provide a better answer later. To me, the monogram on your coin, looks like the Greek letter alpha (A), in Byzantine coins. It also looks like the bottom part, of the monogram of Byzantine Justinian II coins. Interestingly, the "A" on the bottom of the Justinian II monogram, often has a line hanging down, below the center of the "A", similar to your coin. Here are some Byzantine examples. These are not my coins. In this 1st example, on the reverse, note the Greek letter alpha (A), underneath the large letter "M". This means, that the coin was minted, at officina A. This is not my coin. In this 2nd example, on the reverse, note the Greek letter alpha (A), which is the bottom part of the monogram, above the large letter "M". The "A" is the bottom part of the monogram of Justinian II. Note the line, which is hanging below the center of the "A". This is not my coin. Here are more examples. On the reverse, note the Greek letter alpha (A), which is the bottom part of the monogram, above the large letter "M". The "A" is the bottom part of the monogram of Justinian II. Note the line, which is hanging below the center of the "A". This is not my coin. This is not my coin. This is not my coin. This is not my coin.

Thanks @robinjojo

Yes. Equally devastating, seems to be the over-fishing, and the trawling of the ocean bottom, which seems to be going on. I have read, from multiple sources, that all of the fish of the world, particularly the fish that humans like to eat, have decreased to 10% in number, compared to what they were, not long ago. In other words, the number of fish in the ocean, that humans like to eat, has decreased by 90%, in the past 50 years or so. Humans, with their increased population, and with their improved fishing technology, seem to be eating the fish of the oceans, to extinction. Perhaps, in the near future, there will be nothing left in the oceans, except jellyfish.

Yes. Here's a quote, from the above article, which is rather alarming, to me. “The sea bottom is barren,” said Allen. “The colourful coral that divers remembered from the 70s is gone, poisoned by ocean acidification and choked by metres of shifting sand. It’s painfully sad. Still lying on those dead grey reefs, though, are sparkling finds.” Here's my oldest Spanish colonial coin, an 8 reales cob coin, often called a "Piece Of Eight". Spain. Philip II. Silver 8 Reales "Piece Of Eight". 1589 AD To 1591 AD. Potosi Mint (In What Is Now Bolivia). Assayer RL. 37.7 mm. 27.20 grams. Paoletti 97. Sedwick P13. KM 5.1.

I wonder, what would happen, if someone were to bid on it.

P.S. : After thinking about it, I'm guessing, that Mr. Robinson has a sense of humor. I wonder, what the shipping cost would be?

LOL! What in the world, is this contraption? "604 COIN Restoration Machine, the device you've always dreamed of, combining the latest in AI, 3-D printing & quantum computing technology; just place a coin in the slot, press the button, and the coin comes out as new, minus any corrosion, nicks, wear, etc. Satisfaction guaranteed $199.95"

@akeady Now I can see it.

Hello @akeady. I can't see the photo. I don't know if anyone else can see it.

P.S. : The classical Athena owl tetradrachms seem to have high supply, but high demand. Supply and demand. Supply and demand cause prices. Therefore, the high prices.

For myself, I really like the classical Athena owl tetradrachms from 440 BC to 404 BC. They have a primitive beauty, that I really like. However, after 4 years of searching for one, I still don't have one. I've been very picky, and my budget doesn't seem to want to cooperate with my pickiness. There is a huge variation, in the style of classical Athena owl tetradrachms. I like certain examples, way better than other examples. Therefore, I keep waiting, for an example, that meets my very high standards, but is within my budget.

@Al Kowsky I like your coin better. I like the Heracles portrait, and I like the overall appearance of your coin.

I like late Roman coins. Here's my latest camp gate. It's also my latest Western Roman Empire coin. These are seller photos. Valentinian III AE4 Nummus. Western Roman Empire. 425 AD To 435 AD. Rome Mint. RIC X 2123. 13 mm. 1.34 grams. Obverse Valentinian III Bust Facing Right. Reverse Camp Gate.

P.P.S. : And, Wikipedia has many articles, about the Byzantine Empire. Here's a good starting point, which lists all of the Roman Emperors, and all of the Byzantine Emperors : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_emperors And this : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire

P.S. : And, Youtube seems to have wonderful videos, about anything you can think of. I imagine, that Youtube has lots of interesting videos, about many aspects of the Byzantine Empire. I recently subscribed to "Youtube Premium" for $12 per month, so I no longer have to watch advertisements, except for the advertisements that are embedded in the videos, which are easy to fast forward and avoid. I like that a lot.

@ewomack Welcome to the Dark Side of the Dark Side. My favorite Byzantine coin books are as follows, in order of favorite, with my favorite first. "Byzantine Coins And Their Values" by Sear : I've used this book, more than any other, whenever I want to lookup a Byzantine coin. "The Dumbarton Oaks Collection" can be downloaded for free on the internet, and is excellent. I've used this quite often, to lookup Byzantine coins. It has more coin photos, than any other reference, that I've seen. "ERIC II" by Rasiel Suarez : I like this huge book. It's skimpy on the Anonymous/Jesus folles, but I like reading his descriptions of the Emperors and their coins, and it covers both the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. "Byzantine Coins" by Grierson : This book has a lot of good information, and has lots of photos of coins. "Byzantine Coins" by Whitting : This book is interesting to read, and has some good photos of coins. "Ancient Coin Collecting V : The Romaion/Byzantine Culture" by Sayles : This book only has 1 coin photo per Emperor, but it is an inexpensive book, and is fun to read. I like all of the books, in Sayles's 6 volume series. For Byzantine history books, I've heard a lot of good things, about the 4 Norwich books. I have the 4 Norwich books, but I haven't had time to read them, except for a few pages. "Byzantium : The Early Centuries" by Norwich : This is Volume 1 of the detailed 3 volume series. "Byzantium : The Apogee" by Norwich : This is Volume 2 of the detailed 3 volume series. "Byzantium : The Decline And Fall" by Norwich : This is Volume 3 of the detailed 3 volume series. "A Short History Of Byzantium" by Norwich : This is a 1 volume short version of the history of the Byzantine Empire. Even this "short" history book is 431 pages long.

When I'm searching for provenance, here are the sources that I use, with the most often used, first. I haven't had time, to do a lot of provenance searches. Mostly, I just search, to find other examples of coins, to try to verify the authenticity of coins, before I buy or bid on the coins. However, sometimes, I'll stumble on a provenance, by accident, which is exciting. And, I sometimes search for provenance, if a coin is very expensive. Someday, if I ever have the time, I may do more extensive provenance searches. 1. ACsearch : You may have to register with an email address (I don't remember), but it's free, unless you want to view the hammer prices : https://www.acsearch.info/ 2. CNG Research : https://cngcoins.com/Coins_sold.aspx 3. Coin Archives : https://www.coinarchives.com/a/

Nice coins @Simon The Roman bronze coins decreased in size in the 4th century AD and 5th century AD (on average, although there were exceptions). It seems like this was because of inflation in the Roman Empire. The average "nummus" bronze coin declined from 10 grams in weight and 30 mm in diameter with 5% silver during the time of the Tetrarchy including Diocletian in 294 AD, to approximately 1 gram in weight and 10 mm in diameter with no silver by the time of Anastasius I in 498 AD. Then, in 498 AD, Anastasius I created a 40 nummi bronze coin, called a "follis" by present day numismatists, which was supposed to be worth 40 of the old small nummus coins (therefore it had the Greek numeral for 40, the letter "M", on the reverse). However, the first version of the 40 nummi coin weighed only 3 grams to 10 grams, and had a diameter of 20 mm to 25 mm. Numismatists call this version the "small module". Ordinary citizens were unhappy with it, because its weight was nowhere close to the weight of 40 of the old small nummus coins. Therefore, in 512 AD, Anastasius I created a larger version of the 40 nummi coin, which weighed between 15 grams and 20 grams, and had a diameter of 31 mm to 40 mm. Numismatists call this version the "large module". This coin still did not weigh as much as 40 of the old small nummus coins, but it was large enough and impressive enough that ordinary citizens accepted it. The 40 nummi coin represented further inflation, because it weighed way less than 40 of the old small nummus coins. But at least the average bronze coin was large again, and therefore more useful as coinage, along with new 20 nummi coins, 10 nummi coins, and 5 nummi coins. After reaching a maximum diameter of up to 45 mm in 540 AD under Justinian I, the 40 nummi coin gradually shrank to 14 mm to 18 mm in diameter by the end of the 8th century AD, and lost the letter "M" on the reverse, as the Byzantine Empire lost northern Africa including Egypt, most of Italy, and the Holy Land. More inflation, I guess. Then, in the 9th century AD, some larger 40 nummi follis coins began to appear, with diameters up to 30 mm. Why? I don't know. Here are my 2 Anastasius I coins. These are seller photos. Anastasius I AE Nummus. Eastern Roman Empire. 491 AD To 498 AD. Constantinople Mint. Sear 13. 8 mm. 0.99 grams. Obverse Anastasius I Bust Facing Right. Reverse Monogram. Anastasius I AE 40 Nummi Follis Large Module. 512 AD To 518 AD. Constantinople Mint. Sear 19. 32 mm. 15.33 grams. Obverse Anastasius I Bust Facing Right. Reverse Large M Mint "CON" Officina A.