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Interesting. It's interesting, that these coins were found in Japan, and not China. Here's another photo from the same article. In this photo, one can see, that the coins seem to have an interesting green patina, or a green and white patina, or an aqua and white patina, which is often seen on ancient Chinese bronze coins, and on ancient bronze coins in general. I wonder, what percentage of these coins, are Japanese, versus Chinese. The article says "a cache of over 100,000 ancient coins, some of which are of Chinese origin and are more than 2,000 years old". According to Hartill "Early Japanese Coins", Japan started minting its own coins at approximately 700 AD.

@ewomack That's an interesting, large Tiberius II 40 nummi bronze coin. Tiberius II was 1 of the last Byzantine Emperors from the "glory days" of the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century AD. On your coin, perhaps the dark areas, are where the patina was more stubborn, when the coin was cleaned. The dark areas have a grayish purple color, which is similar to the color of the patina within the pitting on the coin. I agree, that large Tiberius II 40 nummi bronze coins seem to be difficult to find. It took me approximately 6 months of searching and waiting, to find my large Tiberius II 40 nummi bronze coin. Then, 1 day, it magically appeared, and I got it. It was a bit expensive, for me. It's my 4th most expensive Byzantine coin, and my 9th most expensive coin overall. Here it is. Byzantine Empire. Tiberius II. AE 40 Nummi Follis. Regnal Year 5. Minted 578 AD To 579 AD. Constantinople Mint. Sear 430. Maximum Diameter 36.7 mm. Weight 17.60 grams. Obverse : Tiberius II Bust Facing Front, Wearing Crown With Cross On Top, Holding Mappa And Eagle Tipped Scepter, Cross Above Eagle. Reverse : Large Lower Case "m", Mint "CON", Officina E.

This is an interesting topic. It's interesting to see, what each person chose, as his/her favorite coins, in his/her collection. I'm a generalist. I collect ancient coins, medieval coins, and modern coins, from all areas of the world. Here's my favorite coin, in my collection. It's also my most expensive coin, in my collection. I won it, at a Sedwick auction. It was minted during the Age Of Exploration, in the New World, approximately 100 years after Columbus discovered America. Spain. Philip II. Silver 8 Reales "Piece Of Eight". Minted 1589 AD To 1591 AD. Potosi Mint (In What Is Now Bolivia). Assayer RL. Maximum Diameter 37.7 mm. Weight 27.20 grams. Paoletti 97. Sedwick P13. KM 5.1. Here's my 2nd favorite coin, in my collection. I finally got this coin, after 3 years of searching and waiting, for the right coin at the right price. Athens. AR Tetradrachm. Minted 449 BC To 413 BC. Sear 2526. Maximum Diameter 24.8 mm. Weight 17.15 grams. Obverse : Head Of Athena Wearing Helmet Facing Right. Reverse : Owl Standing, Olive Twig And Crescent On Left, Alpha Theta Epsilon On Right, All Within Incuse Square. Test Cut. Here's my 3rd favorite coin, in my collection. It was minted, at the height of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine Empire. Justinian I The Great. AE 40 Nummi Follis. Regnal Year 12. 538 AD To 539 AD. Nicomedia Mint. Sear 201. DO 116b.1. Maximum Diameter 44.0 mm. Weight 21.73 grams. Obverse : Justinian I Bust Facing Front. Reverse : Large M Mint "NIK" Officina B Under Large M.

Here are 2 of my Justinian I 40 nummi follis coins. Coin 1 has a thinner patina. It may have been cleaned, and then perhaps it gained a cabinet patina. Or, the patina may be original. I don't know. Coin 2 has a thicker patina, in some areas of the coin. Unfortunately, the color of Coin 2 in the photos is not quite correct, because I had not yet mastered the calibration of the white balance in my camera (I was using auto white balance), when I took the photos of Coin 2. The color of Coin 2 is greener, than its appearance in the photos. The 3rd image is Coin 2, clipped from a group photo, which shows the color of the coin more accurately, but it is not as high resolution. Someday, now that I have mastered the calibration of the white balance in my camera, I'll re-take photos of both coins. Regarding your coins, I'm not expert enough, in the lore of coin patinas, to know if your first 2 coins' patinas are original versus artificially repatinated versus cabinet repatinated. However, the patinas look okay to me. The patinas don't scream "fake patina" to me. The worst patinas, are the ones that look painted on. Your first 2 coins' patinas don't look painted on, which is good. Regarding your 3rd coin, the coin that you cleaned and then artificially repatinated, I agree that the patina resembles the patina of your 2nd coin, in some ways. I didn't look at your video, because I'm reluctant to click on attachments in posts, unless it's 1 of those Youtube embedded videos. My Coin 1 has maximum diameter 44.0 mm, weight 21.73 grams. My Coin 2 has maximum diameter 40.0 mm, weight 23.02 grams.

Thanks @robinjojo. That was very interesting.

You had 6 more Trick Or Treaters than I did. I decorated my front porch with Halloween decorations, but no one showed up, therefore no dollar bills given. I live on a dead end street, and the houses are sort of far apart, and it's not a wealthy neighborhood, so maybe that's why. That's okay. More money for me to buy coins. I had fun reading, and watching spooky videos on Youtube.

I'm ready. I've got plenty of scary movies and videos to watch, on Prime Video and Youtube. Trick Or Treat is not a big deal in my neighborhood. I may decorate my front porch a bit. If any Trick Or Treaters show up, I'll give each Trick Or Treater a dollar bill. Here's 1 of my ancient Greek coins, which looks sort of like the Man In The Moon. Mysia Parion. AR 3/4 Drachm. Circa 480 BC. Sear 3917. Diameter = 12.14 mm. Weight = 3.07 grams. Obverse : Gorgon. Reverse : Incuse Punch.

P.S. : In my instructions, which will be in the same place as my coins, I'll probably list the names of some Vcoins dealers, to whom my coins could be sold. And maybe a few auction houses, to whom my coins could be consigned for auction. And, in my instructions, I'll list the approximate retail value of each coin, and what someone could expect to receive from a Vcoins dealer or auction house, for each coin.

I like @Roman Collector's idea of having a document, in the same place as my coins, which will contain instructions, of where to sell the coins. I can't imagine ever selling my coins, even if I'm at death's door. Even if I'm gravely ill, I'll probably be eternally optimistic, that I'll somehow live forever. Therefore, my coins will be sold, after I pass away. Perhaps at a garage sale. Perhaps at a pawn shop. Perhaps at a local coin store. Any of those would be fine, because the coins would eventually end up, in the hands of collectors. Hopefully, my coins will be found, so that they won't end up in a landfill. I'll try to leave instructions, or a treasure map or something, with directions for finding my coins, so that they can be sold. I agree, that we are caretakers of these artifacts of history. I don't want my coins to disappear from the world.

@voulgaroktonou Nice and interesting coin. Unfortunately, my latest gas station cost was $55.93, and there are no Byzantine coins with Sear number higher than 2645. I can't remember, the last time my gas station cost was $26.45 or less. However, just for fun, I'll post 1 of my related Byzantine coins. Here's 1 of my Byzantine coins, with 3 portraits. Constantine V. AE 40 Nummi Follis. Minted 751 AD To 775 AD. Syracuse Mint. Sear 1569. DO 19. Maximum Diameter 19.1 mm. Weight 3.14 grams. Obverse : On Left Constantine V Standing Facing Front, Short Beard, Wearing Crown With Cross On Top, Holding Akakia In Right Hand, On Right Leo IV Standing Facing Front, Beardless, Wearing Crown With Cross On Top, Holding Akakia In Right Hand, On Left "K", On Right "Lambda-E-O-N". Reverse : Leo III Standing Facing Front, Short Beard, Wearing Crown With Cross On Top, Holding Cross Potent In Right Hand, On Left "Lambda-E-O-N", On Right "Delta-E-C-Pi".

This is an interesting discussion, regarding the various reactions (Confused, Laugh, Cry, Cookie, Like, etc). I vote for eliminating all of the reactions.

Hello @ewomack. Interesting coin. According to my notes, perhaps from Grierson, or perhaps from somewhere else, 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. Therefore, if my notes are correct, then your coin is a "large module" 40 nummi coin, and was minted from 512 AD to 518 AD. Therefore, your coin seems to be from the 6th century AD. However, there are some relatively inexpensive late Roman coins, from the Western Roman Empire, and from the Eastern Roman Empire, which were minted in the 5th century AD, which you could try to acquire. Or, you could go after a nonclassical coin from the 5th century AD (barbarian, Middle East, India, Central Asia, East Asia, etc). Here's my Anastasius I 40 nummi large module coin. Anastasius I. AE 40 Nummi Follis Large Module. 512 AD To 518 AD. Constantinople Mint. Sear 19. Maximum Diameter 32.0 mm. Weight 15.33 grams. Obverse : Anastasius I Bust Facing Right. Reverse : Large M Greek For 40 Mint "CON" In Exergue Officina A Under Large M.

All of the Spanish colonial gold coins, which have been posted in this thread, are very interesting, and quite expensive. I'm quite fascinated with Spanish colonial coins, which were minted in the New World, during the Age Of Exploration. It's interesting, to think of the Spanish ships, sailing on dangerous journeys, across the unknown oceans. And to think of the Spanish explorers, discovering new lands, and discovering unknown civilizations. Here's my oldest Spanish colonial coin, a silver piece of eight from the late 16th century, minted in the New World, approximately 100 years after Columbus discovered the New World. Spain. Philip II. Silver 8 Reales "Piece Of Eight". Minted 1589 AD To 1591 AD. Potosi Mint (In What Is Now Bolivia). Assayer RL. Diameter 37.7 mm. Weight 27.20 grams. Paoletti 97. Sedwick P13. KM 5.1.

It may just be a light gray patina, on a bronze coin.

@voulgaroktonou Very nice and interesting silver and gold Constans II coins with a short beard. Here's my bronze Constans II, which seems to be an early, beardless example. Constans II. AE 40 Nummi Follis. Minted 641 AD To 647 AD. Syracuse Mint. Sear 1104. DO 176. Maximum Diameter 23.2 mm. Weight 4.19 grams. Obverse : Constans II Bust Beardless Facing Front Holding Globe Cross, No Legend. Reverse : Large M, Monogram Above.

P.S. : @pdale33 Now that I look at your coin some more, it looks like it could be a brockage. A brockage is when a flan is hammered between the dies, and then the coin gets stuck on 1 of the dies, and then the coin makes an imprint on the next flan, when the next flan is hammered. This creates an image on 1 side of the coin, and an indented/incuse/concave mirror image on the other side of the coin. The reverse of your coin, seems to be a reverse image, of the obverse of your coin. It may be late Roman or early Byzantine, or maybe something else. It's seems like an unusual coin. Perhaps it is rare. What are the diameter and weight of your coin? Is the reverse image of the seated figure, an incuse (concave) image?

Hello @pdale33. Welcome to Nvmis Forvms. I collect Byzantine coins. I've never seen a Byzantine coin, which resembles your coin. On the obverse, there seems to be some sort of symbol, near the top. Sort of like a "chi rho" Christian symbol. On the obverse, it sort of looks like there are images of multiple persons on the left, and on the right. I wonder if it could be late Roman, or perhaps a barbarian imitation during late Roman times.

It seems like it could be Celtic. Whether it's Spanish or not, I don't know.

Hello @Hrefn. Here are my answers, to your 2 questions. 1. If I don't spend my budget for a particular month, then I don't carry the money over to the next month. I always try to spend less than my budget, every month. If I spend way less than my budget for a particular month, then that makes me happy, these days. 2. I'm a buy and hold collector. If I remember correctly, I've only ever sold 3 coins, and they were all US coins. 2 of the US coins were upgraded, and the other US coin I didn't really like very much. I sold the 3 coins, at coin shows, which was easy to do. I have some coins, which I don't like very much. I may sell some of them, someday. But, it's not very many coins, and they aren't very valuable, and I didn't pay a huge amount of money for them. I don't think, that I'd get much money for them. I agree with @ela126, when he said, that coin collecting can become an addiction. I think, that I've been addicted to coin collecting, at times. As @ela126 said, perhaps sometimes it's good to take a break from coin collecting. Perhaps it's good, to have multiple hobbies, because perhaps it lessens the danger of getting addicted to any 1 hobby. For me, coin collecting is less fun, if I believe that I've spent too much money on coins. Also, it seems like, sometimes peer pressure, such as on a coin forum, can feed a coin collecting addiction. It seems like, a coin forum can sometimes be an echo chamber, in which other members echo one's addictive thoughts. It seems like, it's a thin line, between fun and addiction. But, as many have mentioned above, if 1 day you find, that you've spent too much money on coins, then you can sell some coins.

😄

Here are some of my coins, which fall into the above 4 categories. As others above have said, "expensive" for me, may be cheap for other collectors. Rare And Expensive China. Zhou Dynasty. Warring States Period. Wei (Liang) State. AE Coin. Cast Circa 403 BC To 378 BC. Probably cast in the ancient city Wangyuan (literally meaning "King's city"). Hartill 6.3. Schjoth 73. Gratzer & Fishman A6.4. Maximum Diameter 38.7 mm. Weight 7.74 grams. Obverse : Character Yuan (literally meaning "city"). Reverse : Blank. Possible Plugged Hole. Common And Expensive Athens. AR Tetradrachm. Minted 449 BC To 413 BC. Sear 2526. Maximum Diameter 24.8 mm. Weight 17.15 grams. Obverse : Head Of Athena Wearing Helmet Facing Right. Reverse : Owl Standing, Olive Twig And Crescent On Left, Alpha Theta Epsilon On Right, All Within Incuse Square. Test Cut. Rare And Cheap Interestingly, I couldn't think of any coins in my collection, which are both rare and cheap. Common And Cheap Byzantine Empire. Leo VI The Wise. AE 40 Nummi Follis. Minted 886 AD To 912 AD. Constantinople Mint. Sear 1729. DO 8. Maximum Diameter 26.0 mm. Weight 7.02 grams. Obverse : Leo VI Bust Facing Front, Short Beard, Wearing Crown With Cross On Top, Wearing Chlamys, Holding Akakia In Left Hand. Reverse : "LEON EN THEO BASILEUS ROMEON" Greek For "Leo By God King Of The Romans". Old Rectangular Hole.

It's an interesting topic. I've been collecting ancients and medievals since 2018, and US and world coins since childhood (with a couple of long gaps of time, when I didn't collect any coins, but I still kept my coin collection, or perhaps my mother did). Until 2022, I never had a coin budget, except for a maximum amount that I was willing to spend on a single coin, and a vague bad feeling, that I would get, if I thought I was spending too much money on coins. I had never broken my maximum dollars per coin rule, but that maximum had increased each year. For some reason, spending a large amount of money on a single coin, bothers me a lot more, than spending the same amount of money on a bunch of cheaper coins over a period of time. However, 1 of my new year resolutions for 2022, was to spend less money on coins and coin books. Therefore, in January 2022, I started keeping careful records, of how much I spent on coins and coin books each month, including auction buyer fee, shipping, taxes, etc. I also decided on a maximum amount, that I would spend on coins and coin books each month. Not coincidentally, my 2022 monthly coin (and coin book) budget was equal to the maximum amount, that I had been willing to spend on a single coin in 2021. In 2022, I came under that budget 7 months out of 12, which I considered pretty good. For 2023, I decided to spend even less money on coins and coin books. Therefore, I cut my monthly budget in half for 2023. In 2023 so far, I have come under that budget 7 months out of 9, which is not bad. Thus, in 2022 and 2023, I've become more frugal with my coin buying and coin book buying. Partly, to save money. And partly, because I'm pretty satisfied with my coin collection, and there are fewer coins that I really want anymore, which are within my monthly budget. However, I've still managed to buy 25 coins (13 ancient, 6 medieval, and 6 modern), and 7 coin books in 2023 so far. For me, my coin (and coin book) monthly budget, is a result of how much I enjoy coin collecting, and how much I think I can spend on coins (and coin books) without regretting it, and how much I want to spend on other things, both now and in the future. I don't like it, when I exceed my monthly coin (and coin book) budget. Therefore, for each coin or coin book that I'm thinking about buying, I consider how interesting the coin or coin book is, and how much I've already spent on coins and coin books that month, and how close to the end of the month it is. The closer it is to the end of the month, the more likely I am, to buy a coin or coin book, because there is less chance that I'll find another interesting coin or coin book, before the end of the month. Also, if I happen to spend way less than my budget, during a particular month, then I like that. Therefore, that's also a factor. At this point, I have no regrets. I enjoy my coin collection, and I've learned a lot of history, by collecting coins.

@robinjojo Interesting coins. There seem to be no regnal year I, and no regnal year III, for Tiberius II 40 nummi bronze coins. Therefore, in my non-expert estimate, your coin seems to be Maurice Tiberius. Here's my latest regnal year Justinian I. Regnal Year 16. Maximum diameter = 34.2 mm. Weight = 19.73 grams. I sometimes wonder, if the patina is authentic. I sometimes wonder the same thing, about some of the other coins in my collection.

My favorite is the Heraclius follis.

Interesting. Before I looked at the 1975 prices, I estimated the 2023 prices of the following 2 coins. Coin 13 (Lysimachos tetradrachm with Alexander The Great portrait as far as I know, perhaps) : My estimate was $1500 in 2023 dollars. Coin 44 (Quadrigatus) : My estimate was $600 in 2023 dollars. The 1975 Spink prices are as follows, according to the OP. Coin 13 : $1530 in 1975 dollars. Coin 44 : $670 in 1975 dollars. The 2023 prices are very close to the 1975 prices. Perhaps ancient coin prices decreased, when the internet was invented, and when metal detecting became more common. But then, perhaps ancient coin prices have increased in the last few years, because the number of ancient coin collectors (and speculators) has perhaps increased.