Steppenfool

So am I, I think I see a hairstyle of her’s. I’m sure @Roman Collectorcan confirm.

I have an inkling that coin retail prices are coming down. For a while there, the vast majority of retail listing had me thinking “I can’t imagine any scenario where that price could be paid by a buyer.” However, the last few days I have noticed that a few sellers are uploading very competitively priced goods in high volumes, to the point I’ve even even tempted to stray outside my collecting area! Perhaps a coincidence, perhaps seller fatigue kicking in simultaneously, or maybe there’s some effects/news affecting dealers us buyers don’t know about yet!

Philip I AR Antoninianus. IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right / LAETIT FVNDAT, Laetitia standing left holding wreath and rudder. RIC 36 RSC 80. I'm assuming the object between the rudder and Laetitia is actually just some disconnected drapery?

I disagree with some points on the graph! Domitian was certainly a nerd, owing to his obsession with economic stability, administration and his knowledge of literature! I’d also say he was quite preppy due to being a disciplinarian and also in his desire for conservative morals, to the point he held the post of Censor in perpetuity! I also think that Elagabalus has to be as far over to the Goth side as possible, if that’s supposed to mean “counter-culture”. He did eschew religious, social and gender norms. Although Hadrian has a lot of nerdy interests, he was also obsessed with hunting, military drills and physical fitness! It seems unfair to put him as far down the nerd column. Domitian as Perpetual Censor (CENS P)

For me, the stone of Elagab will always win any list that it appears on. The coin is an amazing piece of historical evidence validating Dio’s ostensibly bizarre claims that Elagabalus tried to subvert the Roman Pantheon with a meteorite. The stone on your example is clear, the eagle can be ascertained and the legends including “ELAGABAL” are clear which would make this a grail coin for me! From a purely aesthetic/stylistic point of view, the Nero wins for me! It really captures his arrogance and pomp.

I am also totally unqualified. I can see why you are concerned. There's a certain element of "pop" to this example on both the portrait and the reverse design which doesn't seem present on the surrounding legends. It seems more likely to me that there has been some very subtle removal of material in the fields around the devices to produce that pop. However, the rough surfaces on the fields might disqualify that, unless a real master has been at work? I am only speculating though, and as I stated, I am not qualified to make any statements, nevermind definitive ones.

https://elfontheshelf.com/blog/elfontheshelf-101/ I imagine it's this. As far as I'm aware, the tradition has extended so that the Elf on the Shelf gets up to mischief in the middle of the night that is found in the morning.

Has anyone ever ran an experiment to test the effect of PVC on coins, Perhaps with some slugs? Has anyone ever seen a surefire case of PVC damage with a control coin for comparison? I suspect the PVC fear is perhaps overblown, but that doesn't stop me avoiding it. 😂

There are enough coins available that it's no great loss to not engage with coins that are altered in any way, including repatination.

This quote from Socrates in Plato's Gorgias sums it up for me. I think it is acceptable to point out fakes in any way one desires and the owner/coveter/seller of the coin can only benefit from it. Of course, there are more palatable and gentle ways to cure someone of the evil of holding incorrect beliefs. Therefore, I understand why some people believe it should be done by Private Message only. However, if I owned a fake, I would not be fussed about the cure's method of delivery and would be happy for someone to share their knowledge publicly for both my own, and every observer's benefit. Hypothetically, what happens if the owner of a fake, upon receipt of a Private Message, decides that they don't want this knowledge to be available to everyone else? Is the knowledgeable sender of said Private Message to throw his hands up in surrender and acquiesce to the demands of the fake coin's owner, to the detriment of everyone viewing the thread? I think not. Therefore, it seems the Private Message is a formality done out of kindness to allow the incorrect party an opportunity to do the noble thing of their own volition, without an adversary, and maintain control over their situation and the way it is communicated. I don't understand why anyone would get precious about it regardless. Making mistakes is a natural part of being human and no-one has completed a day, never mind a life, without error.

My NERVA with a distinctive portrait (a real Roman nose!) and a politically importnt reverse. I've also attached my video which details Nerva's ancestry, political career under Nero and the Flavians, potential involvement in the assasination of Domitian, his reign and its coinage (including my own coin's reverse and many in this thread!), and the circumstances that led to the adoption of Trajan!

A speedy and full recovery to you sir. I'm glad you're feeling healthy enough to make a post!

Hello everyone. A friend of mine has recently been a real lifeline to me in terms of offering advice/counsel and lending a listening ear. What affordable Roman coin would be a good gift to give as a thank you? My initial thoughts were COMES or COMITI or CONSERVATORI types, but nothing came to mind immediately! Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Very ugly. Why divide a perfect shape like that?

My interest in Roman history pre-dated my interest in coins by a couple of years, although I appreciate your compliments! My first purchase was a Constantine with a Jupiter (pagan) reverse because I was infatuated with the religious transition of the Empire!

I have recently seen people talk about an increase in price again recently, and I'd like to offer another source that may be contributing to this. Like many others, I started collecting during COVID. Initially when I was new to the hobby the absolute most I would spend would be £30 or so on eBay. Then I discovered vcoins and my maximum price increased to £50. During this time I would only buy from British dealers. Eventually, I was brave enough to buy from overseas, and my budget increased again to around £80. After a year of collecting, my upper limit was around £100 and I would purchase from retail exclusively. Next, I was brave enough to enter auctions, and I stuck to British auction houses. In the two auctions I participated in initially, I spent £130 in each on 3 coins each time. After around 2 years of collecting, I had spent as much as £150 on a single coin, and I was now brave enough to participate in foreign auctions! Last week, I bid as high as £260 for a single coin (and lost of course) The moral of the story, is that the new COVID collectors are slowly working their way through the economic stages of this hobby as their collecting takes on an increased seriousness, and their targets become increasingly specific as sub-collections and historical knowledge develops. As a result, I see mid range coins (£100-£300) undergoing a little spike right now as "new" collectors enter this market, and are brave enough to venture further afield in search of their targets.

Some lovely examples here! I'm much too nervous to buy Sestertii for the reasons already touched on in this thread such as price, smoothing and tooling. However I've been in mind for some time to buy an inexpensive obviously untooled and unsmoothed budget example for the tacticle experience of moving the large chunk of metal between my hands and fingers!

I have 3 of the Sol Invicto type:

Trier produces my favourite Constantine portraits, a nice blend of life-like and idealised! Very nice example. Sol doesn't usually get as fresh as die for the strike as your coin has! I think the bottom of the F is missing in your TF, it doesn't look curvy enough to be intended to be a C. I think the going theory is that it means TEMPORVM FELICITAS, "happy times". I could be wrong though.

@DonnaML I agree with this and it's no contest for me. Everyone knows my main criteria for coins is Historical and Artful reverses. The animal on the reverse is not only better preserved, but its depiction commmunicates something. It appears to be walking proudly, almost to the point of pomp and swagger. It's chin is up and the antlers protrude compellingly for some distance. It's legs are straight and elegant, and the contures of it's body and muscles add to the dynamism and vitality of the creature. It's easy to place this animal in some imagined context or story, and consider it's personality, and therefore we immediately ask ourselves if this depiction tells us anything about Salonina herself? The old example looks like a barebones outline of some animal or another, and little more. The observe in the new addition is indeed in worse condition, however, the name and all essential features are still present, and in fact, there is more detail around Salonina's facial features, which makes the portrait on the newer piece more expressive. All in all, one coin is a piece of Roman money, the other seems to have some ineffable quality, or "art" as defined by Tolstoy. Art begins when a man, with the purpose of communicating to other people a feeling he once experienced, calls it up again within himself and expresses it by certain external signs

The most I've paid for a coin was £150, a price easily achieved on a receipt for a meal for two at a mid-range restaurant. All in all, I purchase coins somewhat sporadically and with money that I consider absolutely disposable. I think coins make up about 5% of my total budget. Although, I have spotted a coin in one of tomorrow's auctions that I would love to own, and have stuck a £220 (!) proxy bid on it. I won't go a great deal higher than this, and the coin is probably worth a great deal more so I don't plan on winning either. It's what I call a FOMO bid, which is something I learned to do after watching many items slip away at prices Iower than I would have paid on eBay. I would see a coin that I desire, but one that is not very high on my want list. Oftentimes I wouldn't bother bidding, thinking the coin will inevitably sell for much higher than I am willing to pay, and that the coin is not important enough for me to follow the auction. Later I would be going through my Watched List, see what the coin hammered for, and realise that I could have won with a very low offer, which would cause a bit of frustration. Therefore, I have defined a FOMO bid as a bid that I make only to ensure the coin does does not sell for a price that I would be annoyed at when I check what it hammered for. I don't watch the auction, I don't wait to bid tactically, I simply stick my FOMO bid in when I first spot the coin and then don't think about it. FOMO bids are generally about 60% of what I consider a fair price for the coin. These are obviously much more effective on eBay compared to normal aucitons. I have only won with one FOMO bid since its inception, this small Constantine II that I bid £5 for and won for £1.29.

Great read, and great idea for a potential series! The Verdun story is incredible and it's always good to be reminded of it!

I would actually expect that one to be smaller, although not quite as tiny as 16mm! The portrait is not nearly as refined as on the bigger issues.

I thought it was Antioch mint when I looked at it. My reasoning is the Antioch mint minted coins in preparation for Gordian's Persian campaign, hence he often has a bit more facial hair to look manlier, and they straighten out his button nose a bit for the same reason. Yours might have been one of the first attempts from the Imperial mint at Antioch? Compare mine below.

Perhaps! Although I don't think the re-marriage policy was as clear cut as you imply. In his A Plea for the Christians (c. 177), Athenagoras showed that the typical resistance to remarriage was based on the church's understanding of Jesus' teaching on the matter. "Second marriage is only a specious adultery," he declared. "'For whosoever puts away his wife,' says He [meaning Jesus], 'and marries another, commits adultery."[3] Indeed, the marriage bond for many of the Ante-Nicene Fathers was so indissoluble that it continued beyond the grave. A virtually eternal relationship was established between the spouses, living or dead. https://theologicalstudies.org.uk/article_divorce_snuth.html There are numerous texts that testify to the use of the term “digamos” or “monogamos” to indicate the state of widows or widowers in relation to a second marriage. An example, closer to the 5th century, from the letters of St. Jerome witnesses to the technical meaning of the terms (left in the original Greek) with reference to the state of widows and widowers: “Why does a priest, who must be a monogamist (‘monogamia’), urge a widow to marry again (‘digamos’)?” (Letter 52, 16). https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/divorce-and-remarriage-in-the-early-church-1819 Other reasons he may not have re-married: 1. He was 54 by the time of the execution of Crispus, any subsequent heirs could not be safeguarded by Constantine, who would be an advanced age as his son grew up. This would also present a difficult political situation for Constantine's other sons when he finally came of age. 2. He had three heirs already. Having seen the drama that successions could cause he decided not to add any fuel to that somewhat inevitable fire. This idea is further supported by the speculation that the whole Crispus and Fausta debacle was based on dynastic politics. The theory goes that both Crispus and Fausta were nervous about their position in the Imperial succession. Fausta was worried that a Crispus Augustus would rid himself of Fausta and her sons who were also heirs, and Crispus was concerned about a coup from the Faustan side of the dynasty. What follows from this is that either Fausta falsely accused Crispus of something or another, or the two plotted to oust Constantine and (literally) marry their imperial ambitions, hence the talk of affairs. Whether any of this is true, it's impossible to say. But, if there is any truth to it, it would certainly be understandable why Constantine did not want to add another branch to his dynasty. My favourite historian for Constantine is Timothy Barnes. Barnes seems to appreciate how much of a political genius Constantine was, and like Potter, also abstains from moralizing.