ambr0zie

Composing pompous emails for every transaction is indeed silly BUT there are situations when they deserve this. I will give two real examples: - I bought some coins a few days before Christmas, as a Christmas gift for me. Even if that house has a very good habit of shipping quickly, because of the calendar the package would have arrived after Christmas. They shipped, that time, using a MUCH FASTER shipping service than usually. This happened just that time. It was sure intentional and they charged the same shipping fees like for their usual shipping, but I received the envelope on 23.12. This would never have happened with normal shipping. - I bought a coin from a dealer. Cheap purchase. It is a gentleman from this forum. It was Sunday, at noon. He prepared the shipment as soon as I made the order. This was unexpected and a pleasant surprise. So for me there are 3 scenarios in this process of buying coins 1. When the seller does a great job and proves they want me as customer. Quick shipping (yes, this matters for me), using shipment methods with reasonable price (and this is happening with less and less dealers/houses), without hidden fees and also promptly replying to queries. These people deserve thanks + I usually remain their long term customer 2. Good work but nothing out of the ordinary. Reasonable shipping time and fees, but worse than point 1. 3. Poor work. Delayed shipping, large shipping fees (and then you notice that they are using ordinary post), not replying to queries even if they were important. Usually for me this means I will ignore them. To clarify - my purpose is not making friends among dealers. If I am treated by default as a valuable customer and I see they make efforts to make my experience pleasant, well this is win-win. And they have my respect and I show them this. But if I see that they squeeze money with silly reasons ("handling fees"? really? or debatable shipping charges?) this means they have too many customers, they don't need me. It's tough but I usually survive.

Yes. Especially when I see top class service.

Cross as a (relatively) main motif 15,7 mm, 0,59 g. Hungary. Louis II 1516-1526. AR denar. Kremnitz. 1522. Fourfold coat of arms: Hungarian Árpád stripes, Hungarian double cross, Dalmatian leopard heads, Bohemian lion; in center chest shield Polish Jagellon eagle, no inner circle. Date above shield between two dots, two rosettes between two dots each at the sides / Crowned Madonna seated, with child in her right arm, no lettering, no inner circle. ÉH.675e; Huszar 846.

20 mm, 4,24 g. Aurelian and Vabalathus 270-275 AD. Æ Antoninianus. Antioch. Struck 270-272. IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust to right; B below / VABALATHVS V C R IM D R, laureate and draped bust to right. RIC V.1 381 corr. (rev. bust type); MER-RIC 3103 (temporary).

16 mm, 3,34 g. Sicily. Syracuse. Second Democracy. Æ hemilitron. 410-405 BC. Head of Arethusa to left, hair bound with ampyx and tied in sphendone; behind head, two leaves / Dolphin swimming to right; below, scallop-shell; between Σ Y P A. Calciati, CNS II, 55, 24; SNG Morcom 687-690; SNG ANS 415-425; SNG Copenhagen 697-699; HGC 2, 1480. I am always impressed by these thick, emerald green toned (it is darker than in the pics) coins from Syracuse. I love the artistry on the portrait.

Are there 2 coins or just one? Either I am missing something very obvious or this combination of obverse/reverse does not exist. Have you intented to upload 4 pictures and only 2 were added? An advice: please make an effort to take good quality pictures. These are out of focus. Also crop them or else people would just skip.

19,7 mm, 3,79 g. Anonymous. AR denarius. Rome. 115-114 BC. ROMA, head of Roma, right, wearing winged Corinthian helmet with curl on left shoulder. Border of dots; X (mark of value) behind / Roma, wearing Corinthian helmet, seated right on pile of shields, holding spear in left hand; at feet, helmet; before, she-wolf, right, suckling twins Romulus and Remus; on either side, birds flying. Border of dots. Crawford 287/1; Sydenham 530; RSC 176; RBW 1117. Next - anything anonymous

Carinus 18,2 mm, 6,93 g. Egypt, Alexandria. Carinus 283-285. Potin tetradrachm. Year 2 - 283-284. Α Κ Μ Α ΚΑΡΙΝΟC CЄΒ, laureate and cuirassed bust of Carinus right / L – B, Elpis standing left, holding flower in her right hand and raising skirt with her left; to upper right, star. Dattari (Savio) 5585; Emmett 4007.2; K&G 115.10; Sear 4779.

Another augusta with Ceres 28 mm, 11,55 g. Julia Titi 80-81 AD. Æ dupondius. Rome. IVLIA IMP T AVG F AVGVSTA, bust of Julia Titi, draped, right; hair bundled high in front and wrapped in bun (sometimes small bun) in back / CERES AVGVST S C, Ceres standing left, holding corn-ears and torch. RIC II, Part 1 (second edition) Titus 392.

20 mm, 7,20 g. Egypt, Alexandria. Maximianus 286-305. Billon tetradrachm. 287-288. A K MA OVA MAΞIMIANOC CEB, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / Homonoia (Concordia) standing left, raising right hand and holding double cornucopiae, L – Γ in fields (date). Milne 4855v; Curtis 2091; Emmett 4141.

Aegina fraction?

Yes, they are shockingly small (for me, an obol is already almost average size). But I see this as an advantage.

... I lied. This is a thread about small coins. While I am waiting for the last auction package to arrive to me (where I made quite a lavish purchase, for my wallet) I keep admiring the coins I got from the previous one. I noticed that the general interest for small coins (obols or smaller denominations) is not usually great. What was very surprising, in a pleasant way, was the prices I paid for these. 9 and 11 euros. I was expecting a little more. Every time I see a small silver fraction from Greek cities I really admire the artistry and the attention to details. Especialy since they have another advantage, in my opinion - any defect is MUCH more visible in pics than in hand. The down side is that I have difficulties in getting correct pictures (especially the colors are distorted). So, here are the 2 fractions I recently got, both from Mylasa, under the satrap Hekatomnos. 7 mm, 0,36 g. Greek satraps of Caria, Mylasa. Hekatomnos. AR hemiobol. Circa 395-377 BC. Forepart of a roaring lion, left / forepart of a lion, with both forelegs facing. Klein 506; SNG Keckman 837-840; SNG von Aulock 7805. My only comment is that the only thing better than a lion are .... two lions. I disagree with the idea this is Apollo on the reverse and I am pretty convinced this is an ancient depiction of Marylin Manson. 5 mm, 0,19 g. Greek satraps of Caria, Mylasa. Hekatomnos. AR tetartemorion. Circa 395-377 BC. Forepart of a roaring lion left / laureate head of Apollo facing slightly left. SNG Helsinki 848 (as uncertain); Klein 507; SNG Keckman 849. These new additions complement my other small coins. Difficult to beat my smallest and lightest coin 5 mm, 0,08 g. Ionia, Miletos. Possible Caria, Mylasa. AR hemitetartemorion. Circa 525-475 BC. Head of a roaring lion l. / Quail standing l. within incuse square. Cf. Rosen 407/8; Klein 430; SNG Tubingen 3001. Also a good companion for my other small coins with animals on each side, such as 8 mm, 0,18 g. Mysia, Kyzikos. AR tetartemorion. Circa 525-475 BC (other sources - 480/450-400 BC). Forepart of boar left, tunny to right / Head of roaring lion left, star to upper left, all within incuse square. Von Fritze II 14; SNG France 375. As for spooky facing portraits, this one is no longer lonely 7 mm, 0,30 g. Lesbos, Methymna. AR hemiobol. Circa 400 BC. Bearded head of Silenos facing / Tortoise in dotted square frame. Aufhäuser 14, 127; Lanz 117, 112; G & M 196, 1632. Cf Traité 2263 (circular frame). Let's see small coins - hemiobols or smaller.

26 mm, 11,75 g. Lydia, Tralleis. Magistrate Time. Cistophoric AR tetradrachm. Circa 133 BC. Cista mystica with serpent, within ivy wreath / TΡAΛ to left of bowcase between two coiled serpents, TIME above, cult image of Artemis Anaitis standing front in right field. BMC 31-32; SNG von Aulock 8287; SNG Cop 661; Paris 2700-2701; SNG Leipzig 1269; Mionnet IV, 1026; Pinder 160; Whittall sale 1325b; GRPC Lydia S470. Next - coiled serpent

18 mm, 2,89 g. Lucilla 164-182 AD. AR denarius. Rome. 164-180. LVCILLA AVGVSTA, bust of Lucilla, bare-headed, hair waved and fastened in a bun on back of head, draped, right / VENVS VICTRIX, Venus, draped with right breast bare, standing left, holding Victory in extended right hand and resting left hand on shield set on ground. RIC III Marcus Aurelius 786; Sear 5492; RSC 89.

Veiled 21 mm, 4,05 g. Q. Cassius Longinus. AR denarius. Rome. 55 BC. Q CASSIVS VEST, veiled head of Vesta right / Curule chair within circular temple of Vesta between urn and vota tablet inscribed AC. RSC Cassia 9; BMC 3871; Syd. 917; Craw. 428/1.

Beautiful coin, @Salomons Cat. The price difference is not justified in my opinion.

Riding goat 20,6 mm, 3,72 g. Mn. Fonteius C.f. AR denarius. Rome. 85 BC. MN·FONTEI – C·F Laureate head of Apollo Veiovis r.; below, thunderbolt and below chin, RA ligate / Cupid on goat r.; above, pileii. In exergue, thyrsus. All within laurel wreath. Babelon Fonteia 9; Sydenham 724; RBW 1350; Crawford 353/1a.

Yes, @CPK, adding a Geta as Augustus is a good milestone. Congratulations! What is interesting and a piece of puzzle to understand the rivalry between the two brothers - apparently Geta wanted to be seen as the true successor of Seprimius Severus as there are a lot of portraits where the ressemblance is very straight forward - (not my coin) Speaking of appealing portrait, I bought this one as I really like the portrait (and the bust type) + a reverse with a proud Mars 21 mm, 3,56 g. Probus 276-282 AD. Æ Antoninianus. Siscia. IMP C M AVR PROBVS P F AVG, bust of Probus, radiate, cuirassed, left, with spear and shield / VIRTVS PROBI AVG, Mars, helmeted, walking right, holding spear in right hand and trophy in left hand. Mintmark: -/P//XXI. RIC V Probus 810.

Victory advancing right 17 mm, 1,65 g. Caesarea, Cappadocia. Vespasian 69-79. AR hemidrachm. ΑΥΤΟΚΡ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΟΥƐϹΠΑϹΙΑΝΟϹ ϹƐΒΑ , laureate head right / Victory advancing right, holding wreath and palm. RPC II, 1659.

Sword 20 mm, 3,76 g. Ti. Veturius. AR denarius. Rome. 137 BC. [TI·V􀺏E􀺏T], helmeted and draped bust of Mars right, behind X (mark of value) / ROMA, Oath-taking scene: youth kneeling left, head right, between two soldiers, each of whom holds a spear and sword that touches a pig held by the youth. Crawford 234/1; RBW 969; RSC Veturia 1.

23 mm, 4,80 g. Aelia Flaccilla. Augusta 383-386. Æ follis. Constantinople. AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG, bust of Aelia Flaccilla, with elaborate head-dress, draped, necklace, and mantle / SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, Emperor, head right, standing facing, arms folded on breast, Christogram to right. Mintmark CONSϵ. RIC IX Constantinople 82. Next - another Roman empress, on any Imperial bronze coin

Last weekend I was in an auction and, against my expectations, I managed to win a respectable number of interesting coins. All budget indeed and nothing extremely spectacular, but all of them were on my wish list and on some of them the price was a pleasant surprise. But one of the highlights for me was that I managed to add not one, not two, but three provincial tetradrachms - this was unexpected. Here they are in the order I bought them in 25 mm, 13,22 g. Syria, Seleucis and Pieria, Antioch. Nero 54-68 AD. AR Tetradrachm. Struck 56-57 AD. ΝΕΡΩ[ΝΟΣ ΚΛΑΥΔΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΥΙ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ ΣΕΒ], head of Nero with oak wreath, right / ΑΓΡΙΠΠΕΙΝΗΣ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΗΣ, Γ (regnal date) above ΕΡ (civic date), draped bust of Agrippina II, right. McAlee 253; RPC I 4175; Prieur 74. I wanted a coin from the early reign of Nero but the imperial coins are prohibitive and I haven't seen a provincial coin to fit my tastes and budget. This coin is worn (but a little better in hand - not sure what was wrong with my camera today as the colors were very wrong and it took me a lot of attempts to take decent pics). A coin with young Nero and his dearest mom is a large bonus. Although the coin is modest, I was expecting a bigger price. It wasn't the case and I got it for much better than expected. 29 mm, 11,57 g. Syria, Seleucis and Pieria, Antioch. Billon tetradrachm. Gordian III 238-244 AD. Struck 242-244. ΑΥΤΟΚ Κ Μ ΑΝΤ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian III, right, seen from rear / ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞ ΥΠΑ ΤΟ Β, eagle standing facing, head left, with wreath in beak; tail to left; between eagle's legs, ram running right with head turned back; crescent above ram's head. Bland 1991b, 24; Prieur 302; McAlee 874; RPC VII.2, 3520. Nothing extremely spectacular about this Gordian III tetradrachm. But I couldn't let it pass because I wanted a coin with this reverse (ram under the eagle). Gordian's portrait is pleasant, so why not. 24 mm, 11,01 g. Egypt, Alexandria. Claudius 41-54. AR tetradrachm. Dated RY 4 – 43-44 AD. ΤΙ ΚΛΑΥΔΙ ΚΑΙΣ ΣΕΒΑ ΓΕΡΜΑΝΙ ΑΥΤΟΚ(Ρ), laureate head of Claudius, right, L Δ (date) below chin / [MEΣΣAΛINA] KAIΣ ΣEBAΣ, Messalina, veiled, standing left, leaning on column, holding two children in outstretched right hand, grain ears with left. Köln 81; Dattari (Savio) 125; K&G 12.35; RPC I 5145; Emmett 74.4. This coin was attributed as Nero. But I quickly realized it's Claudius. And the reverse is very interesting (well, more or less on my example) A much better specimen reverse: Although RPC doesn't specify this, the two children in Messalina's hand should be Britannicus and Claudia Octavia. Of course I would have preferred Messalina's name to be readable and, especially, the two children on the flan, but the price would have been very, very different. In the end, not a top 10 coin but not junk either, especially since it was cheap. Let's see freshly added provincial tetradrachms from your collections.

Kantharos 11 mm, 2,38 g. Boeotia, Thebes. AR hemidrachm. Circa 395-338 BC. Boeotian shield / Kantharos; above, club right; battle axe to left; Θ-EB across lower field; all within incuse square. BCD Boiotia 411.

18,6 mm, 2,8 g. Byzantine Empire, Syracuse. Theophilus 829-842. Ӕ follis. + ΘEOFI / LOSbASI, diademed bust facing, wearing chlamys and holding globe cruciger / Large M at l., XXX, at r., NNN, above, cross, below, Θ. DOC 30; Anastasi 548; Spahr 431; Sear 1681. Next - Syracuse, but an ancient coin.