dougsmit

The obvious question I would like to see addressed is whether we know if quinarii of this period ever circulated at face value or were they more like Maundy coins that could be sold by recipients for a profit upon issue. The other question I find interesting is how many people in the hobby would take tis corroded scrap over a slabbed MS 5/5 5/5 starred denarius. I don't know if anyone has seen a current (and not all that well executed) ABC TV show called "Generation Gap" based on making fun of the fact that teens and grandparents are 'culturally diverse' and know little about what was/is important to the other generation. I fault it for half the questions applying to things more a part of the generation in between rather than the 13 year old and 80 year old on stage. The reason I mention it here is the final part of the show involves a toddler sibling of the teen who is presented with the choice of a prize between a rather nice toy and a brand new car. So far, the kid has taken the toy and the parents have smiled and acted like they thought it was cute. I can only assume that the producers have threatened anyone who so much as groaned. The clips of those toddlers will be shown repeatedly to the kids in a few years explaining to them why it is they do not get a car when they get a license. How many of you would rather have a quinarius? I suspect we could compare it to the aureus rather than the denarius.

It came to my attention that someone has questioned civility and equality practices here. I do not know their specific issues but I am probably colored by those being the issues that brought many of us here from the other place. I must be so dense that I am missing what the complaints could be. I do know that I consider all forms of politics repulsive mostly due to the time I spent in Washington DC in a place where politicians tend to congregate. What are the complaints (well founded or ridiculous) put forward by those who do not like NF?

This thread reminded me that I had not shot a coin with my new Canon R7, a crop sensor 32.3MP mirrorless so I decided to try a test comparing its results to those with my old (2 years+) Canon RP which is the lowest end of the Canon mirrorless full frame line and 26.2MP. What I proved is I am not capable of doing a fair test trying to balance several variables. Since the R7 is a crop sensor the pixels are much smaller than those on the RP. The question is which camera would make the best coin images. Both were used with the same lens, a Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro at f/8. The R7 was also tested using the 'kit' zoom Canon packages with the body, 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3. Extension tubes were added to allow the coin to fill the frame. All were processed using Canon DPP4 software. The RP, being a full frame camera, had to be much closer to the coin to fill the frame. This made matching the lighting impossible. Below are the three images. A ask you not to look at the file names which will tell which is which until you have decided which emms sharpest or best in any way. If the colors do not match, it is possible that could be changed. The lenses were focused manually and there is very little depth of field in this region so you will notice, for example, that the highest parts of the portrait are sharper than the flat fields on the obverse but the lower relief of the reverse design made both more even. Opinions?

As I prefer, my coins similar to this request are 'different' in some way that made me buy them over higher grade coins. I was not aware of such matters in 1988 when I bought this first one from Ed Waddell. Most of you probably could not believe that Ed sold a coin like this and it was beneath his average in 1988. Back then, he had many $1000 coins as well but had some for cheapskates like me. He was, and still is, a nice guy in the business. I wish our budgets allowed me to still be a customer. This is the common variety Sear 1200. 'Different' is this one that started life as a Sear 1206 coin of the Democracy that replaced Agathokles in 289 BC and changed the legend to ΔΙΟΣ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΟΥ of which only a bit survived being overstruck by a type of Hiketas II unlisted in Sear but found in Favorito as #50f. Those interested in these coins might enjoy the paperback The Bronze Coinage of Ancient Syracuse by Emilio Favorito, published by the Society Historia Numorum in Boston, 1990. Good luck finding a copy. This CNG sale had a group lot with both the Agathokles and the Democracy type with head left: https://cngcoins.com/Search.aspx?IS_ADVANCED=1&ITEM_IS_SOLD=1&ITEM_LOT_NUMBER=115&ITEM_LOT_NUMBER_FROM=115&ITEM_DESC=syracuse+democracy&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_1=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_2=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_3=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_4=1&TABS_TYPE=3&CONTAINER_NAME=78&CONTAINER_TYPE_ID=3&VIEW_TYPE=0&MAX_COUNT=10000&PAGE=1 I have always been fond of Sicilian AE coins when I could find my definition of good enough in my definition of cheap enough. These assorted Sicilians are presented for ID practice for any here interested in such an exercise.

Lets be perfectly clear. I don't buy stuff to make a copy stand. I have enough scrap wood from various projects to make what I want. I am still using the enlarger frame I bought in 1966 as a copy stand. I don't take my coin photography as seriously as some of you. If I want to tilt a coin, I slip a bit of clay under it and wiggle it until I see what I want. I once posted this drawing for a stand that worked but as shown on my page, is not going to impress anyone. Wood vibrates less than metal. I prefer it. https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/coinphoto2011ez1.html Someone asked about the can. Yes, the bottom was cut out. The idea is that it makes no difference what is the background if no light gets down there. The can was later replaced with an inverted black plastic flower pot. Currently I am using an oatmeal box with black inside and a set of tops with various sized holes cut to minimize light reaching the background. It just struck me that I have had my new camera a month now and have not shot a coin. I really should but have no idea which one to start with. Perhaps I should try one of my old favorites but I'll fail to get as good a photo as when I was doing photos all the time. That could be depressing. I believe this is my most recent rig photo but it was taken down when I reorganized the room. I don't know what will be next.

I'm not a particular fan of Lugdunum but I do like dies that have good boat detail. Many have details rather abbreviated. This one looks like it would float and could be steered with that rudder.

I'm no longer chasing die varieties on 'Emesa' denarii. There are just too many of the common types for someone on my level to accomplish anything. We might mention that there are a lot of other Victory variations from this mint. Most common are the VICT AVG coins. I also like the ones with different poses like carrying a trophy which also come in VICT and VICTOR versions. Also there is the one with two hands on the wreath and with the spelling VICTOR VICT. Of course there are more scarce Victories but that is another thread.

If you are doing enough coin photography to justify a dedicated camera, I see nothing wrong with buying an old Digital Rebel but there are several brands of tubes that will fit the Sony A77. Just be sure they and A mount and have the 8 metal contacts on the tubes that match the ones on your camera and lens. I know little about Sony cameras but have been happy with Kenko, Meike and Commlite for my Canons. I understand Sony has stopped supporting the A mount that your camera uses and the camera is a decade old. I might consider buying a newer camera and setting up one as just for coins. Over the years I have built several stands for coin photography. None of these still exist but you need to know what camera and lens is to be uused to get the measurements right .... or just build one and keep drilling holes until it fits.

That is the definition of 'serious' in the market today where we see people who know nothing about coins spending without limit sometimes guided by a knowledgeable professional and sometimes not. When it comes to 'sets', I tend to prefer to see matching condition rather than matching price per coin. If the Otho and Caligula are dogs but the Domitian is MS, the whole set looks funny to me. Each can decide whether we collect to impress the competition, to learn about the coins or to invest in the hope of financial return. The CNG set is not aimed at anyone I would call 'serious' in any way but probably 'rich' enough that they don't care. About 30 years ago I heard a relatively big name dealer define a 'serious' collector as on that spent $1000 a year on coins. Then I was 'serious'. Today, I would expect that number to be considerably higher to qualify for the tag since the cheapest single coin in the 'ides alternative' set is $4500. I'm not interested in being 'serious'. While I agree with Donna that VF coins are best 'for me', the fact remains that our lower grade coins have not appreciated in value along with the 'serious' coins. We see with some regularity people complaining that their castoffs brought disappointing returns in the auction to which they were consigned. I have that problem when it comes to selling coins. If a coin does not seem to me to be worth having in my collection, how can I expect anyone else to pay me more than I paid for the coin I don't want? This is not a problem for investors who don't care about the coins as much as the profit but it is for those of us who are interested in the coins for other reasons.

I believe the exergual legend is SMN followed by a letter indicating the workshop which is a bit hard to guess here. SM stands for Sacra Moneta (Sacred money) suggesting that counterfeiting would be an offence to God or at least a bad idea. N is for the city of Nicomedia where the mint was located. The last letter, mostly missing here, would identify which of the then in operation workshops or officinae made the coin. I post below a completely different coin (much later) with SMNA showing the Greek numeral/letter A=1 for the first officina. At your stage of the hobby, this letter is not important but there are specialists who take great interest in such things as workshop ID. Now there will be people who say I am misreading the A here and should have said it was delta for shop four. I see the central crossbar which is v shaped on this issue and large serifs that meet in the middle. No one told the Romans that they had to use the same 'font' every time they cut legends so it is part of the hobby to learn what they might have been thinking. Notice that this coin has some letters M that tend to look a bit squished into something we might read as N. It is a handwriting thing. I don't have a coin matching yours but there are thousands of coins of Constantius II and I do not specialize in them. You might find interest in the silver siliqua of Constantius from the Thessalonica mint (TES) that tells us that Constantius did last long enough to redeem those 30 year vows mentioned on your coin and go for 40. Compare it to the one from Sirmium posted by Q. Note that each mint not only had different mintmark letters but a completely different style interpreting the basic design as dictated by the powers above. Ancient collectors prefer this to the modern system where only the mintmark tells where the coin was made. When anyone gets a 'first' coin, there is the obvious question of what will be next. You may not know and that is perfectly normal. There are more choices than most of us can imagine. Some are extremely rare with only one known example and very few people who know or care about them. Some are very common and exist by the millions (maybe literally) with more being dug up every day somewhere that had coins circulating in their day. Some of these common ones are well known and popular (therefore cost more than the rare ones). Some are beautiful, interesting, historical or some combination of those things. So, the question with a million right answers: "What's next?"

Many emperors issued coins as the came and went but this Septimius Severus 'Emesa' denarius stuttered a bit with FORTVNAE REREDVC. One has to wonder if the die cutter took a lunch break and forgot where he had left off. The coin is also a good example of the obverse die with die break obliterating the V in SEV but that is a different post.

@Constantius, you might want to be on the lookout for an Alexandria mint Falling Horseman with the long style of my coin below. It reminds me of the colossal head of Contantine intended to make him look more grand than to be realistic. This is not typical for all coins of the period. Most coins of this mint and period show a pointy nose that is not all that attractive and certainly not regal. https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/colossus-constantine#:~:text=The colossal statue of Constantine,important statues of Late Antiquity.

I believe in most but not all periods there were a few mint workers/engravers who did a good job but it seems that this means relatively little to most collectors who would rather have a MS coin from lousy dies than a better one in F-VF. In many periods of common coins, it can be unusual to find die matches and no one does die studies but we still have the option of looking for better than usual dies. Thirty years ago there was a dealer who I felt I could count on to have poor artistry and another that never had run of the mill die work. We remain with the question of whether we want examples that are typical of their period or better to the point that they deceive us into thinking more highly of that mint operation than is really appropriate. There is a lot of criticism posted by Aaron Berk on the concept of 'Fine Style' as used on NGC slabs. I believe we each are entitled to our opinion of what is better but might warn that if you pay extra for style, you need to hope to find someone who agrees with your opinion if you decide to sell. I find the Severan period particularly varied in terms of style. They had a few die cutters that were absolutely horrid.

There would be a lot of profit to be made cutting 2% silver coins down to 1% when the weekly output was a million coins. The first coins of Aurelian compared to his later issues show why Felicissimus when down in history.

He did not forget Caracalla but made a strange choice of order placing him at the end of the family and Geta next to Plautilla. Those are basically the easy ones and where 'one per' collections can hit a snag. Each collector has to decide whether they want one coin of a rare guy who had little impact on history or a dozen various coins of people who lasted for decades. BTW, it does seem that Caracalla ended his 'cheerful' phase about the time he married Plautilla. IMO any 'general' collection needs several coins of the 'big' names showing how their issues recorded the passing of time. Caracalla needs three or four at a minimum. Octavius' set was 'late heavy'. These are earlier:

I guess my resistance to Parion was that mine shown above is 3.4g. It was purchased as a 3/4 drachm S3917 but I see that S3918 is listed as a half at lower weight. An early issue with the same type made in a range of sizes make one wonder if they were marks of guarantee of metal but not denominations as we know the term today. Did the man on the street separate these ranging form 2 to 4g by eye/feel or were they weighed?

I have asked this before but not yet convinced. This Apollonia Pontica was overstruck on something but I want to know what. It was suggested that it was a medusa type of Parion but those tend to weigh a gram more than this one's 2.53g. Ideas appreciated. The Parion

My youngest looking Nero is a year 3 Alexandrian tet which has a rather generic portrait not looking all that much like other young portraits.

Easily my favorite Decius is my antoninianus overstruck on a denarius of Geta doubling the value of the coin. It is from the later period TRA DECIVS group with PANNONIAE reverse. I have seen a few other coins of this period similarly overstruck on earlier denarii. This suggests that it was not an accident but an official policy implemented for the profit. I am also fond of a couple coins with unusual style. Portraits of Decius vary a lot. This VICTORIA AVG is not plated but the style makes you wonder about the mint. The fourree VBERITAS AVG also has a strong portrait of a style you might think could have gained the cutter employment at the regular mint (considerably better than some of their cutters!). It is late for a fourree. At one point I had two antoniniani of the same DACIA type that struck me as rather equal so I tried to sell the one I liked less in an auction where it was ignored and ended up given to a YN along with a few coins that probably deserved being ignored. Today, I see lesser specimens being sold for twice that price and really never understood what was wrong that caused it to be refused for less than I had paid in years past. These are common coins. IMHO the factor to distinguish the better from the lesser is not grade but the style and strike of the Dragon head on the reverse.

Before I knew that US was not part of the world I made the above strip for my profile page but had to modify it to avoid overlaps with other things to the point I gave up trying to make it look right. Being from the US, I would have put my Canadian coins in world but just realized I have no pictures of any. When made I considered the set to be appropriate for what I considered to be 'all' coins. The HIII penny is 'World', the Parthian 'Non Western' and the cash 'Far Eastern'. I suppose the quarter is out of place because it strikes me as appropriate for 'World' if it were not for my US bias and the fact I like the coin which I have had for ~65 years. When I got it, 1917 was a lot more modern than it is today. I have gone on record before as opposing categorizing coins, history and people. I am old enough to remember when many things now offensive were seen daily and we were not aware that 'they' can be a singular pronoun. I also remember when many people thought Byzantines were ancient but coins of western Europe a thousand years newer were medieval. We were messed up then and we are now - just in a different way.

Compare this to the ff02 Elagabalus. This also exists with bust right and E 'normal' so I consider this an error coin showing the encircling legend was cut by a different hand before or after the bust and the backwards E.

Serapis is a frequent type on Alexandrian coins but I always looked at them as a bit ordinary compared to other types that were not used as often. Of course most of mine were lower grade coins obtained before the market decided that mint state was the only 'state' that should be bought and that the hobby was intended to enrich middlemen whether it was real dealers or wannabee sellers that set up shop on eBay using the business model that you can always find someone willing to pay several times what the coin cost you. It seems hard to find 'nice' coins and we see coins that would have been 'dreck' once featured by sellers who count on new buyers. My Serapis array are mostly pretty ordinary by the definition of old school sellers. One is still considered desirable but that has nothing to do with Serapis. Those who wish to ID them for themselves are invited to look.

These are strange times. They must seem stranger to those who value their coins according to their potential for profit. The problem I have is that any coin I could point to as gloatworthy are coins I would not sell so the gain is only 'on paper'. This may be a lot like the 'paper' loss many of us have experienced in our stock portfolios. Will things reverse again and coin and stocks return to previous levels? IDK. It makes no real difference right now. I'm not selling Costco so I can buy coins (or the reverse).

Is there a way to set notifications here so I do not get things like "xxxx reacted to a post on yyy" but do not also love notifications of comments or images posted to threads? I'm still interested in the coins I have but have stopped chasing sales and am limiting time online so I'm looking for efficiency. I have not learned the software here and, in all honesty, probably never will after so many years at the other place.

This period has never been a particular interest to me but who can resist a fancy hat.