dougsmit

There was a time when you could get fourrees a lot cheaper than the solids but I have seen some sell lately that suggests some buyers don't know or don't care. There was a story going around 30 years ago that one of the big London dealers had three fourree EID MAR denarii in a junk drawer but would not sell them. Coins of this period are found in fourree much more commonly that those from more stabile periods. Beware.

IMO it is usual for there to be a Provincial portrait better than that of Rome and much worse. Some Provincial mints had really great talent, others had the local magistrates brother-in-law who need a job. Rome had a number of die cutters and they usually ran the range from exceptional to poor. I have bought several coins solely for the die quality which I value above grade. The ten denarii shown below were all 193 AD Septimius. I consider all of them good work but they don't look at all alike. No one really knew all that much about Septimius since he had been in the field for many years. I'm not sure which of these 193 guesses I like best. Septimius' appearance is best known in the later period after the civil wars. What DID he look like in mid-193 when these were made? Two of these show straight hair. I don't know if this site has a limit but I am showing ten because that other site would not allow more. Old habits are hard to break. I do wonder how many different dies there were that first year. Were all as different as these?

Four sestertii make one denarius. Here is a denarius worth of Septimius AE. The first three are sestertii, the next with radiate crown is a dupondius and the last two are asses.

I remain interested in seeing what he has to say in upcoming segments. I posted a You Tube video in 2017 on Faulty Greek Coins with the intention of following up with one on Romans. I hope part two of Athens does better than I did.

I enjoyed this video. I do not recall it being mentioned here. Forgive me if this is old news.

The coin is certainly Alexandria mint. The identification of these to that mint began about 30 years ago but a good percentage of professional sellers still can't get with the program and copy ID information from Rome mint listings of the past. I believe I am correct that the Alexandria mint Pertinax denarii are more common than the Rome mint ones. When I got mine (1995 and 2005) many good dealers were confused on the matter. Many now don't care since it makes so little difference in price. We see two reverses form Alexandria. Ops is most popular since there are few other coins showing her but Providentia Deorum is a nice coin, too. Many will show that classic Alexandria eye as on my Providentia coin but not so much on my Ops. Both here are Alexandria but both types were also made at Rome. . In Rome, Pertinax was usually more slender but I do not own one to show. Opinion: I don't believe the Alexandria Pertinax coins were made while he was alive but possibly when Alexandria was uncertain who to support in the Septimius vs. Pescennius matter. Serious numismatists don't believe this but I am just an old fool who looks at coins.

The Constantine comments were part of a quick survey of a recent auction which sold a gold medallion of Constantine. The podcasts regularly survey what Aaron Berk considers to be important or interesting coins sold in the last week or two. The offensive part to me is his regular statements that there are ancient coins for all budgets but showing mostly things that cost the price of a car or house. He has been improving in this 'balance' lately so I hope we will have more for those who are not collecting for investment. The latest episode (#19) included a comment that he was not even mentioning some sales of coins that had belonged to the late, infamous (for paying too much) sheik because the estimates were set much too high in an attempt to recoup more (lose less) for the heirs. The problem is that showing coins at inflated prices will cause some new collectors to get the idea that they should actually bid at those levels. The difference between a $1000 coin and a $100,000 coin is more in the mind of bidders who have no idea what something 'should' sell for but enough surplus cash to have a major effect on what it actually 'does' sell for on that particular day. At some point, someone is going to 'take a bath' and sell way under what was paid. Some of us paid way too much for way too little as a way of building our collections but expect no coverage in the news. It will be interesting to see if there are news reports on how much the 'Sheik' collection loses. His heirs can afford it and the fate of $10,000+ coins makes no difference whatsoever to those of us who collect $100 coins. For us, these sales are spectator sports. Aaron Berk has customers who spend in the upper brackets and need counseling to avoid selling the farm to buy a goat. His podcasts need to attract both groups. At least he is making an attempt.

A live, unedited podcast is a dangerous thing to do if you want to look like you know what you are doing. It is very hard to tell if a slip up like those listed is a sign of someone really not knowing every detail. I don't so maybe I should not expect perfection either. I appreciate the fact that he is willing to do a podcast and promote the hobby but I probably have more issues with details from such errors than most watchers OR I am the only one who posts comments on his slips. Perhaps those who catch these errors should post comments on his bages and we will see if things improve or if the podcasts are stopped. The latter would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Harlan Berk was expert enough to write a book on Byzantine coins and smart enough to hire a team of people who really did know several other areas of specialty. It remains to be seen if Aaron will continue this business plan and replace the aging members of the staff that have made the business what it is with a new generation that will help him become the expert in coins that he already is in the coin business. I won't be around to see the next generation of genuine coin experts but am curious whether they will all work for NGC, for Berk and other megadealers or whether we return to more emphasis small but knowledgeable dealers that made the hobby enjoyable for me in my earlier years. I do wish more people expert in some phase of the hobby or business would have a presence on podcasts or even participate in online discussion groups like this one. We will never stamp out ignorance but online presence is the 2022 version of that nice old man in the walk up local coin store that introduced me to the hobby way back when. I wish I could remember all their names. For that matter, I wish I could remember any of their names. Related: In podcast 19, several Athenian tetradrachms recently sold were shown along with their prices realized. Most were rather low end compared to the best we have been seeing since the hoard entered the market. I compared the prices to what I thought of the coins and was a bit shocked. It struck me that the crest of the helmet seems to be more popular than the end of Athena's nose. I talked to a friend today who prefers the lower curl of hair (or whatever it is) at the bottom to crest. Opinions will differ. I like noses.

I am fine with gray but it is next to impossible to shoot a consistent gray background so you have to cut out the coin and drop it on the gray. That makes a possible problem if the selection is less than perfect and you have edge of coin missing or original background remaining in the cracks. Black is easier to achieve since the difference between very black and very, very black is not much. CNG gray is a tad blue for my taste. The ones below are aaaaaa, 777777, 444444 and 000000. I'll stick with black 000000 but all beat the lava IMO.

I dislike staring into a white screen and always choose the black option when presented by pages not to mention on my coins. Coins shot on white seem to suffer from flare that reduces contrast and adds fog. It is all a matter of personal preferences. I also am unique in hating those fake reflections. I only did one of a coin about to have a bad day. The coin is about to go down in flames just as did its maker Tarkondimotos.

Thanks. On my 21" I see the image centered and fitting the 900 pixel elements with a little of the background showing on each side rather like the iPad mini on the link you provided. Your 24 seems to refuse the centering commands of HTML. I do not pretend to understand the reasons such things change as time goes on.

That is correct. I am not mobile friendly. My wife has a tablet which neither of us understand but I prefer desktops. My pages will not have counters either so I won't know if anyone other than me sees them unless someone takes the trouble to write me a note of thanks or complaint. My earlier pages used small photos to be kind to 14.4 K users who paid by the byte. This was updated later when most people switched to unlimited. Keeping up with tech-fads is not an interest for me like it would be for people who make money from their site being popular. I am curious if my pages read properly with Windows 11 and whatever the latest Apple OS is.

At my level, learning to use new software that can find photos not called by any page is needless. What I needed was one that identified dead links or was missing a symbol (<>") that kept a code from running correctly. . I checked all the pages that called the little decorations and found I had been successful in removing them ten years ago. I don't even have the files on my home computer so they are only available if I do another page and add them. When I wrote my pages, web pages were simple HTML without all the features added using more modern languages. Today no one writes code but fills in templates from web host automation packages. I just tried for the first time seeing some my pages on a phone. It was possible but required more scrolling than I find appealing. That won't be changed. I wish my cell phone would make phone calls rather than try to do everything a desktop can do (but poorly). The search for errors goes on. Thanks to all who replied.

Nothing to add but a less well centered example. This coin is remembered by me mostly for being the first coin I ever got in a slab. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost the photo of its escape.

Superior Galleries, established 1930, was once a respected house out of California. I have a catalog of theirs from the 1990's. As I recall they were known for big name Jewish collections. Ask Valentinian if he knows anything about the company or sale of the name. He only lists a few but they were big deal sales with catalogs worth keeping. http://augustuscoins.com/ed/catalogs/ scroll down the alphabetical list.

Thanks. The Mallon link was fixed this afternoon. turtline, and lemmings were cutesy decorations I removed from the pages years ago. banner.gif was replaced by a jpg about the same time. I have not found the Philip II problem yet but those are not broken links but just files not called on any current page that never got deleted when their use was not wanted unless I missed removing some from earlier pages. That I will have to check. What I needed was the pages on which the errors occurred. I assume you have some program that scans for problems. I need that.

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/ Due to a combination of their changing software and my ignorance in matters relating to online activity, I have not had access to update or correct my web pages for the last five years. Thank to the efforts of Joe from Forvm Ancient coins who hosts my pages, that has been corrected. Eventually, I hope to add a few new pages BUT the first task is to correct errors, dead links, spelling or just plain bad information. I would appreciate greatly a private message on anything you find 'wrong' so I can fix that page or delete it altogether if I determine it is a total loss. For example, I found a link on my page on Asian coins that has been dead since the death of Tom Mallon. That will be corrected but I suspect there are a few (dozen, hundred???) other matters that I have not yet found. Now that I'm not buying many new coins, I will concentrate on polishing up the old material and adding things I got in the last five years or so. I would not mind suggestions for new pages but my first priority is editing the old and embarrassing errors. With well over a hundred pages to check, I really need help! Thanks in advance!

I am a big fan of left when right is the rule. My best is a denarius of Septimius Severus from 'Emesa' paired with an equally unusual reverse die with Pietas sacrificing and FORTVNA REDVCI spelled out rather than abbreviated as was more usual. Another one not seen every day is this Geta as with left portrait. Obviously I would like to have a better one but I have not seen any offered. Ending my Severan lefties is a fake. I have two from this die set and really do not know whether they are ancient 'Limes' or modern. I have noticed that there are an abnormally high number of 'better' types in 'Limes' of this period but part of that might be that people saved the unusual coins and trashed the ordinary unofficials. I consider these two modern casts. I bought the first of mine from NFA for good money in 1994 (Auction XXXIII lot 1604). By the time that sale was held, Bruce McNall was already in jail. If you have not read his autobiography Fun While It Lasted, you certainly should. I can't say I'd suggest paying the current list price of $28 but used ones exist. https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/fun-while-it-lasted-my-rise-and-fall-in-the-land-of-fame-and-fortune_michael-dantonio_bruce-mcnall/322392/?resultid=34336113-be1c-4439-a848-68516f167c14#edition=3641314&idiq=43892

A well documented cud resulted from the deterioration of the reverse die Boehringer R481 that formed progressively behind and above the head of Arathusa. Mine is a mid range example and was minimized by the striking crew favoring that side with an uneven strike which made the lower right face and legend better. Later examples show the break extending over into the tail of the top dolphin. My coin shows R481 combined with obverse V345 producing Boehringer 703 c.420 BC. I got mine in 1991 from a dealer who considered it ugly which it is but I prefer the term 'interesting'. Also shown many times before is the Clodius Albinus as Augustus denarius recently shown here in the thread on Lugdunum mint where the error that produced the die clash incuse letters also knocked a chunk out of the reverse die producing the cud on the upper right. Clashed dies are common but they usually are less severe than needed to break the die to this extent or the mint usually retired such dies. Stuff happened at the mint but the question is why they kept using such dies. We can only assume that they needed coins (now!) and did not have a replacement die in reserve. I consider the above two examples to add interest or value to the coin because they are extreme. Below is an AE2 of Valentinian II with a small cud below his nose that I consider more of a detraction than a bonus. I have no idea if this die was retired before it got worse. When we see a coin with a cud, the obvious question is how many coins were made before the quality control people made them stop. I have seen enough of the Syracuse tetradrachm to make me wonder why it was allowed to continue. I have not seen other examples of the other two. I really like coins that show things about 'bad days' at the mint.

Opinion: Part of the difference may be the change in coin cleaning as much as storage. In the 'old days' we got coins with their natural protective surfaces intact. That was more likely to be stable than the raw metal exposed through current electrolysis and chemical scrubbing which leaves the coin susceptible to attack from things like bronze disease. Today people are obsessed with the lack of wear over surfaces and coins that might have been set aside as not worth the effort get 'processed' and sent to market. Coin conservation does not come at coins per second pace. Speed kills. https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/feac16.html Mention was made to my coins from the Bavarian Collection. Mine were cast offs from the lot bought by Tory Failmezger at the NFA sale. He kept the nicer ones and had the envelopes. When his coins were sold, I don't know what happened to the envelopes. For that matter, I have not seen any sales in the last 20 years mentioning Bavarian provenance accompanied by original envelopes. I suspect most were trashed in 1993 long before anyone cared about provenance of low end coins. Below is my illustration from my page showing the best of my envelopes and one of the least of my Bavarian coins. I bought it for the stamp. How many would pay more for the envelope than for the coin? Other than my mention (repeatedly over the last 25 years) of the Celator article has anyone here seen any Bavarian Collection coins? I have not. Crying shame. Constantius II AE2 Centenionalis from the Bavarian Collection (#2799) Siscia mint, 3rd officina, Cohen 142 (3 francs value)

Later to the party even than usual, I believe most of these duplicate what has been shown before. A favorite shown too many times before is an Augustus as with countermark by Tiberius TIBCAVF. A severe die clash left a large die cud on the GEN LVG COS II Clodius Albinus reverse. Carinus with LVG mark Constantius I pre-reform Constantius I post-reform Galerius

No. The seller's photo differs by having the light come from directly above the head at 12 o'clock while your new photo is lit from behind the head about 10 o'clock. Your first attempt has the light closer to 1 o'clock but is also overexposed washing out detail. A slight wiggle of a coin can make quite a change in the 'look' of the coin but there is no photography 'trick' here. It is not the job of the photographer to take a photo to make the coin look bad but I would call the seller's image rather poor with too much contrast and poor focus. I have never taken a photo of a coin with an iPad and have no idea what to suggest to improve your image. I might try something closer to the angle of the seller photo but with the tonality and sharpness of yours. When you are bored, reshoot the coin again and again paying attention to what differences you get rotating and changing the elevation of the light. Practicing with this coin will make it easier to decide what to do the next time you have a similar coin.

Those wishing to test their understanding of the differences can pick the special mint(s) out of these four.

Of all Antioch, Pisidia coins, my favorite is the smaller, left facing denomination just for what I consider interesting style. I also like the smaller AE26 Domna with Men but consider my Fortuna coin for Domna rather pedestrian in style.

Septimius also used the Men type. Here Gordian used a sacrifice scene with standards on an AE35. My example makes the identity of the reverse figure less than obvious but the seller called it 'emperor'. I prefer the Pietas as listed by Valentinian.