The_Collector

Thank you all for some of the feedback I looked at the edges and there don’t seem to be any seems and on the MA there look to be natural cracks and it’s so thin on one side there could not be a sprue or seem. For the SS there doesn’t seem to be a seem either. I’ve attached some photos of the edges please excuse my fingers in the pictures haha. The first 4 are the SS and the rest are the MA.

Normally my specialty is in Flavian coins so I stick to those but I recently got these two denarii in two lots and have my suspicions. The Marcus weighs 2.8 grams and the Septimius weighs 2.6 grams. What do you all think? Thank you!

Wonderful coins @David Atherton! I will be the outlier in that my top three were #2, 7, and 10. I picked those because they were the ones the hurt the most when you posted them. When I read your write ups, all I could do was kick myself for not having spotted them haha 😂. All of them are fantastic coins and I am glad they went to someone who will appreciate them as much as you will. Congrats!

I finally got to open the package I stored away so it would stop tempting me haha and I was pleasantly surprised to open my gift and see a beautifully preserved coin of Licinius. I am always astounded when I hold a piece of history that has lasted so long in such good condition! Like you can see all the details in Jupiter's face and even his tiny Jupiter pecs! Thank you to my Secret Saturn and lo Saturnalia to everyone and happy other holidays!

I agree with the majority. If its a member post, I think a PM is the best first step and asking them if they mind if you comment on the post about the coin being a fake so others can learn. With regards to an auction house, I think a polite email works and if they still insist on peddling fakes then I think we should all take an active role in posting and naming the house so the rest of us know who not to buy from. I think if they are going to peddle fakes they should pay the price of losing customers. I find it really reprehensible when they know or have good reason to suspect a fake and do nothing about it and think the only way we can "fight" back is by bringing them out into the light.

Thank you @rNumis I really appreciate you taking the time to find it!!

I got mine! I had to hide it so I can hold out till the 17th haha

Thank you so much @rNumis I sent you a PM with the details!

Thank you @DonnaML I could have sworn I deleted the n haha!

I do not have any provenance coins but great coin @David Atherton the portrait really stands out and the provenance is really interesting. Congrats!

Does anyone have access or know where I can access the Rauch 52 auction catalog? Its from 1994 so I cannot find it on any of the normal methods I have tried. Thank you for any help!

Thank you for this post @LONGINUS! If it weren’t for this post I would have never researched the last coins struck under Domitian(shame on me as a Flavian Fanatic haha). As a result I found one of my favorite and probably rarest coins ever! The coincidence was unbelievable the day after you made this post I looked it up on @David Atherton expansive collection of Domitian denarii and found out that we can date Domitian’s last denarius as being struck for only four days before he was assassinated. We can be this precise based on him receiving his 16th year of tribunician powers on September 16 96 AD and being assassinated around the 18th. This of course makes coins with TRP XVI extremely rare as @David Atherton said “they are as rare as chicken’s teeth and the one of rarest of the Domitian denarii.” With all that said, I thought I’d never own one. The only one of my variety on acsearch sold back in 2013 at Triton. So you can imagine my surprise when the next day I saw on eBay one for sale and jumped on it after double checking with David. So without further ado, the last coin of the emperor Domitian!

As a newcomer into the world of Flavian coinage I second this! @David Atherton's coin gallery was my first resource and still a go to if I want to learn more about a coin he has that I have purchased. If by some off chance he does not have it listed then I immediately know to purchase it because it is a one of one haha. Great interview @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix ! Thank you for this series and shining a spotlight on our niche area of collecting!

Very nice coin @David Atherton! I think you were right there were a lot of gems in the standard portion of the buy or bid sale. Here is my only coin with a temple on it.

At first glace, the bust looked like something from Vespasian. So, I did some looking and I think you are right because there are no titles in Wildwinds that would fit the mushed part in the legend. Congratulations on the find!

I am not super knowledgeable about Greek coinage but to my, spot the difference trained, eye 😂 they look to be die matches. I agree that the bottom one has an odd almost luster, but it could be that I just like the top one better haha. Both are beautiful coins though!

Great call out @Pellinore it looks like either a really beat up or crude reproduction of a German East African Rupee from 1901! The elements look to be there the palm frond to the bird on the Kaiser's helmet but they are all jumbled. Just my guess

Thank you all for your help in solving this mystery with me haha!! Thank you @David Atherton I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the coin! Also, I was wondering if you could tell me what books you would recommend since I am trying to specialize in Flavian coinage. I already have the Sear's book and want to know what would be the next step book wise? Thank you!

So I recently acquired this coin and it came in the mail today. For the life of me, I cannot find one with a similar reverse. I have searched coin Coinarchive, wildwinds, acsearch, and the collection of @David Atherton The reverse seems to be pax and it looks like she is burning some shields. I have found examples of those coins, but they always have the SC at her side while in this example, though hard to see, the SC is small and at the bottom. The closest I have been able to match it to is this coin : https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=257700 but mine has no trace of words on the reverse of my coin. Please help me figure out what is going on with this coin. Thank you! Also please share your Flavian bronzes.

I love hearing and learning about these rare legends especially when they come with an awesome story! Thank you for sharing; they are my favorite posts to read!!

What would you all say is the best literature for learning and collecting these type of coins? I would really like to learn about them!

@Romismatist Those are some nice coins. I saw that you get a lot of them from eBay in France. I have seen a lot of members on the forum warn collectors especially new ones from going on to eBay and buying ancients because of the fakes. I personally make some purchases off eBay myself, but limit it to sellers in the US since I tend to see more suspicious coins being sold in Europe and shipping haha. How do you go about making sure you are getting the real deal when make your purchases? Are there specific reputable sellers you go to? I think your input would be helpful regarding the European side of eBay, especially for our new members, since I can only offer advice on US eBay. I am most interested in hearing about the Judea capta denarius of yours cause at 20 eur that is beyond a great deal! @Ryro those are some beautiful coins. I have always thought Greek coins were really beautiful and yours definitely fit the bill. I really like your new avatar. What a steal at below $100 for such a nice coin! @CurtisimoVery nice find! @Parthicus Great coins and I 100% agree I think you can get some really great deals on eastern coins if you have the knowledge and each piece comes with a really great history as well. Thank you for sharing! @expat Thank you for your continued contribution to the topic! I like your Carinus I think he often gets overshadowed by the winner Diocletion and has a really interesting story. @Broucheion That is a great find! I think it will clean up nicely and I can't wait to see the final results! @ambr0zie I love the Pius/Marcus Aurelius sestertius and the diobol! those are two coins that I have been wanting to add to my collection. I think getting the sestertius in that condition and for that price was a fantastic deal! @ominus1 I think any denarius at below $30 is always a steal and that elegabulus is in nice condition too! I like the reverses of your other two denarii. @Marsyas Mike That is a really nice coin with a really interesting history behind it! I have been wanting to get more into the coins of Mithridates and the history of Rome during his reign. @John ConduittI really like the Cloudius Albinus Sestertius I really enjoyed reading about it in your other post on the coin. @Amarmur Really nice Celtic quinarius! I have been trying to get one for awhile but they always elude me haha. Overall really great coins everyone! Thank you so much for sharing I have been having blast looking through all of your finds! Sorry if I missed anyone and if my comments are annoying I just found all of your coins interesting haha. I look forward to seeing more of your great coins and keeping this thread going. I will try and post some of my other finds tomorrow. Again thank you all for your contributions!

These are some really great coins! Thank you for sharing. @Cordoba those are some really unique coins. How did you get interested in your specific specialty? I think your coins are perfect example of how specializing can get you some great coins at great prices! @expat thank you! I’m really hoping this thread will take off for all of our members to enjoy. The Aurelian is a great buy and I really like the lightning bolt reverse on the dupondius. @CPK those are some great Roman’s. I always wondered for Chinese coins since, from my understanding, they were cast how to you avoid fakes? Thank you everyone for posting! I’ll post some more of my as the post grows.

I see that we get new members all the time on the forum now a days. I remember when I was new to the forum and hobby how daunting it was to see all these seasoned collectors’ collection of $500 to $1000 coins and thinking to myself “man there’s no way for me to get started that’s way out of budget.” So, I thought I would take the time to dedicate a topic to those new collectors or those budget collectors. My hopes for this topic are that we can post some of our coins that fall below the $100 mark and give some price transparency, if you feel comfortable with saying how much you paid of course. I will be posting some of my coins and how much I paid and where I got them because I think in this price range there are few materials that help you know if you’re paying a fair price (compared to higher end coins). Hopefully this helps out some of our new members get into collecting and maybe even some of our more seasoned collectors. I look forward to seeing some cool coins!! p.s. sorry for the less than professional pictures I’m still working on them haha. The first coin is a denarius of Antoninus Pius. I bought it at a large coin show they have in my state for $50. I bought it for the cool reverse. Coin shows are a great place to find good deals! This one is a denarius of Trajan that I also got from a coin show for $20. It is worn but $20 for a denarius is a steal in my book any day. The last denarius of the group is one of Marcus Aurelius. It was a bit pricier but for the condition I think it was worth it at $95. The last coin of the group is a beautifully preserved provincial coin struck under Nero. I got it for $15 from a small local coin show. A good way of getting nice coins for a good price is to specialize in niche areas of collecting. I hope you all enjoyed, found this post helpful, and will join me in posting some of your coins! As the post hopefully grows I’ll share more of my collection.

Happy birthday @Furryfrog02!! Here is my contribution to the victory posts. It’s a denarius of Marcus Aurelius with Vic Ger on the reverse. Hope you had a great birthday!