Amarmur

I got a Brutus coin from Savoca on vcoins. This type features Libertas and a very interesting reverse type. The coin reverse features Brutus's ancestor walking among lictors (civil servants) 500 years back when Rome was a monarchy. The coin was was minted in 54 BC. I was debating on getting a portrait type from the same year but I like this one better. Post your imperatorial coins.

I don't have any Quietus but I'll throw in my Shapur into the mix.

What an interesting character. He was the villain in Roman history but he was like Trajan to the Sassanians 

Here are my two Carthage coins. Neither are from the time of the second Punic war but they are very pretty coins. I love the detailed portrait of a horse. Carthage was known and famous for horses. Probably that coin will be on my top coins list of 2024. 

Continuing 

Caligula AS nice shape vesta

 Otho - great portrait denarius 

Vitellius - ugly

Claudius - more interesting reverse and expressive portrait Constantia reverse is neat

Domitian - It's ok has Minerva and owl on the reverse 

Titus - Judea Capta type neat

Vespasian Judea Capta denarius low grade

My set highlights: Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, (maybe Claudius if it wasn't for the scratches), Otho

Needs an upgrade: Domitian, Vespasian, Vitellius (idk I find him too boring) 

Here are a few in my set

Divus Julius Caesar and Octavian Macedon - I like the counter mark.

Augustus - Antioch I like this portrait of Augustus the best

Tiberius - Tribute penny classic

Nero - Dupondius Great portrait and Roma reverse 

Galba - Dupondius Felicilats worn circ cameo 

I wonder if Lugdunum made all the denarii for Tiberius. That mint seemed to have a lot of different engravers seeing the variety of portraits. A lot of wonderful coins. I can't say tribute pennies are the nicest art pieces of Rome but they sure are varied and cool 

18 hours ago, CPK said:

Denarii of Severus Alexander are not hard to find in excellent condition, but even so this one struck me as something special.

- crisply and evenly struck on a wide flan of good quality metal, allowing full dotted borders on both sides

- very heavy, too, at nearly 4 (!) grams in weight

- a very fine, high-relief portrait

- the reverse is sharp as well (look at the detail in Sol's face!) with lustrous fields

- and to top it off, the coin is beautifully toned, highlighting the design and relief.

It may not command much attention among the EF aureii in a high-profile auction, but it's about as good as you'll get IMO! 😉 

 

Thanks for looking, and feel free to post your own quality favorites, coins of Severus Alexander, or anything else!

SEVERUS ALEXANDER, AD 222-235
AR Denarius (20.28mm, 3.95g, 6h)
Struck AD 233. Rome mint
Obverse: IMP ALEXANDER PIVS AVG, laureate and draped bust of Severus Alexander right
Reverse: P M TR P XII COS III P P, Sol, radiate with cloak over left shoulder, advancing left, holding whip in left hand and raising right hand
References: RIC IV 120, RCV 7915
A superb specimen, with lovely old cabinet toning, sharply struck on a broad and heavy flan.

Very nice Severus Alexander. The engravers at this time period were really top notch I noticed. The Severans have really great portrait quality vs the Flavian Dynasty which was all other the place. I still can't find a decent portrait of Vespasian on a denarius. Idk if it's the high silver content or they were too mad about taxes to make Vespasian look less constipated.

Lugdunum made some really nice Nero portraits as well. 

@John Conduitt Yours is great and your Tiberius doesn't look as old as mine

@Edessa Wonderful piece, I like the golden tone

@Postvmvs I'm a sucker for imitations too, especially wild ones of Tetricus and Tetricus II very common but some are like abstract art

@Severus Alexander Wow that Indian imitation is quite close to the original! 

@AETHER not a bad budget piece

A common, yet moderately expensive coin. 

This was a hard choice to make. I think i got a decent one. Many of the portraits on the tribute penny look like Augustus. I bought this one because it's very distinctly Tiberius. It has a lot of personality, but Tiberius wasn't exactly good looking. Post your tribute penny.

Color and toning on ancients is nice. Here are a few. My favorite is my Julia Domna Hilaritas with rainbow toning. The Faustina with Juno has golden toning which is cool. My Vespasian denarius has dark cabinet toning. The Gordian III Antoniannius is pretty colorful. 

15 minutes ago, O-Towner said:

It's a coin of Sardis Lydia. Here's the link:

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7451963

 

Thank you! I appreciate it. 

This is a great field. Sassanian art is unappreciated. Here is Ardashir I the first Sassanian ruler and Shapur I, Rome's worst nightmare. These two are my favorite rulers. There are like 40ish Sassanian rulers, most common is Khosrow I, Khosrow II, Peroz I, and Hormizid IV. 

2 hours ago, lordmarcovan said:

Just bought this for my growing Twelve Caesars set, which is now 3/4 of the way to completion, with nine emperors down and three to go!

It's actually the first time I've done business with Ritter. Boy, they sure use small pictures, huh? Still, it looks pretty nice to me.

Roman Empire: ca. 68-69 AD silver denarius of Galba



Galba: 68-69 AD, Denarius July 68-January 69, Rome. 3.29 g. RIC 186.

Obverse: Laureate head right, IMP SER GALBA CAESAR AVG.

Reverse: DIVA AVGVSTA, Livia holding patera and scepter. Good Very Fine (per Münzhandlung Ritter).

Ex-Münzhandlung Ritter GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany (via MA-Shops store), 6 April 2024.

Wonderful portrait! Mine is kinda ugly but it has a worn circ cameo kinda which makes up for it.

Hey I was looking into buying this. It appears to be a Roman provincial medallion. The diameter is 27mm and the weight is not listed. I think it's from the Nerva- Antonine period but perhaps later. Will appreciate the help identifying this piece.

This indo Greek coin of Menander I was an impulse buy it was relatively inexpensive and really beautiful. I like the Bhuddist wheel on the reverse or it could just be dangling clothes. The heroic bust type is also neat. It was inspired by the Heroic bust of Eukradites. Bactria seems like a very interesting field to enter but my wallet doesn't agree lol. 

3 flea market buys I paid $25 for 3 coins the Carthage horse is especially stunning. The Cimmerian Bosporus coin is pretty neat and the Syracuse bronze is common but is in around Fine shape I seen a lot worse. 
 

My best eBay find was this Lucius Verus Sestertius for $20. It was unidentified. It is an Armenia Capta coin!

Beautiful Trajan. My favorite Trajan coin features the bridge over the Danube 

48 minutes ago, kirispupis said:

Prices are all over the place for these. In general:

• The heaviest coins always bring a premium. I'd love one of the 90g octobols some day, but they can get pricy.
• Better details can cause the prices to skyrocket, but you have to be careful. Many of these coins are tooled.
• The auction house matters. On some sites they go for a lot more than on others.

FWIW, here's my drachm. I was very happy to pick it up for $90.

Ptolemy IV Philopator
222-205/4 BCE
AE Drachm 41.4mm 66.2g
Alexandreia Mint
Obv: Head of Zeus-Ammon right, wearing tainia
Rev: Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, filleted cornucopia to left; LI between legs
Ref: Svoronos 1126

Ah the size to me is the biggest appeal. These are some of the largest coins in antiquity. I prefer to collect Roman Egypt coins for the variety of designs. These Zeus Greek Egypt coins are cool too but I don't think I want more unless I upgrade this one to a bigger size. I assume the smaller denominations of Ptolemic bronzes like diobol don't fetch high prices unless the condition is exceptional, my first ptolemy coin bronze was very cheap and small.

I haven't really found a focus area of ancient collecting but I have always loved big bronzes. A Flavian Sestertius in good shape is next on my radar. 

I did spot a few super large ones on eBay but the prices are woof around $800 to a grand. The largest are called octobols. They are unfortunately out of my budget as much as I would like one. I think I'm happy with the example I have. idk if I can afford a bigger one. 

Hi I have a question on Ptolemaic bronzes. Generally does pricing depend on weight and size aside for condition. I am not familiar with the market. I paid $92 for this tetrobol of Ptolemy III. It isn't the biggest weight but it is 47 grams and it is in ok shape nothing too nice nor terrible either. The surface is a tad grainy. How much do generally the biggest Ptolemaic Egypt coins cost? 

Yeah letting go of coins is tough. I sold my first Nero coin. It was such a nice provincial and I miss it a lot because it was really my first big ancient coin purchase and I saved up for it when I didn't make as much as I do now. Even though it didn't really fit my collection at the time it fits in mine just fine rn because I started collecting provincials again. Be careful on what you let go. 

1 hour ago, John Conduitt said:

Actually, I think it's ok. I have one I was also unsure about with a similar edge, and everyone thought is was good. The porous surfaces and the weight relate to corrosion. Cast coins wouldn't be so sharp (despite the wear and corrosion) and the holes would be round and bunched together.

Thank you for the reassurance. Yes, it is kind of decent despite corrosion. 

I'm thinking about this sestertius but the surface seems grainy and the edge looks a bit off. It is 18.3 grams. A bit light typically it's 20 grams or more. I think it just lacks a patina. Thank you for your time and help. 

The hair and details looks extremely carved and fake. I'm typically bad at telling tooled coins it just doesn't look right. 

I have 1 Lucilla coin and it's a Sestertius. Nice coin with Pietas on the reverse.