ComicMan
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Posts posted by ComicMan
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Look at how charming that portrait is! He has the beard, and this coin is quite big at 29mm too. The obverse is kinda worn, but very recognizably it is the bull (I like it much more than the votive reverses), and it was minted in Antioch which has special relevance for my boy! 90 euros, bought it from Tom Vossen. RIC VIII Antioch 216, Γ.
Honestly? Despite the obverse and the crack, this coin is definitely a steal I think, on vcoins or ma-shops you cannot really do better for 100 (I don't see Julian so often on auctions), and I just had to have it for how charming the portrait looks.
Fel Temp Reparatio is just so funny. "How do we show that the happy times are back again?" "I know, let's depict our enemies being stabbed or taken as captives!" Man, the romans were something else. I know that it is not the horseman, but I think that this one might be a little bit more intimidating even? Constantius is holding the globe on the one side, and the cross on the other over some captives, good times indeed. Also from Vossen for 30 euros. Interestingly he had this identified as RIC 70, but it is definitely RIC 84 (the only difference is that the emperor is holding a banner with a cross rather than the Christogram).
I will definitely not just focus on them, but Constantine and his immediate successors are super interesting, I definitely want to focus on them for a bit. Other than Constantine the Great they are not really up there in terms of recognizability, but they had some interesting coin designs, there are many personalities all called some variation of ConsX, and starting with the first Christian emperor and ending with the last Pagan emperor is kinda poetic.
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Just curious, I cannot really find anything about them on the internet. According to /r/ancientcoins they are a B-tier auction house so that is not bad. I saw some of their coins going for 1 pound since only one person bid which kinda makes me wonder, and the prices seem a bit all over the place. Any experiences?
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22 minutes ago, Cordoba said:
I store my nicer coins in a zecchi tray, since it's made of velvet. I really like the look and feel of the case, can't recommend it enough. i was debating between abafil and zecchi, and zecchi was a bit cheaper for my purposes. https://www.albertozecchi.com/listing/779357848/medium-model-case-book-by-zecchi-made-of
other coins i use a lindner tray. it's felt so not as nice but stores more coins.
Ooh, this might actually be a nice one for me, and you can stack them too!
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32 minutes ago, TheTrachyEnjoyer said:
Did I outbid you on this lot?
I just don't like how the Trachy looks 😆 but as I said, there is something for everyone.
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I am looking for a nice way to store my coins, preferably something from Amazon, so if you have any tips that is very welcome! I am also looking for inspiration, how do you do it?
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4 hours ago, Prieure de Sion said:
... not at all, that's the problem! 🤪
Don't worry, you are not the only one haha.
5 hours ago, ambr0zie said:I collected modern coins and banknotes as a kid. Found my old albums when I was 27-28. Restarted the hobby. Took me 8 years or so to accomplish an almost complete collection of my country's coinage. What's missing is too expensive for me so I won't even bother.
I was starting to get a little bored of modern numismatics so in autumn of 2020 I was wondering what should I collect. The options were a.) continue with modern coins, but switch the theme b.) medievals c.) ancients.
Of course there was option d.) become a responsible adult and save money, but nah, this wasn't a real option.
I chose ancients because I don't like a.) and b.) and I don't like any other collecting themes - stamps, medals, whatever. I knew almost nothing so it was a challenge. I also had a very distorted idea about ancient coins market value, artistry, condition (I was under the impression a silver ancient coin in a decent condition would cost hundreds of dollars. Any ancient coin).
I bought a big lot of coins from my first auction (35 coins in a lot, mixed denominations, countries and metals), a lot of 8 denarii and a lot of 4 denarii. I identified them myself. Then I started reading everything I could find about ancient coinage. Ever since I allocate a monthly budget to an auction or two and I develop my collection and my knowledge.
To answer the question, I do not intend to specialize in a niche area too much. Initially I was attracted to Roman emperors, preferably from Augustus to Gallienus. This remains the core theme of my Imperial collection. Then I discovered Greek coins and Provincial coins. Provincials look difficult and less interesting for a new collector. This is false. What I like now and what I buy
- Imperial coins from the mentioned period (I prefer coins with reverses as unique as possible; also I like coins with portraits of empresses)
- Greek and Provincial coins showing, also, interesting reverses - for me an interesting reverse is showing a mythological story; a historical event; a weapon; a building or anything other than a deity seated or standing. Not that I have something against them - just added in my album a Marcus Aurelius as Caesar denarius with a reverse with Virtus standing, so nothing special, but these are not my first choice)
- coins with animals. I am very glad when I manage to add an animal I don't have.Interesting, how do you recommend going about Greek and provincial coins though? Because I admit, it is more confusing for me right now.
3 hours ago, KenDorney said:Over the decades I'd had many collecting themes but I am something like a distracted squirrel. I cant seem to focus so at this point I simply buy whatever I like, regardless of grade or rarity. 95% of what I collect are large bronzes though. I picked up this little gem at a local show this past weekend. Was a real find. Sadly its now in a slab, which I will break out eventually. And I paid less than half of what it sold for at auction sixteen years ago! This is that auction photo, from CNG:
Damn, that is a nice coin!
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16 hours ago, kirispupis said:
Here was my progression:
- Ooh. Alexander the Great! I want one of those.
- Wow! There's Diadochi too? Okay, Seleukos, Ptolemy, Kassander, Lysimachos, Demetrios... That's all, right?
- So, it looks like there were 18 people who minted coins around then. Let's collect them all and I'll be done.
- Hmmm... Seems like it's a bit more than 18. Let's see ... 1...2...3....112. Yeah. That's about right.
- But what about the cities? They minted coins around this time too. There can't be that many.
- There are at least 342 cities that minted coins this time in the territory of Alexander the Great. Let's get started!
Damn, well one day you will get there! Hopefully you don't find out how many people minted those coins after Alexander's lifetime or you will never be done! Nice collection theme though 😉
5 hours ago, TheTrachyEnjoyer said:
This group lot was the next big catalyst in my journey. After the CNG sale, I started to collect Late Byzantine but still dabbled in greek and roman. When this lot came up and I won it, my heart was forever set on late Byzantine. This might still be my best deal of all time. 140£ for the lot, the miliaresion I was able to sell for half of that. Of the five I kept
Andronikos III Politikon Tornese, decently rare
Andronikos II amd Michael IX tornese, very rare
Unpublished ar trachy of John III Vatazes. I am aware of two other examples, both of which were misidentified when sold.
Unpublished basilikon of Michael IX. One other example recently came to sale, misidentified
Unpublished (not for long, keep an eye out for KOINON VI) tornese of Andronikos II. One of two known
The other of two known, found about two years apart.
Ah, the Trachy enjoyer, finally I meet my nemesis. Well, at least somebody likes them! And it is very cool that you have all the known examples of a coin. Though aren't there probably more out there, also wrongly attributed?
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2 hours ago, Marsyas Mike said:
I do enjoy a cheap-o thread, though I tend to get a bit jealous about missing some of these great bargains. That being said, bargain-hunting is the closest thing I have to a collecting strategy, pretty much channeling my Aunt Judy and her garage sales, but I use eBay.
Most of my collection would qualify for this thread, but I'll share a sestertius of Marcus Aurelius that I got in a lot of cruddy AEs a few years ago. Nobody bid on the lot, so I got them for a dollar - two bits apiece. I think the melt value of copper/brass might cover a lot of that price!
The Marcus Aurelius (top right) puzzled me somewhat, and I posted it on Coin Talk back in 2018, not garnering much enthusiasm: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/marcus-aurelius-sestertius-virtus-rare-does-it-matter.321327/
That was a few years ago and I've read a few books and learned a few things about using the Internet since then so I decided to look into this coin again - turns out, yeah, it's still ugly - but it is also rather scarce (the British Museum doesn't seem to have one). It also turns out I had the attribution wrong back when I posted it on CT - it is indeed Mars, not Virtus. Although the Mars reverse types are abundant for Aurelius, they almost all seem to have been issued around the time of the Armenian campaign (ARMENICVS obverse legend). This one was issued later - it is very hard to "see" thanks to a botched patina-stripping job that basically gives it a military camouflaged look, but almost all of the obverse legend is legible:
Marcus Aurelius Æ Sestertius (171-172 A.D.) Rome Mint M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVI, laureate head right / [IMP VI COS III], S-C, Mars standing right, holding spear and leaning on shield. RIC III 1042; Banti 144; MIR 18, 231-6/30; BMCRE -. (25.79 grams / 30 x 28 mm) eBay Aug. 2018 Lot @ $0.25
Notes: Found only 4 examples, the single OCRE example is Freiburg, Seminar für Alte Geschichte der Universität, Inventory No. 02398 https://ikmk.uni-freiburg.de/object?id=ID5349 http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.m_aur.1042 See Roma Num. ("Very Rare"), CNG auctions and Wildwinds. OCRE describes Mars as "advancing right" which is not the case since the shield is resting on the ground.
Sure, I like bargains, and paying very little something that is actually valuable (I'm not saying that's the case with this coin), is appealing to most people. But the real pleasure for me with ancients is figuring out things. Or, in this case, re-figuring things out after I did it wrong the first time!
You know, that top left one actually looks pretty cool! If you showed the obverse to a non-collector I am sure that you could wow them with something like that. I feel like the older collectors are really desentisized to the fact that we are holding thousands of years of history in our hands, and even if the coin is not in mint state that is still impressive on the face of it. The one that you highlight is also interesting, I doubt that I would really want it in my collection, but I am sure that figuring it out was fun.
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3 minutes ago, Ryro said:
I started out looking for themes, heroes and gods on Greek and, surprise surprise, one of each for Roman.
But now I only buy the coins that truly speak to me...
OK, this one isn't mine, but I did create it and would be interested in its owner's thoughts on the subject.... looking for his tag
Imagine what our coins would tell us if they could
speaksing.-
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11 minutes ago, Cordoba said:
started as a generalist, mostly collected islamic coins since I was most interested in those. started with a few late roman bronzes and an umayyad coin, and then i bought what i thought looked cool. didn't really have a plan back then, so my earlier collection is pretty random.
main focus now is the greco-bakrian kingdom and umayyad spain. i like both of these because they kinda have the same theme of a culture far from their homeland.
Eukratides II Soter AR Tetradrachm
Really cool coin!
I like coinage from the Cimmerian Bosporus for the same reason, before I really looked into it I would have never expected the Greeks to get so far, you know I always had in my head that ti was mostly just Greece. But then you look into it and the Hellenic world stretched far and wide, and now I just nod when I see a Buddha statue from Gandhara in the Greek section of the museum.
I must admit that I don't really see the appeal of Ummayad coins and others because I cannot read them and so the designs just don't speak to me as much, but it just shows that there is something for everyone!
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Everyone likes something different, right?
But did you start off with a plan in mind, 12 caesars, good emperors, etc. or did you just buy a few coins that you liked? Where did you go from there?
Pictured below are 2 of my first Greek coins, a bronze and a silver. I really like mythology so seeing Perseus with the Pegasus and Apollo with his Lyre really appealed to me. I am still figuring out where I want to go, but I decided that it will probably be Roman (not that I have any regrets about these 2, I still find them beautiful).
PONTUS. Amisos.Time of Mithradates VI Eupator.(Circa 85-65 BC).Ae.
LYCIAN LEAGUE.Masicytes.(Circa 27-20 BC).Hemidrachm.
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1 minute ago, dougsmit said:
Can you possibly mean there is more fun in a thousand coins to be studied than one that you are afraid to touch for fear of smudging its surface? I would love to know the statistics on how many people are in this hobby for the fun as opposed to the profit. I used to know quite a few people who had fun but now we see more questions about worth and fighting with shipping companies.
Idk about anybody else, but if I wanted to see returns on my money I would be doing literally anything else. As with any other hobby I consider every cent that I spent lost (as in I am never getting back the money itself).
It is the experience that I love!
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From what I have read on other forums and just googling a bunch of these collections and having nothing come up I assume that it is mostly a marketing tactic (not a lie, but definitely making it seem more credible). A lot of these collections just seemed to have been random people with a good eye as you put it.
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My favorite are the Julian and Constantius II, is the rosette-diadem thing always that or is the pearl diadem right most of the time?
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On 12/13/2022 at 12:13 AM, KenDorney said:
Saying goodbye to my collection of antiquities. They are closing at CNG this Wednesday, some with bids so low I might have to pay CNG for selling them! Ah well. I'm sure they are going to good homes:
https://auctions.cngcoins.com/auctions/4-854FRH/electronic-auction-529?categories=4-9PWI6&limit=48
Good luck with the sale! I already spent my budget for this year but those are some nice pieces.
Why are you selling them if I might ask? And are you at least keeping one to remember the hobby?
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4 minutes ago, dougsmit said:
The unfortunate fact is there is only one kind of coin that sells inexpensively and that is the class of coins dealers have no likely sales to people who will pay more. Most of these are either small, boring, ugly, damaged, worn, corroded or some combination of all of these. I have about a thousand coins in this category because I do not buy coins that have nothing going for them except they are high grade. Perhaps my favorite class of cheaper coins is the group worn but still readable and fully identifiable but not corroded or off center to the point that they lose much of the legends. There are also damaged coin where the damage is not so ugly as to offset what the coins may have going for it. For example: This AE15 provincial of Geta from Nicaea gained enough 'points' in my opinion from smooth surfaces, style and the left facing portrait that I was willing to 'forgive' the large slice on the reverse that really does not hit anything important.
The same price brought this Elagabalus which I never would have considered buying because of its roughness but I was attracted to the extremely large flan. The Geta is more worn of the two and by far my favorite because I like left facers and better surfaces.
The secret to paying less for coins you like is to like coins that other people would not want at any price. No one in today's condition loving hobby would want these damaged or ugly coins of common rulers but I was attracted to them because I like rare coins and rather few people I know have any of these. One of my goals remaining is to find someone who would see what they are would appreciate them after I am gone (for free even). Unpopular, ugly and rare are often cheap. I only wanted these three of Septimius Severus because I specialize in these and am happy other people did not want them. I would not trade any of them for mint state denarii of the common types. If you want a cheap collection, specialize in something ugly and unpopular.
Oooh, nice coins! Where did you get these, I would love a Geta like that, especially with a test cut(?). Well, just to clarify I wanted to show off my coin, and see what other bargains people picked up. I don't want to specialize in anything right now. In the first place I do not own anything rare at the moment. I am still figuring out what I want to collect, I definitely don't want to go for ugly and damaged things in particular, but I would not mind something that other people don't appreciate as much and condition is not a dealbreaker for me.
I do find value in some of my less impressive coins like this Julian that I showed off a few weeks ago,I think that it has a lot of character. I like the big flan, the imperfections, and whatever was going on with that strike.
And one thing that I doubt I will ever care about is rarity. I like the idea of holding something that ancient people also could have held, and collecting rare things kinda goes counter to that. No, give me something that gives an ancient Roman the same feeling that I get when I look at a 10 eurocent coin 😇
Fel Temp Reparatio also happens to be one of the coolest reverse types in my opinion even though it is probably one of the most common. I just like the idea that the happy times included horsemen being stabbed, no matter how common those types are that will never get old for me.
What is going on with the first Septimius Severus by the way, why is it so green?
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11 minutes ago, expat said:
A lot of late roman bronzes are generally inexpensive. Although, these 3 were very cheap as a lot and unattributed by the VCoins dealer. An hour in distilled water and I was very happy with what I gambled on. Total cost for 3 coins; 15 Euros
You basically got a family group! Lovely coins, especially the third one.
Man, these Constantinian boys really hated that fallen horseman, just let him get up!
54 minutes ago, LONGINUS said:Thanks for your interesting post, @ComicMan !
I’ve found many Seleukid bronzes that are very beautiful and reasonably priced.
What can I say, I do it for the people 😉
Lovely coins! I really like the first one.
1 hour ago, John Conduitt said:I think I can get away with this one being 'Roman Empire' since Cunobelin was a client king of Augustus and it features Janus 😉
It cost about $12.
Cunobeline Unit, 9-40
Camulodunon (Roman Camulodunum, modern Colchester). Bronze, 14mm, 2.19g. Janiform head; CVNO below. Sow seated right beneath a tree; CAMV on panel below (ABC 2981; S 346; V 2105 'Trinovantian W').You can post non-Romans it is just that I needed to pick something for the flair 😆
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16 minutes ago, ominus1 said:
...O' there's all kinds man...:)...ya just gotta be lQQkin'...i gave around 10 bucks for this Greek bronze from Kime i believe....(bought in a lot)...i gave $25 for this Trajan column denarius......
Nice bargains! Thought I am more thinking about coins that are just inexpensive by default, these were definitely nice finds.
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What are some interesting coins that you own that can be had without selling one of your kidneys? Something that despite not commanding a premium is a piece of art that you enjoy looking at.
Arcadius - D N ARCADIVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right, holding spear and shield, Hand of God above holding wreath / GLORIA ROMANORVM, emperor standing facing, head left, holding standard and resting shield at side, bound captive seated on ground to left, head right. Mintmark CONΓ star.
I got this one for 10 euros, honestly it could have gone for a little more but this is still probably not a hugely expensive coin and neither is it in great condition. Who even cares about Arcadius, am I right?
But I am going to be honest, the reverse just looks nice, and I like the interesting portrait with the hand of god reaching down to crown the emperor. That is something that very few coins have, but manus dei will reoccur for hundreds of years as a symbol in Christian art. Also, I like to see where my coin was minted so it is nice to have that on here, that is something that late Roman bronzes really have going for them in my opinion.
I will leave it up to you to define inexpensive, so what is a budget coin that you got that you are proud of?
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40 minutes ago, Cordoba said:
according to the link, u need to email or call to do the bank transfer, but yea looks like the right place
I guess I will do that tomorrow just to be sure.
36 minutes ago, akeady said:The bank account details are on the page you linked to - different IBAN/BIC account details for Swiss Francs, Euro and US dollars. Plus, the email you should have received has links for Stripe (credit card) and PayPal payments. My invoice had the amount payable for bank transfer, Stripe and PayPal payments - just click and pay or else do the bank transfer. Is your email missing those links?
ATB,
Aidan.Yes it does have those links but nothing for the bank transfer which is what confused me.
At least that is what I thought, but it is actually on the invoice just in blue and I guess my colorblindness got the better of me 😅
Thanks guys!
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Maybe a monumentally stupid question, but I would rather measure twice and cut once.
I got the invoice from Leu, and it has the price payable in euros on the invoice, but no bank account to transfer the money to.
This is where I have to send it to, right? https://leunumismatik.com/en/payment
Thanks for the help!
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I recently visited the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities, saw some nice coins at the Byblos exhibit (highly recommend that you go if you have the chance).
Sorry for the terrible pictures. Alexander Gold and Silver!
Here is Trajan in the flesh (in the marble?), definitely an imposing sight as it towers over you.
And here he is on some coins at the Roman exhibit, idk why this is the only picture that I took, they had like every emperor:
I also saw my boy Maximianus Herculius.
It is always nice to see a familiar face, here he is on my coin!
And here is Dionysus just having a good time.
Here he is on my coin, looks pretty similar even, don't you think?
Definitely a cool museum that I will be returning to, this was my second visit in fact. This post was kind of just an excuse to show off some cool coins, at the museum and ones that I have, but I also like sharing other things that are tangentially related. Seeing a bust of Trajan on a coin, seeing a picture of his statue on the internet, and then actually having him tower over you are 3 different things entirely.
Have you been to any cool museums lately?
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5 minutes ago, shanxi said:
We do not know what it means. It could be that it originally meant Senatus Consultum, but later lost the meaning, especially when it appears on silver coins, which were never issued by the Senate.
Link: Antioch
Philippus I.
Syria, Antiochia
Billon tetradrachm
Obv.: ΑΥΤΟΚ Κ Μ ΙΟΥΛΙ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟC CΕΒ, radiate and cuirassed bust left
Rev.: ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞ ΟΥCΙΑC ΥΠΑΤΟ Γ, eagle standing right, with wings spread, holding wreath in beak.
Billon, 11.35g, 26x27mm
Ref.: Prieur 354Link: Eagle
Roman Province AE 23 Alexandria Troas. Caracalla. 193-217 AD AE 23mm (7.28 gm).
Obv.: ANTONINVS PIVS AV, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev: COL AVG TROA, Eagle flying right, holding bull’s head in talons. Bellinger, T. A262. SNG München 79 (same dies).
TIL I guess!
2 minutes ago, ambr0zie said:@ComicMan This is only valid for Imperial coins. For Antioch coins the letters stand for Syria Coele (as far as I know)
The portrait would indicate a Nero coin Probably
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=9386826
https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/4297
I saw some Nero coins from Antioch where the portrait was very similar to yours and the legend was clear.
It could also be an Otho coin, but unlikely.
THANK YOU, I thought that I was crazy that I could not find something from augustus that matches up (I just got the coin because I thought that it looks really nice, which to be fair it does), I really thought that it was Tiberius maybe but that Nero looks way more like it.
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4 minutes ago, ambr0zie said:
@ComicMan - SC on Antioch coin has a different meaning 🙂 but the coin fits in the game
Not to derail, but wait really? I thought it meant by decree of the senate.
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Fel Temp Reparatio is just so funny. "How do we show that the happy times are back again?" "I know, let's depict our enemies being stabbed or taken as captives!" Man, the romans were something else. I know that it is not the horseman, but I think that this one might be a little bit more intimidating even? Constantius is holding the globe on the one side, and the cross on the other over some captives, good times indeed. Also from Vossen for 30 euros. Interestingly he had this identified as RIC 70, but it is definitely RIC 84 (the only difference is that the emperor is holding a banner with a cross rather than the Christogram).
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I think that I finally found what I want to collect - My newest Julian and Constantius!
in 2022 Top Coins of The Year
Posted
Nice coins! I am trying to get all the varieties of Fel Temp Reparatio so the phoenix is definitely on the list. For Constantine, I like his posthumous coins:
And really nice on the last one! I definitely want some imitative coins in there.
So strange to see him without his iconic beard, nice coin though!
Amazing coin! Might I ask how much it cost?