CPK

That is indeed a remarkable portrait! You have an excellent eye for artistic quality.

I still want to see that aureus! 😉

Fantastic coin @ela126! But...

Thanks everyone! Thanks! That's a great coin with an unusual reverse design. One interesting thing I learned while researching my coin is how the different obverse legends are used to date the coins. I believe both Sear and RIC would place your coin, with its complete legend ending in "P M" among the very last of Galba's issues.

No, it won't be mistaken for a coin from the Dioscuri Collection...but it's a significant upgrade for me. 😉 My first Galba denarius looked like it had been cleaned with a belt sander. The portrait was recognizable and you could make out the ghost of an obverse legend, but that was it, and the reverse was worn nearly completely smooth and only barely identifiable. Hey, it was inexpensive. This one has a much nicer portrait, full obverse legend, and while the reverse is rather more worn, it's still way better than my first. An interesting bonus is that this type - with the left-facing portrait - is extremely rare, rated R3 in RIC Volume I. (Thank you once again @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix for looking that up for me!) I was able to find only 7 or 8 other specimens across all online archives that I know of - ACSearch, FORVM, dealers, museum collections, etc. Just for fun I figured out that the series was struck with at least 3 different obverse dies, and that my coin's obverse die was also used to strike SALVS GEN HVMANI and CONCORDIA PROVINCIARVM reverse types. Anyway, thanks for looking! GALBA, AD 68-69 AR Denarius (18.92mm, 3.37g, 6h) Struck Oct.-Nov., AD 68. Rome mint Obverse: IMP SER GALBA CAESAR AVG, laureate head of Galba left Reverse: VIR-TVS, Virtus standing facing, holding parazonium in right hand and vertical spear in left References: RIC I 219 (R3), RCV - Lightly toned. An extremely rare type, known from only a handful of specimens.

A beautiful coin! And welcome to the forum. I've got a couple coins that have been through your hands. 🙂

Absolutely! I love getting the printed CNG Triton catalogs. Maybe someday I will be able to purchase coins of that caliber, but for now it is a treat just to go through a catalog!

Why bizarre? With an auction like that, I'd be surprised if the majority of bidders weren't millionaires. Unfortunate, perhaps, for those of us who don't have such wealth, but hardly unexpected!

Neat reverse type!

Love the portrait on that second coin! 🤩

Congratulations! I watched the AEGYPTO sell - it's one of my favorite types for Augustus. Both coins are beautiful and worthy of your collection. I hope we get to see your photos of them sometime!

Not me! Just placing a bid was something of a novelty. I was interested in one of the Trajan denarii that just sold, but as expected it hammered for about double what I bid. The prices seem pretty strong. The coins are utterly magnificent though.

Nice! I thought that was a good deal. 👍

Here is a little bronze coin I was happy to acquire recently. There aren't many coin types that may be attributed to the right place at the right time to coincide with Jesus's ministry as recorded in the New Testament, but this is one of them: SYRIA, GADARA Time of Tiberius AE (11.40mm,1.88g, 12h) Struck AD 28/9 Obverse: ΤΙΒΕΡΙω, bare head of Tiberius right Reverse: LЧ-B (date) to left and right of caduceus References: RPC Online, Vol. I, No. 4814.6 (this coin) Very rare. Excellent condition for the type. Gadara was a city located just southeast of the Sea of Galilee, and is perhaps best-known for its mention in the gospel of Mark as the region where Jesus healed the demoniac Legion and allowed the demons into a herd of swine. (5:1-20)

That's a really masterful portrait, and perfectly centered, too. Great rarity!

Not good! Almost certainly a double die match, in my opinion. Glad @kirispupis wasn't the buyer - and I hope whoever it was can have the matter satisfactorily settled.

Yes! Just the other day I was trying to remember the name. Funny thing though, it was seeing his old ads in Archaeology magazine that first opened my eyes to the possibility of actually owning antiquities/ancient coins. I even visited his website a few times, but was prudent enough to check reviews and was warned off. I eventually found Ancient Resource, from there Forum Ancient Coins, and the rest is history. 🙂

That's a splendid reverse @Sulla80 . I agree: attractive despite the age! Here is a coin that shows the wear & tear of millennia - but I like it nonetheless (and I probably wouldn't have been able to afford a nicer one!) SEXTUS POMPEY, c. 45-35 BC Son of Pompey the Great AR Denarius (18.10mm, 3.31g, 11h) Struck 42-40 BC. Sicily mint Obverse: MAG • PIVS • IMP • ITER, bare head of Pompey the Great right, jug behind, lituus in front Reverse: Neptune standing left, holding aplustre and resting right foot on prow, between the Catanaean brothers Anapias and Amphinomus, each bearing one of his parents on shoulders References: Crawford 511/3a, RCV 1392 Poor surfaces but a decent portrait of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus.

Claudius aureus?? I didn't know you had one. Please show! 😯

I should add - I like that honest wear on the coin, too. That was a good time for the empire, when even valuable gold circulated freely. How many Roman hands did that coin pass through, and what did it help purchase? Imagining things like that just add to a coin's appeal IMO.

I have mixed feelings about this. One the one hand, of course what Richard Beale did was wrong and he should be justly punished for it. On the other hand, I don't think this case will be seen, as it should be, as just being about Richard Beale and his crimes. The "ban-ancient-coin-collecting, repatriate-everything" crowd will jump at the opportunity to use this case unfairly against honest collectors and dealers. And you can't blame Beale for that. Nobody wins.

Wow @JayAg47! Well done! That is a beautiful aureus, and well worth the wait. That is a coin you will enjoy for years to come, I am sure! I would love to add an aureus to my collection someday. For now, I am content with this as my main acquired "dream coin": Achieved! My #1 ancient coin collecting goal! - General - Numis Forums JULIUS CAESAR, 49-44 BC AR Denarius (18.91mm, 3.53g, 12h) Struck late February to early March, 44 BC. Rome mint Obverse: CAESAR DICT PERPETVO, wreathed head of Julius Caesar right Reverse: L·BVCA, fasces and winged caduceus in saltire; axe, clasped hands, and globe in three quarters References: RRC 480/6, RCV 1409 Toned. A scarce, late-lifetime portrait denarius of Julius Caesar. Caesar received the title of Dictator Perpetuo (Dictator for Life) in February of 44 BC; this coin would have been struck mere weeks before his assassination on the ides of March that same year.

The whole business is shutting down, or just the e-auctions?

Nice coin with a great patina!

Depressing thought.