CPK

1 hour ago, Salomons Cat said:

I'm thrilled with my recent acquisition of a denarius showcasing Julia Maesa. At the time this coin was minted, she was approximately 60 years old—an advanced age in ancient Rome. Isn't it intriguing to consider a society predominantly comprised of teenagers and young adults...

(Wikipedia: Demography of the Roman Empire)

I particularly appreciate this portrait because she looks like an elderly woman - and with 60 years, that's exactly what she was in ancient Rome. I find this portrait to be exceptionally well-crafted.

 

Julia Maesa, AD 218-224/5. Denarius (20mm, 3.11g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck under Elagabalus, AD 218-220.
Rev: Pudicitia seated left, about to draw veil and holding scepter.
RIC IV 268 (Elagabalus); Thirion 412; RSC 36.
Ex Gorny & Mosch, Auction 216, October 2013 and E-Auction 304, April 2024.

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

5 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

I love gold. Except for my shamefully bad Claudius Aureus I get a lot of joy from my gold issues, even the recent budget ones.

Ah, the  'Jerusalem' mint.  I picked up one at a 2009 or 2010 coin show from Jon Kern, flipped from Pegasi.  There was a small finder's gash, luckily just obscuring the first couple of letters, which knocked down the  price.

Well done!

I still want to see that aureus! 😉

Fantastic coin @ela126! But...

16 minutes ago, ela126 said:

...I don’t like gold...

Thanks everyone!

9 hours ago, Limes said:

Thats a fantastic coin @CPK! Left facing, the typical Galba portrait and his name is fully legible. Well done! 

Here is my first Galba denarius. I still really like this coin with it's action packed reverse and great Galba portrait (even though its also not a coin worthy of the Dioscuri collection 😁)

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.

On 5/7/2024 at 12:17 PM, Original Skin Coins said:

I purchased a bulk lot of Republic denarii earlier this year - while I sold most of the others, I had to keep this one for myself.

 

Q. Lutatius Cerco, 109-108 BC. AR denarius 19 mm, 3.96 g. Rome.

ROMA CERCO behind and before head of Roma right, wearing crested helmet decorated with plume and two stars, star (mark of value) behind head.

Q•LVTATI Q, Galley right in oak wreath.

Babelon (Lutatia) 2. Crawford 305/1. RBW 1146. Sydenham 559; Sear 182.

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

28 minutes ago, traveler said:

NAC, Kunker Spring/Autumn sales, CNG Triton, these tend to attract the highest quality coins and highest bids. They are a joy to browse even though the coins are out of my reach. Congratulations to all the successful bidders!

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!

7 hours ago, Coinmaster said:

The auction prices were truly absurd, often ranging from 3 to 10 times the regular market value in my opinion. The auction room seemed to be filled with millionaires, bidding against each other with gusto, which was bizarre.

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!

2 hours ago, Coinmaster said:

Very nice coin! These two are in my collection. The second one I just won in an auction and I'm very happy with this. Description:
Severus Alexander (222-235 AD). AR Denarius, AD 232. Obv. IMP ALEXANDER PIVS AVG. Laureate and draped bust right. Rev. IOVI PROPVGNATORI. Jupiter in fighting stance left, head right, hurling thunderbolt and holding eagle. RIC IV 239; C. 84. AR. 3.20 g. 20.70 mm.

Love the portrait on that second coin! 🤩

1 hour ago, AncientJoe said:

I ordinarily wait to post until I receive the coins to avoid taunting the shipping gods but feel like sharing anyway. I was outbid on several but happy to get two for under my max, a pleasant surprise in a fairly-strong-but-generally-not-stupid sale: https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378555 and https://www.biddr.com/auctions/nac/browse?a=4514&l=5378532

 

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.

34 minutes ago, AETHER said:

Not a type I seen often.. I got it for the cool SPQR!

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!

34 minutes ago, Limes said:

Addition: 

Out of curiosity, I've been looking at some fakes posted on FAC and comparing them with offerings, via aCSearch. I've noticed two reverse dies. One where the 'p' in Agrippina is with an 'open' round p, and one where the round is closed: 

Open: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/displayimage.php?pid=925 Also notice the 'v' in Drvsilla. 

Closed and open together: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/displayimage.php?pid=4136 

Now see this listing at a German auction house, which was withdrawn: https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?lot=3880&p=lot&sid=7286 The reverse looks very much like the coin you posted in the OP. Notice the reverse open 'p' and the 'v' in Drvsilla. These parts of the reverse die also appear on the fakes on FAC, with the 'open p'. 

About the coin withdrawn by the German auctioneer; also notice the obverse. E.g. how the 'R' in GERMANICVS runs into the hair. And the nose of caligula is very comparable. 

I think they could be a match. So that could perhaps mean the OP coin is a fake? It would deserve some additional comparison. But I would be quite nervous as the owner of this coin. 

 

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.

2 hours ago, DonnaML said:

The place in New York that sold 99% fake antiquities for way too long -- many of them made in its own back rooms -- was Sadigh Galleries. 

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.

5 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

That's quite a handsome piece, much better than my horrendous Claudius Aureus.  Congrats!

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.

1 minute ago, Hrefn said:

Just received an invoice from Roma from the latest E-auction confirming they are ceasing operation May 24th.  It is official.  

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

Nice coin with a great patina!

21 minutes ago, ominus1 said:

..for a long time i was under the prejudice view that less expensive coins weren't forged ....but that was wrong and i would reckon we must assume that  a percentage of our own collections stand a good chance of being forged ..

Depressing thought.