CPK

It's difficult to know what to think, since that article is only one small part of one side of the story...however, just going by the information in the article, it does seem excessively harsh.

@AncientJoe Stunning!!! 🤩

Here are my lowly offerings: 😉

4 hours ago, Octavius said:

 Great thread CPK , and all such wonderful coins of what arguably was not only a period of great transition in the history of Rome , but of western civilization itself.

 

The following are a few coins of this period....

1. this bronze of  Octavian with Julius Caesar on the reverse announces to the world, but especially to the legions, his close association, and adoption.

 

 

2. This denarius of Octavian has him depicted in mourning , bearded , as was the custom, in reverence of his "father" - "son of the divine Julius.

 

 

3. same theme on this denarius with his inherited name from his "divine father" on the reverse with Victory on globe.

 

 

4. denarius boasting his victory over Egypt , with crocodile reverse.

 

5. As of his greatest general and closest friend , Agrippa. This was struck by Caligula.

 

I was hoping you would post here! 🙂You have an amazing collection - I love that Aegypto Capta denarius!

1 hour ago, Romancollector said:

Here are some of my Augustus coins.

Those are absolutely beautiful! 

@John060167 Lovely coin and funny story! 😄

Lately, I've been reading through Cassius Dio's history of Rome. Cassius Dio was a Roman senator who lived in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries A.D. Starting with the founding of Rome in the 753 B.C., he recounts the history of the early Kingdom of Rome, the Roman Republic, and finally (after the convulsive civil wars waged by the Imperators) the Imperial Empire.

I just started book 4 of 6, which begins with the speeches of Marcus Agrippa and Maecenas advising Octavian (or Caesar, as Cassius Dio calls him), in the aftermath of the Battle of Actium and the deaths of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, how best to proceed now that he had unchallenged control of Rome. Agrippa advised returning the government to some form of democracy, while Maecenas advocated for Caesar to expand his power into a monarchy. Caesar favored Maecenas's advice, but he knew that such a goal would be attainable only with great caution, patience, and political skill. Even in 27 B.C., Caesar could not do just anything he wanted. 

Incidentally, even though Caesar ultimately decided to reject the advice of his friend Agrippa, Cassius Dio reports: "Agrippa cooperated with him [Caesar] in all his projects quite zealously, in spite of having stated a contrary opinion, just as if he had been the one to propose the plan [for Caesar to become monarch]." Here again is illustrated the immense loyalty and devotion Agrippa had for his long-time friend Caesar.

Cassius Dio records the speech Caesar gave to the Senate in 27 B.C., in which Caesar voluntarily pledged to relinquished all of his power and authority back to the Senate and the people and return to private life. Of course, Caesar was being disingenuous; he had no intention of giving up his power, but merely wanted to gain even more political support and admiration by his seeming rejection of the power which so obviously lay in his grasp.

The Senate for its part was much divided by this speech; some were suspicious of Caesar's real intentions, but dared not speak out; others, wearied of the turbulent past decades, wished for a change of government with Caesar as sole ruler, but they were also afraid to voice their opinions because of the intense Roman abhorrence of the concept of monarchy. In the end, Caesar got what he wished: a greater hold on power, while maintaining the image of a selfless liberator, sacrificing himself in the cause of his country.

Part of the honors the Senate voted to Caesar in 27 B.C. was the title of "Augustus". Cassius Dio has this to say about that:

"When he [Caesar] had really completed the details of the administration, the name Augustus was finally applied to him by the senate and by the people. They wanted to call him by some name of their own, and some proposed this, while others chose that. Caesar was exceedingly anxious to be called Romulus, but when he perceived that this caused him to be suspected of desiring the kingship, he no longer insisted on it but took the title of Augustus, signifying that he was more than human. All most precious and sacred objects are termed augusta. Therefore they saluted him also in Greek as sebastos, meaning an august person, from the verb sebazesthai. In this way all the power of the people and that of the senate reverted to Augustus, and from his time there was a genuine monarchy."

A paragraph before this, Cassius Dio writes:

"Caesar had received many honors previously, when the matter of declining the sovereignty and that regarding the division of the provinces were under discussion. For the right to fasten the laurel in front of his royal residence and to hang the oak-leaf crown above the doors was then voted him to symbolize the fact that he was always victorious over enemies and preserved the citizens." (emphasis added)

And now, all this fascinating history distilled into three grams of silver!

(I love how these ancient coins can make the history you read so real and personal!)

This isn't a new coin, and I'm pretty sure some of you have already seen it, but reading the above accounts made me all the more appreciative of this coin's history and significance. 

On the obverse there is the - somewhat idealized? - portrait of Caesar, with the weighty title "CAESAR AVGVSTVS". The reverse features an oak wreath, just as Cassius Dio talks about, within which are the words "OB CIVIS SERVATOS" meaning "For saving (or "preserving") the citizens" - again, straight from the pen of Cassius Dio.

Earlier in his work, Dio actually describes a specific coin - the famous "EID MAR" denarius of Brutus - but here I think he comes pretty close to another coin description. One can speculate whether Dio, while writing his history, had in his possession any coins such as this one, which hold so much history of the time.

Feel free to post your own coins from this period, or anything else you find relevant to the topic!

I'm a member of another forum (different hobby). No FB, no Twitter, Instagram, etc. Reddit very occasionally (maybe once every few months).

I enjoyed my time at CoinTalk and I still check in there every now and then. I wasn't involved personally in the recent drama, and I didn't want to be. When the bulk of the ancient coin discussion migrated here I was happy to be invited and continue participating in an active discussion forum. So far this has been a very nice place!

Nice little coin!

I want to get one sometime, but somehow there's always something else to get instead.

On 6/3/2022 at 5:32 PM, Octavius said:

 Stunningly beautiful @DonnaML; keep them coming!

 

Here is a recent acquisition -  Egyptian jug from an intermediate period @ 1000 BCE.... from Den of Antiquity, England....

 

 

several scattered Roman pottery -  jugs , red ware, mortarium, lamps (and hunk of dinosaur bone) lying haphazardly in my study...

 

 

 

Now, that is my kind of room! 

This just in, from our very own @Ryro :

Ancient Coin Collecting (Vol. III) by Wayne G. Sayles is a good book for the beginner:

Ancient Coin Collecting - Vol III, 2nd ed. : Roman Politics and Propaganda (vcoins.com)

Also the first volume in Mr Sayles' series is highly recommended. This one is a more general book about collecting ancients, not focused on Imperial Rome in particular:

Ancient Coin Collecting, Vol. I, 2nd Ed. | Ancient Coin Books (vcoins.com)

I highly recommend Sear also. I don't know of any other affordable reference work that is reasonably comprehensive. I have the first volume (Rome is covered in 5 volumes) which covers the Roman Republic to Domitian. I enjoy looking up my coins even if I already have the RIC number. You can buy them one at a time or all 5 in one set if you want:

Sear: Roman Coins & Their Values. 5 volumes complete | Roman Imperial Coins (vcoins.com)

It isn't focused on Roman coins in particular, but I found this book to be immensely enjoyable and helped broaden my knowledge and appreciation of ancient coins. I highly recommend it!

100 Greatest Ancient Coins: Harlan Berk: 9780794846329: Amazon.com: Books

I've got a few coming. Chain-buying can be addictive. 🙄😜

@Lhevae Very interesting post! I was only able to skim read it just now, but I will for sure be re-reading it in detail later on today.

In the meantime, here's one of my Chinese coins:

Welcome @JayAg47 !

1 minute ago, Kamnaskires said:

 

The buyer’s premium does not impact the earlier calculation of what you, as the seller, will make on the deal.

I know, I just thought the high buyer's premium is where CNG made their money. Say the coin hammers for $300. With the buyer's premium, CNG is already taking in $50 - $60 on top of that. I would have thought that that would be sufficient, and they wouldn't have to take an additional $45 from the seller yet.

But whatever, it is what it is.

Love Calvin and Hobbes comics!

Here is my formulaic, cliche, inexpensive, but fun coin for this morning:

6 hours ago, Pantoffel said:

This came on from the latest Kunker. Was on my wishlist for a long long time. 
First Meris tetradrachm from Macedonia. 
-Not the best photos. Havent set up my camera properly.  So iphone photos. 

 

 

Wow, that is a beautiful example! 

They charge an 18% - 20% buyer's premium on top of the hammer price. I would have thought that would be enough without having to cut in even further.

Well, it's good to know! Thanks everyone!

18 minutes ago, zadie said:

I've consigned with CNG multiple times, never had any major issues. The submission process is pretty straight forward. This is how I usually do it:

• Send pictures accompanied with attributions and provenance (if available) via email.
• Wait for a green light from someone on staff.
• Send the coins.

Fees are quite standard, they'll start you at 15% hammer or $40 per lot, whichever is greater. $60 for group lots. You can usually negotiate these terms somewhat, obviously your leverage varies depending on how expensive the coins you're sending are.

I've consigned coins with a few of the bigger houses but CNG has always worked out best for me personally. 

So you're saying that whatever the hammer price is, they take 15% of that and then you get the rest?

If my coin hammers for $300, they take 15% of that ($45), and I get $255?

And another inexpensive but interesting and quite nice LRB. Just finished photographing, researching, and attributing this one. I think I've got it right.

Researching coins while listening to Beethoven's 3rd Symphony (Eroica) - on a Friday evening to boot - what a pleasant way to pass the time. 🙂

Hello everyone!
 

I was wondering if any of you have ever consigned any coins with CNG, for auction? If so, what was the submission process like, fees, etc.?

I'm thinking about options for selling some coins and was wondering if they'd be a good choice.

Thanks!

3 minutes ago, ominus1 said:

no Bro...that's my Dinner table....^^   

At least you eat well! 😉

Next: Lifetime issue of his pa.

I'm a beginning collector myself, and I fully understand how overwhelming it can feel! I enjoy history from all periods, and I own a wide range of coins from ancient Greek to Late Roman Empire with everything in between. I own a handful of ancient Chinese coins as well. Byzantine is still on my list to get. 

My advice would be, don't try to settle down and collect just one type, or one time period, etc., at least not yet. Buy whatever appeals to you - whether it be for the history, artistry, or both! Find interest in coins you've never thought much about (such as Chinese coins for me) and buy a few examples. Eventually, you'll likely settle down and develop some specialized interest, but now is the time to expand your knowledge and experience!

Early Roman Empire is a good place to start (albeit a little more pricey) since most people are familiar with the names/places (Augustus, Caligula, Nero, et al.). Also, the letters on the coins will be familiar even if one doesn't know Latin.

Greek coins are also full of history and artistic beauty. Of course, many of them will be a little pricey too, although good deals can be had. 

Late Roman coins can be had for less than the price of a fast-food meal. To me, they aren't as artistically pleasing (some notable exceptions, of course) but there is still a ton of history and fun in collecting them.

Probably your biggest advantage in starting your collection is being a member of this forum! There is a wealth of great info here and tons of great people who are always willing to share their knowledge with new guys. (Speaking from experience here. 🙂 ) 

@Ryro has the answer! Those books were made for just such a beginner. I own two of them and I have more sitting in my cart on VCoins. They are great books, filled with interesting and useful information.