Salomons Cat

You got one of the Soaemias with a nice bust, @rasiel. She's hard to find like this. I've tried many times to take better photos of Domna, Maesa no. 1 and Aquilia, even using the tips discussed here, but I still can't get it right. Anyway, here comes Julia Titi Domna Maesa (which portrait do you prefer? I can't decide 🧐) Soaemias Paula Aquilia Mamaea

You’re right, it must be Septimius Severus. The beard of Marcus Aurelius goes in the other direction. Septimius Severus was actually my first thought; don’t know why I changed it.

I‘m impressed! If you say that is even difficult to do this in wax, then the ancient engravers must have been really skilled. My guesses: Marcus Aurelius, Hadrian, Vespasian, Nerva

What I don't understand is why people don't try selling their coins via Vcoins more often. It's certainly slower, but it depends less on luck, and prices are more predictable. There are plenty of trustworthy dealers on Vcoins. For example, if I wanted to sell my collection, I would ask @Prieure de Sion if he would like to handle it and what percentage of the sales price he would take, as I think that I know him best and he doesn't live too far away from me. Depending on where you live and who you know there is certainly someone available. (Although I don't know if PdS is available because I haven't asked if he sells private collections and I also don't intend to sell mine. This is just an idea that I had.)

I believe I was the first to discover this charming denarius of Elagabalus on vCoins, as it was quite conservatively priced. In hand, it closely matches the photo, with sharp details and attractive toning. Later, when I have more time, I plan to do some research to see if it might qualify as a best-of-type specimen according to my own subjective standards. 🤔 Elagabalus, 219 AD. Denarius, 2.96g. Rev: FIDES MILITVM. Fides, standing front, head to right, holding vexillum in her right hand and signum in her left. RIC 73

What kind of coins do you intend to sell? If they are relatively common but expensive, and achieving AU or MS grading is realistic, I would recommend using a slab. Otherwise, it might be better to sell them without a slab, potentially through CNG if you’re based in the US.

@jdmKY yes, and I have to say that I was waiting for you to show your Gallia here 😁 I have checked all Hostilius Saserna/Gallia on acsearch and I also find yours the most attractive. I have a few nice Hercules Commodi that I believe are among the finest. It must be a few weeks already since I showed them the last time. I have probably displayed them too frequently already. I'm a bit crazy about this type, that's why I have 2 more than I would have "needed". But I also believe that it is currently a bit undervalued. They‘re not as common in good condition as people usually seem to think. My impression is that they might be on par with the Elagabalus stone of Emesa denarius, which commands much higher prices. One of my favorite coins. Despite the flan flaw on the reverse I found only 1 specimen that appeared similarly attractive to me on acsearch. And when I hold this coin in hand, it has exceptional eye appeal with high relief and beautiful golden/copper color toning. Therefore, I would probably not exchange it for the other specimen. At least not without having seen it in person. Ex Jeremy from nvmis forvms. The denarii of Commodus as Hercules don't come much better than this. Ex Graham collection and ex Yothr collection. Here is PdS's write-up. @Curtisimo has one that is certainly among the best of this type, too.

Your Melkart is clearly not crude but of very fine style, @Qcumbor!

But I don‘t find these crude 😄 People look like people, pigs like pigs, the dog is a dog… But if you look at Melkart - have you ever seen a person who looks like this?

I just took a quick look at the lots 1845 to 1945. I did not see anything suspicious there. In fact, many of the winning bids were from the last 10 seconds. And anyway - why should a shill bidding system only work during the last seconds? If you want to drive up the prices with an automatic system, you should start earlier. In contrast, bidding in the last 10 seconds is typical human behaviour.

They often have several hundred lots, so these examples don’t seem so surprising to me. But maybe I’m just a bit more hesitant with such accusations because I’m from Switzerland. It takes me only an hour by train to reach Leu, where I usually pick up my coins in person. The people who work there seem nice.

I understand your concern. But I also bid in this way. When I really want a coin, I wait until the last seconds to place a bid that I consider high enough. Therefore, I don’t think this observation can prove anything. However, shill bidding is always a possibility and not difficult to do. I just wouldn’t accuse anyone publicly because it’s impossible for us to prove.

Almost all sources that I found proposed the Antioch mint for this type. I think that @DonnaML gave a possible explanation on cointalk: @Al Kowsky Thank you. I don't see a contradication between "archaic looking" and "excellent for this type", but I take it as a compliment for my coin. Or is "crude" an expression that is too strong? Sometimes I'm not good with such things, because English is not my mother tongue.

My new Trajan tetradrachm features a depiction of Herakles that looks as if the engraver was designing a face for the very first time. I somehow perceive a special charm in this coin that earned it a place in my small collection. Rarity is not a relevant factor for me. However, as a bonus, there are only 9 specimens of this type on acsearch and on Coryssa. Trajan, Silver tetradrachm, 109 - 110 A.D. Centered, double struck, areas of mild porosity, edge cracks, Antioch (Antakya, Turkey) mint, weight 14.051g, maximum diameter 25.8mm, die axis 180°. VF. Obv: AVTOKP KAIC NEP TPAIANOC CEB ΓEPM ΔAK (Imperator Caesar Nerva Trajanus Augustus Germanicus Dacicus), laureate head right, club left below, eagle at point of bust standing right with wings closed Rev: ΔHMAPX - EΞ IΔ YΠAT E (tribunicia potestate XIV, consul VI), laureate bust of Melqart-Herakles right, Nemean lion-skin around neck, tied at front; first specimen of this type handled by FORVM; rare. Bought from FORVM ANCIENT COINS. Do you have coins that you find beautiful, even though they challenge the conventional definition of beauty with their crude style?

I think that this is not the case. You're right that NGC is very good at detecting brush strokes that are barely visible to anyone else. But @John Conduitt made a very good point about the "guarantee" provided by NGC a while ago, here: I agree with this statement. NGC does not authenticate ancient coins. Ideally, the responsibility for grading and authentication should lie with the seller, who should be held accountable. Any other approach puts the buyer at a disadvantage. And I think that this responsability should be one of the main reasons why about 20-40% of the coin price goes to the auction house.