Salomons Cat

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...

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In ancient Rome, for the two-thirds to three-quarters of the population surviving the first year of life, life expectancy at age 1 is estimated at around 34–41 remaining years (i.e. expected to live to age 35–42), while for the 55–65% surviving to age 5, life expectancy was around 40–45. The ~50% that reached age 10 could expect to reach ~45–50, and the 46–49% surviving to their mid-teens could on average expect to reach around 48–54.

(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.

@Qcumbor, of course I don't post here for likes; actually I don't care about that.
But I wonder: Why did you get so many of them and I didn't?
I think that our posts were not fundamentally different... I tried making my post a bit more readable by changing the images and removing the quotes.
Or is it seen as "impolite" to post prices? 🤔

On 5/8/2024 at 2:25 PM, Phil Davis said:

coins that are almost as good--selling for small fractions of the Dioscuri prices

This is exactly my hunting ground 😁 A few examples caught my eye since I recently bought coins that are similar.

Dioscuri: $5'500 (hammer price excl. fees):

Mine: $1200 in retail, this year:

Dioscuri:  $6055 (hammer price excl. fees):

Mine: $280 (hammer price excl. fees, last year):

Dioscuri: $4400 (hammer price excl. fees):

Mine: $575 (hammer price excl. fees, last year):

I cannot disagree with the people who say that some of the coins were overpriced. But certainly not all of them.

8 hours ago, Qcumbor said:

You guys amaze me. I've thrown three bids in and was blasted out on them all. I guess participating was more a testimony on my part (being able to tell my great grand children "I was there" ! 😄 )

The one I really regret is that fabulous portrait of Julia Soemias. Congrats to the winner, I've yet to see another that nice of that Empress :

 

It would have paired nicely with my own Julia Maesa example (I bet they were from the same engraver)

 

Q

Same!!
This Julia Soaemias denarius was the only coin from this collection that I had on my watchlist. I assume that it's the best portrait of hers on a denarius that exists.
But it was clear that the hammer price would be 2000$+, since it hammered for $1100 in 2017 (Aureo&Calico) and $1579 in 2012 (Aureo&Calico).

I would have considered it for a price between $1000-2000, including fees. But I had to tell myself that it's "only" Julia Soaemias - she's not Julius Caesar or Octavian...

I bought this coin instead, just before the auction ended. At $140, the price was about 5% of the Julia Soaemias denarius from the Dioscuri Collection. And I'm very happy with it.

I enjoy talking about coin prices. I believe that I'm usually quite good at price estimations for Roman silver coins but I have no clue about anything else.
If you're also interested in Roman silver coins, then I would be very happy to join.

18 hours ago, Coinmaster said:

Hi all,

Did you see this incredible collection? Many coins are for sale at this moment (and I'm hoping to get at least one).

http://thedioscuricollection.com/index_en.php

Is the owner present at this forum? 

Would you mind deleting this thread? I had hoped that this collection wouldn’t get too much attention and that I could buy 1 or 2 coins… 😂
Just kidding. Whoever built this collection certainly deserves that it gets some recognition.

I don't think that the owner is an active member of this forum. I have never seen any of the coins from this collection here.

@lordmarcovan, your Augustus, Claudius, Vespasian and Domitian are excellent and in very high grade; it's also nice that you have 2 aureii... 
Otho and Galba are great, too, with their complete names in the legends. It's a beautiful composition of coins that you have.

I find it particularly enjoyable to view entire collections. 
When I have a sense of the collection a coin belongs to, it alters my perception of each new acquisition. A collection, in my view, is usually more than the sum of it's parts. Regrettably, I haven't had the opportunity to create a comprehensive virtual overview of my collection yet.

As of now, I'm still missing Caligula. However, I've decided against purchasing coins featuring Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. I'm not sure if I will ever build a complete 12 caesars set. To provide some insight, I've captured a screenshot of the initial segment of my collection:

I think that the coin is innocent.
Doesn’t matter who held it in his hands. It is not “cursed” now, or anything like that. I don’t believe in superstitions or that a coin can carry any kind of karma.
Obviously, we always share this world with some monsters (just look at the current political situation with Russia, Iran, China, North Korea…). Our coins have passed through many hands and we can never know who all the previous owners were.

Therefore, I would suggest to forget this unfortunate provenance. And maybe a friendly collector will buy it, be happy with it and give it a good provenance for the future.

Beautiful coin with nice toning and nice facial details of Sol, @CPK. And full dotted borders on both sides is always great 🙂
I think that it fits very well into your collection.

I have a special 1-of-each-emperor-collection, where I sometimes buy more than one coin per emperor... Severus Alexander is such a case. There are so many nice denarii of him that it would be difficult to decide for a single coin.
 

Severus Alexander, 226 AD. 18mm, 2.86g.
Rev: ANNONA AVG, Annona standing left holding cornucopiae and grain ear over modius.
Ex Andy Barrett, 08.02.2003, for £39.
RIC 133

Severus Alexander, 231-235 AD. 
Rev: IOVIS PROPVGNATOR. Jupiter standing right, hurling thunderbolt.
RIC 240.

Severus Alexander, 232 AD. 21mm, 3.14g.
Rev: MARS VLTOR, Mars advancing right holding spear and shield.
RIC 246

Stupid question from someone who doesn't own a gold coin and has never seen one:
How is the visibility of the details of an average ancient gold coin when you hold it in your hand compared to silver?

Octavian, 44-27 BC. Denarius , 3.64g, uncertain mint in Italy (Rome?), autumn 31-summer 30.
Obv: Bare head of Octavian to left. 
Rev: CAESAR - DIVI•F Victory standing to left on globe, holding wreath in her right hand and palm frond in her left.
BMC 603. Cohen 64. CRI 407. RIC 254b.

I found myself admiring this specimen during the previous Leu auction, harboring a faint hope that I might be able to acquire it. But, no... it ultimately hammered for around $4400 (incl. fees). Impossible.
That's why I opted for this alternative, with a price of $700. In hand, it has a very attractive appearance with a striking high relief. The surface corrosion is much more visible on the photo than in hand.

17 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

The real trailer, which @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix linked, can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzzN3YonwMQ and is 1:12 long.

The fake/fan-created trailer, which @Spargrodan linked, is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpJn5o_A4Ak and is 1:22 long.

No, that's another 'FAN (CONCEPT) Trailer Concept For Gladiator 2'. At least that's what the description below the video says when you open it on youtube.
According to newspapers, the real trailer shows a rhino and baboons and is not public yet.

On 4/12/2024 at 2:09 AM, Postvmvs said:

I am a sucker for imitative coins, so the only Tribute Pennies I have a fourrees:

 

 

I agree! Contemporary forgeries and imitations are fascinating. The only one that I have is also a Tribute Penny, but it’s an aureus fourree:

21 hours ago, Octavius said:

Two tribute pennies of Tiberius. The first  looks like a more idealized portrait.

Mine has a similar style. It’s one of my favorites in my collection.

2 hours ago, Ocatarinetabellatchitchix said:

HOW MANY HISTORICAL MISTAKES WILL WE FIND IN THE SECOND ONE ???

I‘m quite sure that this is not the real trailer. Probably a fan-made one. I recognized some scenes from different movies like Lord of the Rings, Kingdom of Heaven and 300… 

Otherwise it would be a really bad trailer. 

When I began my collection, I made some rules for myself: I would buy the highest quality coins within my budget, refrain from purchasing duplicates, and resist the temptation to seek upgrades.
But, well, I got a bit obsessed with denarii featuring Commodus as Hercules and ended up breaking this rules a few times... 
However, I truly believe that my denarii of Commodus as Hercules are among the finest of their kind. In fact, I'd struggle to locate equally appealing specimens in today's market. I still don't understand why they're not more popular. I believe that they might be a bit undervalued, because attractive specimens are not common.

Another duplicate that I have is Severus Alexander, RIC 246. First, I bought this one:

But then I noticed that Mars has very fancy shoes on that one, so I bought it, too:

Fantastic suggestion, @Restitutor.

I already have some people in mind who I believe would make excellent moderators. However, I'm uncertain whether they would proactively apply for the role.

For example, what about @DonnaML and @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix? 
(Please excuse me if you‘re completely against it - I just think that you would be great for this job.)

That's a charming coin.
I like the symbolism of the Matri Deum reverse on the coins featuring Julia Domna, as it is obvious to assume that she should be identified with the goddess. And it's a very good example of the strategic use of divine imagery for propaganda. For some reason I just find it more interesting than Pudicitia or any of the other reverses. Maybe because ir shows some megalomania?

Here are my Domnas:

18 minutes ago, DonnaML said:

Did the first Gladiator movie or the HBO series on Rome have any effect on the demand or prices for ancient Roman coins?

Good question... I don't know. Gladiator 1 is from 2000, it was another time with less internet auction houses and more metal detector finds. I don't even know if we have enough data to compare auction prices before and after the movie, without checking some old catalogues.
But I believe that the idea that a movie can have an impact is not as absurd as it might sound at first. The Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit" caused an incredible boom for chess shops. I would really not underestimate the potential impact of a movie. If Gladiator II is successful, a few former collectors might rediscover the hobby, and a few new ones might join. Maybe it's only a few people, but given the relatively small size of the ancient coin community, even a single additional wealthy collector can sometimes have a noticeable impact on auction prices. And particularly specialist collectors notice it quite quickly if another collector is interested in the same kind of coins, I believe. It's entirely possible that the movie won't change anything at all, but I genuinely consider the possibility that it might have an impact.

My most recent acquisition, which hasn't even arrived yet:

At the moment, the market for high-quality Roman coins seems quite sparse to me. I find very few interesting coins in auctions, and it appears that there are currently no significant collections available on the market. Moreover, whenever I add a new coin to my favorites on vCoins or MA-Shops, it sells quite quickly.

Additionally, with the upcoming release of Gladiator 2 in November, I anticipate a surge in interest in ancient Roman coins 🤔 Altogether, I predict that the prices for ancient Roman coins will rise if everything continues as it is at the moment.

18 minutes ago, CPK said:

That Titus was a beauty. Actually I believe it is RIC II 1 - the first issue for Titus as Augustus? It's rarer than my coin's type, which was struck later.

Yes, you're right! I only remembered that it wasn't the type that was described in the auction. Again, taking a look at Davids collection on Forum Ancient Coins is very useful 🙂

23 hours ago, CPK said:

I still have the JC portrait denarius. I've thought of selling it, but I'd probably have to spend double what I paid for it to get a nicer replacement, which would be significantly more money than I've ever spent on one coin before. I may get to the point where I'm ready to upgrade it, but for now I think I'll keep it. 😉 

I'm glad to hear that 🙂
I would keep it, too. It's a well centered coin, you recognize the portrait and you can read "Caesar". Overall, I think that it is still a very attractive coin.

21 hours ago, David Atherton said:

If you don't mind me asking, which coin was it?

Of course, I was the underbidder on this one:

I couldn't believe that I was outbid. Maybe that was naive, specimens in this condition usually cost as much or more. Nevertheless, the price appears very high to me.
This coin was described as RIC 1076 in the auction. But I think that it is RIC 49, too, like CPK's specimen.
By the way, I bought this coin a bit later, so at least I have a similar reverse type in my collection that costed a small fraction of these $1600:

Great coins, @CPK!

I've been on the hunt for such a Titus reverse for ages, but I keep getting outbid. I once bid $1600 on a great piece, but still lost out.

Finding a Nero denarius at a reasonable price is equally tough right now. It seems like everyone's after one.

That Vespasian portrait is fantastic. While the hammer price was high, I've been monitoring Vespasian denarii on ma-shops and vcoins for a while, and ones with such quality portraits are rare in retail and certainly not cheaper than what you paid. I also believe that you won‘t regret it.

I also have the goal of acquiring the best coins I can afford. It's fulfilling but challenging. Not only because it‘s difficult to participate in the „Post it and pick it“ thread with a small collection. High-quality coins are scarce on the market right now, and I think that it‘s inevitable to compete with some wealthy bidders.

I'm eager to see how your collection evolves. By the way, do you still have the Julius Caesar denarius, or did you sell that too? 🙂

Elagabalus doesn't even look like he's related to himself 🤔
Julia Mamaea and Severus Alexander also look a bit different from each other.