Nerosmyfavorite68

It's a pretty neat consolation prize. Well done!

And how come a lot of auction coins have that same, greenish look, like the ones DonnaML posted? I've noticed that on acsearch listings.

Wow, that is pretty cool!

Sure is! They're all far above average, and the patina on the bottom right one really makes up for the little bit of wear. Well done! This issue always reminded me of the Dr. Who Sylvester McCoy episode where a creepy circus was entertaining the Gods of Ragnarok. Looks just like them.

It is a really nice coin. Yes, the coin has a really fantastic portrait, especially from the early ones. The ones I mainly collect are the later, idealized ones. I forget where it was, probably Forum, but someone once posted a statue from Anatolia depicting what he really looked like. I'm no Fabio myself, but I can see why he idealized the portraits if that giant statue was true. The size would also help further appreciate coins like this. The bigger, the better.

I'm pretty sure that I want to pick up Sasanian Persian coins this time.

Also, a coin show around 2002/2003: I may be conflating two different years, but Jon Kern had both a bag full of Honorius era solidi for $500, and a bag full of posthumous Lysimachus Tet's (gorgeous) for various prices. I got a really nice tet with a minor ding, for around $250/275. During the mid-to-late 1990's, my grandfather and I would go to Chicago during the summer. I would drag him to both Jon Subak and HJB. We had the most delightful carrots-in-rum, at the Miller's Pub, and we'd stay at the Blackhawk Hotel. There was also a place with delightful frozen lemonade, next to an artsy theater. One year, there was a coin show at the pier, and I remember going to Allen Berman's booth. I think that was the year where I was awed by the awesome tray of 1st century Sestertii one dealer had. I'll never forget the beautiful Postumus Double Sestertius that Jon Kern had, jet black and $400. That was the era when HJB had two or three tiers of pick bins. I can't remember his name, but there was kind of a gruff, curly-haired guy there. I still vividly remember the contents of the bin.

Collecting gold was way better during the '90's. The Catch-22; I didn't have a lot of money, being in HS/college. I have fond memory of going to the college library and finding Allen Berman's listings in the Celator. A world-famous Byzantine expert worked at that library, so it was chock-full of numismatic literature.

Lol, reminds me of my beloved new co-worker. Other than what I might plan for the next buy, I don't have any waiting line.

So, assuming this was of Egyptian origin, was this from the c. 400 BC revolt?

One must make mistakes to learn. I wouldn't hop, willy-nilly, on something, until you examine to make sure you're not massively overpaying for it, or getting a tooled mess. I have sub-specialties, but if it's cool, I collect it. Pretty much anything from 600 BC-1200 AD. I don't care much for AE Antoninianii, but Gallienus has a popular issue with a bunch of real and mythical animals. Philip's ('silver') 1,000th anniversary Ant's also have animals. The 4th c. BC Tarsus staters also have a super-cool lion, as do the 13th c. AD. Seljuk Turk lion and sun dihrem.

Wow, I'm happy with the $260 I paid for my 'Egyptian' owl. I'm also happy that I avoid auctions.

I've sold exceptionally few, and those were within the first couple of collecting years. It took years to find a Maxmimus denarius with the same lantern jaw (or could it be, the same coin? I didn't note the reverse). I later found the replacement around 2009.

And I can't emphasize the history enough. There were many times this summer where I'd collect this or that Byzantine emperor, just because of the fascinating insights on the HIstory of Byzantium. Justinian II = must-listen on Totalus Rankium. I'd also avoid the slabbed pieces. You're going to pay a premium, the coins usually come with little or no attribution reference info, and like Aaron Berk says, one is just paying for the plastic. Aaron Berk's podcasts also have an educational segment towards the end (beginning auction talk, then doofus buy (if that segment happens), and educational).

The denarius certainly has a charmer of a portrait! I don't think I have any coins of Domna, unles one is kicking around in the bag of provincials.

I guess I'll have to be happy with the contemporary eastern imitations. Some look 'close enough.' In fact, I've been tremendously enjoying the various countermarks and historic graffiti on the ones I've picked up. It is certainly an iconic coin, but I can't justify the price.

The coin arrived. If anything, the Demetrios is uglier in person, but I was pleased with the owl, the 'star' of the order. Ugly or not, I didn't think I'd ever own a Demetrios. Like GinoLR pointed out, a point which I initially missed, there are two countermarks on the obverse,one on top of each other. The 'bottom' one still seems to me to be a scorpion.

#42 is out. I scanned through it, but there might not be a 'doofus buy' in this one.

Per the OP's comments about Alexander, I'm relatively sure that youtube's 'Classical Numismatics' did a video on lifetime vs. posthumous Alexanders. He also did several different videos on collecting for beginners and affordable coins.

I'm not up to date on the aureus market, but isn't the opening bid more than the coin is worth?

Pretty dang cool!

I like the portrait, quite handsome for a later Parthian issue. Why did they go all abstract? I've been listening to the So You Think You Can Rule Persia? as they go along. This was a very confusing period in Parthian history.

I love the early 3rd century Balkan provincials. Although one generally won't find coins much larger than 30mm, the patinas can be fantastic.

And if you go Roman, get Sear's Roman Coins and their Values. I believe that Spink has every one but volume 4 available in pdf, for around 35 dollars each. It's old (1990's), but David Van Meter's book is an excellent beginner's reference, around $35 at forum. There's also Sear's Imperator's book (I forget the exact title), only available in paper. And ERIC is available for free download. http://www.dirtyoldbooks.com/eric.html I'd stick with vcoins. Some dealers are better than others, but I have few terrible experiences. Youtube: the channel Classical Numismatics is good. I'd really recommend that you check that out. Aaron Berk, a famous dealer, also has an ancients podcast. History podcasts are also a good way to stoke interest. There's Totalus Rankium, the History of Byzantium, etc.

I'm looking forward to the newest Aaron Berk video. These focus partly upon perceptions of the market. We need the 'doofus buy'! Could most of the buyers of Vaultbox 6 count as a doofus buy?