Nerosmyfavorite68

Lol.  I wish I could have bought more at Trivet's.  They had a killer selection of c. 1970 platform shoes during the early 90s, but I was just a teen with not a lot of spending money.

The cats didn't get to the shoes.  They still were musty, though.

Why cat pee?  For as long as I can remember, the owner's cats were allowed to roam the place.

Some people do have a heightened sense of smell.  Perhaps that's teh case? I hope things improve with the book.

You sure wouldn't have liked a cool vintage shop that was in town for half a century.  It specialized in NOS hippie clothes, but the downsides were the musty smell and decades of cat pee.

Sooo, what's the point of the silver if it's painted over? We can have a poorly rendered globe for $400!

How neat!  Is the Libo the most 'common' of the bunch? 

Thanks to everyone for the good suggestions and references.

Is there a good search term for Crusader coins, which would bring up a lot of results?  For example, Syd* brings up a lot of Roman Republican coins.

Did the imitation Dihrams begin early?  I think I'd like one of them.

It's a wonderful coin and congratulations!

What kind of coin was the one which gave you problems, if you don't mind me asking?  I.e. So I don't have problems if I order from Germany.

The History of Byzantium podcast created an urge to get a few crusader coins.  While I've collected Byzantine off and on for 25 years I know little about Crusader coins, save for the 1204 occupation.

Tancred was perfect for the initial coin; it has a portrait, is fairly plentiful, is close to the first crusade, etc.  I picked out what I thought to be the nicest one on vcoins and ordered it. I'll post it when it arrives.

Of coins minted by the crusaders in the Levant, which ones are the most common?  I understand that they also used a lot of European coinage.

Was Antioch the most prosperous of the crusader states?  Antioch seems to have the most commonly available coinage on vcoins.

I'm more interested in the ones of 1097-1187, the earlier the better.

Yes, I experienced that also when buying from Germany .  FedEx would have charged an extreme amount (with no insurance).  We ended going the pony express way, the post office, which is what I wanted.

DHL Express was about 1/3rd or 1/4th the price of FedEx, IIRC.

oh, and try to get the more robust style.  Most of the slimline ones are super flimsy and kind of inconvenient to use.

When I had my PC built, it was initially a hangup because I couldn't find an in-house case (or else build would have been super expensive) with a drive. 

I initially got a slimline one, but it was so flimsy and a pita to load (have to be so careful) that I got a thick and more robust Asus external blu-ray deck.  I think it was $150.

The photography of my crystallized Hadrian was pretty close to reality, in terms of tone.

I noticed those coins before, having a soft spot for Seleucid Tets. I'm no super-expert, but wouldn't the 220s-150s B.C. be unusual for a hoard, and wouldn't the earliest ones be much more worn then they are?  The Demetrius ones also had some wear.

It's certainly lovely, as are the coins. Are  there tags underneath the coins?

I can certainly understand why you'd be livid. I'd certainly be like the Captain in the Dr. Who episode, the Pirate Planet were I in that situation.  I was mainly asking about his non-Germany shipments.

As much as U.S. collectors have been sold down the river in recent years, those packaging laws and import restrictions sound insidious.  It must be pretty tough to collect there.  I purchased one of my first overseas coins from Byzantium coins in 2009.  I seem to recall that he was in Germany.

He's been a pretty long-time dealer there. I think he was there by 2010? There's been a coin or two I've considered but they've either been a bit overpriced or something always caused me not to purchase.

I've thought of ordering from Mr. Pavlou in the past.  Is he ok?

Yes, very interesting and Donna has a nice coin!  The table was also very informative.

I overcame my reticence and made a minor order from Zurquieh.  It was super-fast, arriving within a week and a half from the order, and postage was under 6 dollars.  Many factors had made me stay away; I was warned against that dealer by another in around 2008 (same type of concerns voiced here), I used to be afraid to order from overseas, especially a place so far away, and the orange patina thing.

It was purchased for the Hadrian, which was probably aXF by wear, but crystallized and chipped.  The bust was mostly spared.  The AEs were all 'impulse' buys, mainly as box tickers.  The bonus: the Nabataean was the most expensive of the AE at $9.  I don't know if the patina's faux on the the AE's, but for $6 and 7 respectively, one can't really squawk. For $6, it should be a bd encrusted lump.  And $6 is about what I'm willing to pay for a widow's mite.

I actually like Zurquieh better than the other, closer to home orange dealer.  At least the silver's mostly left alone.

Per the coins, there was one Alexandrian Drachm which didn't look quite right. It was probably genuine and corroded - same type of situation as the Hadrian, but I kept away from that one. 

The coins arrived in paper envelopes but now that I've ordered 200 flips (100 lasted me since 2009), so I'm good now.

After my good experience, I'd certainly return.  My experience certainly flipped my opinion. 

Cool Sestertius.  I don't have any AE with the Janus Temple, at least none that I can recall.

My other Corbulo arch is a Perinthus? Sestertius, purchased in the 1990s.

The dark and matte patina makes mine somewhat unattractive but it wasn't a bad price. Nowadays truly decrepit ones go for that or more.

I decided to put my forgotten about 2021 state refund to use and I purchased a Nero Sestertius.  Nero Sestertii haven't been cheap for a long time; even a nice one with a tiny hole was $400+ in 2009.  This one was among one of the cheaper ones available on vcoins.

Lugdunum is my favorite Nero mint and while I have another arch Sestertius, this is my first left-facing portrait.

Many thanks for Jorn Klepper of NeroNumi for taking additional pictures of the coin after I explained my inability to take a decent coin picture at the present moment.  It's a difficult coin to photograph, having a very dark matte green patina.  I ended up using the orignal dealer's photo, which is closer to what the coin looks like in hand.

I was also glad not to come home to a Thursday PC freeze. My pc had been freezing certain Thursdays since March; very frustrating and I tried many things. One particular clue pointed toward RAM and I downloaded a new firmware version of my Corsair RAM and so far, so good.  Everything also seems to be running faster.

This particular DHL Express driver disregarded my delivery request (which isn't onerous) and dumped it at the door.  At least it wasn't raining.  First time that's happened.

My flip order also came in, and thanks to Mr. Klepper for also throwing in a few flips.

AE Sestertius.  Lugdunum mint.

33 mm 21,89 gr

RIC I 433 (R2)

Awesome, I hope it works out well!

Valentinian I AE 1

Attribution: RIC IX 2 Heraclea
Date: AD 364-367
Obverse: DN VALENTINI-ANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right
Reverse: RESTITVTOR REIBVBLICAE, emperor standing right holding labarum and Victory; SMHA in exergue
Size: 27.77mm
Weight: 7.95 grams

Valens (364-378). AR Siliqua (18mm, 1.60g, 6h). Treveri, 367-375. Pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust r. R/ Roma seated l., holding Victory on globe and spear; TRPS•. RIC IX 27e; RSC 109†b. Edge broken,

On 6/20/2022 at 3:13 AM, Severus Alexander said:

Here's my portrait of Leo III, also Syracuse mint (anyone have Constantinople?):

 

 

 

S 1514, small module, Leo III Constantinople.

Tiberius Apsimar, Constantinople.  I have yet to look up the Sear number.

Excellent!  A used Ghosts of Glenum is on the way!  Wouldn't that be a hoot if this is the mystery that I recalled from many years ago?

While the Falco series was a step above, in my opinion, the Flavia Albia series is also very enjoyable.  It made me want some spiced wine, which influenced my grocery shopping yesterday.  "Witche's Brew" isn't Roman, but it will have to do.

I also have to order new wine glasses.  Mine is recently chipped . Meijer didn't have any.

I really enjoy the Flavia Albia series, but I miss Falco.  The Falco series were just better, in my opinion.  I also enjoyed the Saylor series more so when it was set in 80-60 B.C.

I also seem to vaguely recall reading a mystery set in the 410s-420s.  This would have also been during the 1990s.

How would you rate both of them?  What are the protagonists like?

Other than Steven Saylor, Lindsey Davis, and the SPQR series, what are some other Roman mysteries? 

There was one which I read during the 1990s but can't remember much about it.  I think it was set during a dinner given by someone named Claudius, or similar.  I just ordered a used copy of "Ghosts of Glenum" (Rosemary Rowe), which has a similar storyline.  However, I want to say that this was set during the 150's or later.

I've not yet sampled Rosemary Rowe's works, unless Glenum is the aforementioned mystery.