Posts that don't deserve their own thread, Thread.

[Steppenfool]

Most online forums I've experienced have one of these. Ever had something to say about coins, but don't feel it's worth taking up a slot on the front page, and there's no relevant existing thread to piggyback. Here's the place to say it.

Delete if people think this is inappropriate, but I hope people will find it useful.

 

[Steppenfool]

The main reason I created this thread was that I really needed to vent about the current pricing situation. Like any good addiction, I've reached the point in coin collecting where I need a regular fix. I am feeling this urge kick in right about now, esepcially due to only having one coin to my name in 2023 so far. Usually when this happens I'd set aside a small sum and treat myself to something nice. When I first started collecting a couple of years ago it was about £50 I'd need to get myself something halfway interesting in passable condition. Nowadays vcoins/MAShops prices have climbed so much that a £100 war chest doesn't seem to throw up anything worth buying.

Anyone find themselves in a similar situation?

[CPK]

Me too. What coins are you looking at?

The other side of this problem is just spending too much, of which I am also guilty. 😬

Thankfully, becoming interested in the coins of Constantine and family has opened up a wide collecting area that is still fairly inexpensive. I have a few coming in the mail right now.

[ominus1]

...it is true..i didn't have any buys this year till this month..i received my 4th coin last nite(haven't posted it yet...savoring the feeling and that is fleeting in itself )  but you reach a point where you have to change focus sometimes so you can feed the craving..i need one coin of year of 5 and 4 in the year of the six...and i havent really got the bucks to  get those and maintain a level of buying other stuff too...but its good to get a new coin for your collection in...it releases dopamine i reckon, like winning at poker (but you don't gamble collection coins away) and every once in a while to sit down and take a close at your collection....i find coins i forgot i had and they seem like new for the minute..

Edited April 21, 2023 by ominus1

[expat]

I guess it is a subjective subject. Depending on how long you have been collecting, the extent of your collection and how particular to condition the collector is. Personally, having been collecting ancients for less than a year, any coin that takes my fancy regardless of condition piques my interest. Also there are still bargains to be had for people like me. For example these two might not be conditional rarities, but for less than 35 Euros each they will do for me.

 

[John Conduitt]

I have a couple of sub-collections that give me a regular flow of coins without having to pay the prices needed for my main collection. Obviously, in the long run that costs more than just saving up, but it's better for cash flow.

[Severus Alexander]

56 minutes ago, Steppenfool said:

Nowadays vcoins/MAShops prices have climbed so much that a £100 war chest doesn't seem to throw up anything worth buying.

I get plenty of neat stuff for less than that from various auction houses on biddr, especially the ones with very low starts and minimal ID info. LRB’s of course, but also Greek AE. I also agree with others above who suggest a shift of focus, especially off the beaten track of Greek and Roman silver.

[DonnaML]

Changing the subject -- but still about something to which I don't necessarily want to devote a new thread -- here's a link to an interesting article about a hoard of 175 Roman Republican denarii from around 82 BCE (the era of civil war), recently discovered in Italy. One rarely sees anything these days about Roman Republican hoards; mostly it's Late Roman material. Hopefully the coins will be available to scholars, and be helpful in resolving some of the dating issues that still exist. See https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/2000-year-old-hoard-of-roman-coins-may-have-been-hidden-by-a-soldier-during-a-bloody-civil-war-in-italy:

A hoard of 175 silver coins unearthed in a forest in Italy may have been buried for safe keeping during a Roman civil war.

The coins seem to date from 82 B.C., the year the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla fought a bloody war across Italy against his enemies among the leaders of the Roman Republic, which resulted in Sulla's victory and his ascension as dictator of the Roman state.

The archaeologists who investigated the hoard of 175 silver Roman denarii — the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars in today's money — suggested it may have been buried by a Roman soldier who was then killed in battle.

 

But historian Federico Santangelo(opens in new tab), a professor who heads Classics and Ancient History at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, said it also could have been buried by a businessman who wanted to keep his money safe during turbulent times. "I don't think we should trace this money to a soldier, although in principle it is possible," he told Live Science. Santangelo was not involved in the discovery.

The chronologies of such coin hoards show that many were buried during wars and upheavals. "A number of people at times of crisis buried their stash of money and for whatever reason were prevented from retrieving it," Santangelo said.

 

Excavations revealed no other archaeological objects at the site where the coin hoard was found, but the remains of a Roman-era farm had been found in the past about half a mile away.  (Image credit: Lorella Alderighi)

Coin hoard

Researchers discovered the coin hoard buried in a terracotta pot in 2021 but kept it secret so that the site could be completely investigated.

Lorella Alderighi(opens in new tab), an archaeologist with the provincial office for archaeology, told Live Science the coins were discovered by a member of an archaeological group in a newly-cut area of forest northeast of the city of Livorno in Tuscany. Archaeological investigations revealed the earliest coins dated from 157 or 156 B.C., while the most recent were from 83 or 82 B.C., she said.

 

The area was probably forested then as it is now, on a small hill overlooking a swamp. The remains of a Roman farm had previously been found about half a mile (1 kilometer) away, she said.

"The coins have definitely been hidden — they constituted a 'treasure' or piggy bank," she said. "The easiest way to hide valuables was to bury them underground, away from homes where no one could find them."

More, and more photos, at link.

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by DonnaML

[JayAg47]

When I started collecting ancients 4years ago, ebay was my mainstay, I used to build up my Roman denarii by buying them for really cheap (around 20-30 bucks each), nowadays if you search for any denarius in that price range all you get is pages upon pages of fakes from eastern Europe and North Africa, even from Yugoslavia lol, they even fake common Gordian III ants!! nowadays I only buy ultra niche coins or unattributed coins from ebay that are only known by the few in numismatics. My other avenues include local coin shows and private online dealers, however Ma-shops and Vcoins have become more pricey in the last couple of years, I don't know if I've raised my budget for nicer coins or I had to raise my budget because of coinflation even for common coins. I'm still yet to dabble into online auctions which are whole other beasts of themselves with their hidden costs and rates. 

Edited April 21, 2023 by JayAg47

[Severus Alexander]

36 minutes ago, JayAg47 said:

I'm still yet to dabble into online auctions which are whole other beasts of themselves with their hidden costs and rates.

I probably shouldn't encourage people – it's dumb to invite more competition! – but the fear of allegedly "hidden" costs etc. is way overblown IMO. Just like you'd factor in shipping costs when buying on VCoins or ebay, you factor in the buyer's fee, which is easy to find under the "Auction terms" link on biddr, or the "Terms of Sale" link on Numisbids:

If you can't find it straightaway in the text that pops up, just search for "%".  To that, add in the corresponding exchange rate in % of your own currency (from Google or wherever), and you've got your max bid. Easy-peasy!

Lots of dealers make their money by buying at these auctions and selling on VCoins.  If you have reasonable knowledge of your target area, it makes sense to cut out the middleman.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Severus Alexander

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

6 hours ago, Steppenfool said:

The main reason I created this thread was that I really needed to vent about the current pricing situation. Like any good addiction, I've reached the point in coin collecting where I need a regular fix. I am feeling this urge kick in right about now, esepcially due to only having one coin to my name in 2023 so far. Usually when this happens I'd set aside a small sum and treat myself to something nice. When I first started collecting a couple of years ago it was about £50 I'd need to get myself something halfway interesting in passable condition. Nowadays vcoins/MAShops prices have climbed so much that a £100 war chest doesn't seem to throw up anything worth buying.

Anyone find themselves in a similar situation?

I've been collecting since the 1980s/1993.  While I've definitely witnessed price inflation, I can always find something passable for $125 (isn't that about what 100 pounds sterling would be?).

Since the 2000's, I've noticed big jumps in imperials of Nero, double Sestertii of Postumus and gold coins.  I remember how I was griping in 2009 about how high gold was.  Then I was able to find passable/decent gold coins for $450-500.

It also depends what genre and what dealers one buys from. 

C. 2000, I was able to buy bulk asses/dupondii and similar sized Balkan AE's for $1.50 each.  They weren't FDC, but they were surprisingly passable, with most being aF and few bd coins.  Like an idiot, I managed to misplace the asses bag during a move.  It's hidden somewhere in the house, I suppose.

The $1.50 days are gone.  One can get $3 AE3's, but they're horrible.

[Furryfrog02]

I am having a hard time finding things that are within my price range. Granted, that price range is pretty low. A few years ago when we started collecting, I could find some really interesting stuff for ~$20. That is getting harder and harder now. I find a nugget here and there but they are getting fewer and farther between.

[Orange Julius]

Not long ago I bought this Maximinus II SOLI INVICTO COMITI that’s cool as it reflects a time somewhere around 312 where Max, Licinius and Constantine were friends.

These coins are very common for Constantine and Lincinius, but less so for Maximinus II.

RIC VI Rome 336b

[Hughie Dwyer]

Nice thread @Steppenfool!

 

This post certainly doesn't deserve its own thread - it is just a quick question.

While looking through my coins, I noticed green encrustations on this particular coin. I checked my photos of it and I now know that they have been there since I bought it about 10 months ago. The encrustations don't seem to have grown at all, but my first instinct was that this could be the dreaded BD.

If it is, what is the best way to go about it?

I keep it in a little capsule in a tray. It is not humid where I live.

In terms of bd, is it 'contagious'; as in, could it start to grow on other coins around this one?

Thank you in advance for any advice. 

 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Hughie Dwyer

[maridvnvm]

Those look like surface green adhesions rather than BD.

[Steppenfool]

Perhaps I am being too narrow as some users suggested! I do stick to Imperial Rome between Vespasian and Julian II and have only ventured out of this area one time for an Imperational of Pansa. Coins for me are all about the history, and the period outlined above is the period I am most interested in, and hence most knowledgeable about. I think I would get much less enjoyment from a coin whose historical basis I would be less familiar. Perhaps I need to devote more study to a different period and the coins will begin to jump out at me too.

I do attend auctions, but am often the underbidder on every single one of my targets. Perhaps I am just unlucky. 😂

[Steppenfool]

15 hours ago, CPK said:

Me too. What coins are you looking at?

The other side of this problem is just spending too much, of which I am also guilty. 😬

Thankfully, becoming interested in the coins of Constantine and family has opened up a wide collecting area that is still fairly inexpensive. I have a few coming in the mail right now.

Constantine and his family is actually where I started haha so I've already ripped through that more budget friendly area.

 

@Hughie Dwyer BD usually is much more striking in colour than that (lighter and more brilliant), and more powdery, and should flake off with a light scrape.

As well as these more formal diagnostic tools, I often speculate there's an element of instinct that humans have in recognising problematic decay/corrosion. Bronze disease seems to set off those "something's wrong" alarm bells as it looks rather odd on the surface of a coin, whereas your coin doesn't produce such a reaction. I have a fair few coins with random green encrusted blobs like that that have remained stable for a couple of years now.

Edited April 22, 2023 by Steppenfool

[Steppenfool]

14 hours ago, DonnaML said:

Changing the subject

 

No problem changing the subject, that's the idea of the thread! There will no doubt be a number of casual conversations occuring at one time that people can dive in and out of.

Interesting article. Hopefully the dating provides some clues. Perhaps a fleeing member of the Pompeian faction? I couldn't make out of any the issues in the pictures to provide a terminus post quem.

Edited April 22, 2023 by Steppenfool

[Sulla80]

"I hope the mention of these luxurious and ruinous prices (one would have to pay 100, 300, 150, 1.000 lire) will not discourage any of my readers; they should rather have judgment enough to behold such a mirage without aspiring to grasp it, at any rate for their consolation I would say that a collection may be made in many ways, and one may have a collection suitable to any purse."

-Francesco Gnecchi, 1903

Edited April 22, 2023 by Sulla80

[NewStyleKing]

 An interesting recent sale                                   see my little complaint in this General category   price inflation, collecting , interesting coin and cataloging etc......its got it all! by me,NewStyleKing

[CPK]

2 hours ago, Steppenfool said:

Perhaps I am being too narrow as some users suggested! I do stick to Imperial Rome between Vespasian and Julian II and have only ventured out of this area one time for an Imperational of Pansa. Coins for me are all about the history, and the period outlined above is the period I am most interested in, and hence most knowledgeable about. I think I would get much less enjoyment from a coin whose historical basis I would be less familiar. Perhaps I need to devote more study to a different period and the coins will begin to jump out at me too.

I do attend auctions, but am often the underbidder on every single one of my targets. Perhaps I am just unlucky. 😂

I know for me, just reading a book or two about an unfamiliar period of ancient history is enough to get me interested in the coinage of that time, too!

[Steppenfool]

Does anyone know why this coin is so expensive? It's the same price on Diller's own site too. Everything else is reasonably priced. 680 EUR

 

 

https://www.ma-shops.co.uk/diller/item.php?id=221104001

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Is it weird that I only have one Ant of Gordian III and only 2 or 3 coins of Constantine?  (not counting some awful Constantines in incidental group lots).  I don't dislike Gordian III Ants, but I never got around to getting another since around 1994. I also don't think I've bought (some probably in incidental buys) any FEL TEMPs since around 1994.

I also only have only 2 or 3 coins of Probus.

 

[Steppenfool]

13 minutes ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

Is it weird that I only have one Ant of Gordian III and only 2 or 3 coins of Constantine?  (not counting some awful Constantines in incidental group lots).  I don't dislike Gordian III Ants, but I never got around to getting another since around 1994. I also don't think I've bought (some probably in incidental buys) any FEL TEMPs since around 1994.

I also only have only 2 or 3 coins of Probus.

 

I also only have one coin of Gordian III, but that's true for most rulers for me. However, unlike the other rulers, I have absolutely no intention of adding any more. His reverses are so boring (someone standing/sitting) and lack historical import.

Constantine is my most numerous Emperor, I think I'm at 15 or so coins of Constantine. However, my fascination with Roman history began with Constantine's reign, and it's still one of my favourite periods of history to study. Furthermore, Constantine's religious journey reflected by his coinage is one of the most fascinating collections available to me.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I have fairly many Gordian Sestertii, but since I'm a patina collector and an unusual percentage of Gordian III AE's have nice patinas (metal content change during that era?) that's why. Or, perhaps more of those found their way to the Balkans?

Oh yeah, that reminds me of another question.  Why do Byzantine AE's almost NEVER (other than Sicily) have nice patinas? Many were probably deposited in the Balkans.