finally acquired a nice long beard Macrinus

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

The long beard Macrinus style is the one which I strongly prefer, and I'll only go after the short beards if there's some mitigating circumstance; it's a bargain, it's beautiful, etc.

This was my first purchase from Numismatik Naumann.  I had pored over Macrinus denarii in my price range, and this is the one which stood out to me. I then made the purchase. A representative emailed me very soon after the purchase, informing me of the dreaded export license, which I was unaware of.  This was good, as many people are probably blindsided about this. She was quite correct in her estimation of how long it would take.  Assuming N-N mailed it quickly after the paperwork went through, the useless license took a little over three weeks.  DHL Express, while cheaper than other dealers' DHL rates, also took longer.  It certainly didn't take forever, maybe 5-6 days from receiving the email notification?   All in all, it took little over a month from order to door.  I'd have to trawl through my emails to see if past DHL transactions received a delivery notification.  I just somehow got the vibe that the post office delivered it (which happens with some DHL stuff).  The delivery instructions were ignored and it was dumped in front of my door.

Within the DHL mailer was a black N-N cardboard box, and within the box was the coin in one of those sealed cardboard coin mailers.  The cardboard thing banged around inside the box (no tissue paper), but seems to have come out unharmed.

I am quite delighted with the merchandise.  The coin's even better than the very nice photograph. I would also agree with their grade, good Very Fine, which is the same thing as my VF+ grade.  The tiny edge fault possibly knocked down the price.  I'd rather have a tiny fault and a super sharp portrait than a lower grade whole piece.

I'd put my experience with N-N in the positive category. Would I order from Austria again? Probably not, unless I was really desperate for the piece. I don't like waiting a long time.  I'd also like to emphasize that the delays weren't the fault of N-N.  Was the wait worth it? In this case, yes.

(N-N description)

Obv: IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG.
Laureate and draped bust right.
Rev: PROVIDENTIA DEORVM.
Providentia standing left, holding cornucopia and wand over globus to left.

RIC 80.

Condition: Good very fine; edge fault

Weight: 2.13 g.
Diameter: 20 mm.

Feel free to post anything Macrinus related.

I would like to find a long beard Macrinus Sestertius someday. Without pulling out my Sear, I'm guessing the long beards also were available in AE's?  Numiscorner has a very decrepit example, which I'm assuming is long-beard.  Marti has a passable short-beard, although it's from Spain, which pretty much puts a kibosh on that. 

[Kali]

Macrinus (217 - 218 A.D.)AR Denarius
O: IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG, laureate and cuirassed bust right, from front, younger features with medium beard.
R:PONTIF MAX TR P COS P P, Jupiter standing half left, nude, no cloak, thunderbolt in right hand, long scepter vertical behind in left hand.
2.73g
20mm
Rome Mint, Sep 217 A.D
RIC IV 15 (S), RSC III 55b, BMCRE V 31, SRCV II 7342, Hunter III 

Maxwell Hunt Collection

[Roman Collector]

Lovely coin, @Nerosmyfavorite68! It was worth the wait, don't you think? Every time I order a coin from Austria -- and this includes Artemide too -- I have to remind myself to be patient. But arrive the coins do!

It reminds me of being a kid and ordering something from the ads in the back of comic books or some giveaway from Kellogg's: "Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery."

Here's my long beard:

Macrinus, 217-218 CE.
Roman AR denarius, 2.94 g, 19.5 mm, 6 h.
Rome, 217 CE.
Obv: IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG, laureate and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: PONTIF MAX TR P COS P P, Fides Militum standing facing, head right, right foot on helmet and holding a military standard in each hand.
Refs: RIC 22A; BMCRE 38; Cohen 60; RCV 7345; ERIC II 69.

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

You must have ordered some sea monkeys @Roman Collector...

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

The posted coins are also admirable pieces.

Yes, it was worth the wait.  The other vcoins examples in that condition were much more. Knowing upfront that it would take forever is much less frustrating than ordering and waiting.

I've heard that Spain's wait is much worse, and one gets dinged with a fee. 

I remember the days of mail order catalogs, as a kid.  The aquarium supplies would take every bit of 4 weeks to arrive.

[Roman Collector]

9 minutes ago, Ancient Coin Hunter said:

You must have ordered some sea monkeys @Roman Collector...

Oh, I think every kid had sea monkeys at one time or other, but comic book ads sold all sorts of weird things!

Don't think you're getting a 3-dimensional Frankenstein prop!! It's a piece of thin plastic -- like a garbage bag would be made of -- printed with an image of Frankenstein. Total RIP OFF. And you can't actually see bones in your hand with "X-ray specs." 😞

[DonnaML]

3 hours ago, Roman Collector said:

Oh, I think every kid had sea monkeys at one time or other, but comic book ads sold all sorts of weird things!

Don't think you're getting a 3-dimensional Frankenstein prop!! It's a piece of thin plastic -- like a garbage bag would be made of -- printed with an image of Frankenstein. Total RIP OFF. And you can't actually see bones in your hand with "X-ray specs." 😞

I remember some of those ads!

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

It is rather a lovely portrait. I'm glad that I waited.

Per the ad, I wonder what the surprise package was? I remember well the numismatic equivalent, the 4/$20 Allen Berman Byzantine junk box.  That was a lot of fun!  And there wasn't very much total dreck,either.  I wish that he would have had a more modern dealer website, as I would have been a more frequent customer of his better coins. Many of my rarest Byzantine types came from him.

[Ursus]

Very nice coin! I only have a short beard:

Macrinus, Roman Empire, AR denarius, 217–218 AD, Rome mint. Obv: IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG; laureate and cuirassed short-bearded bust of Macrinus r. Rev: IOVI CONSERVATORI; Jupiter standing left, holding thunderbolt and sceptre; to left, small figure of Macrinus standing r. 20mm, 3.21g. Ref: RIC IV Macrinus 76b.

[Julius Germanicus]

On 7/1/2023 at 10:01 PM, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

I would like to find a long beard Macrinus Sestertius someday. Without pulling out my Sear, I'm guessing the long beards also were available in AE's?  Numiscorner has a very decrepit example, which I'm assuming is long-beard.  Marti has a passable short-beard, although it's from Spain, which pretty much puts a kibosh on that. 

Then maybe my Macrinus Sestertius would be something for you - it is on sale in the current Leu Numismatics Auction (ending on Tuesday!) and has a great pedigree, too 😎:

 

[Coinmaster]

Nice coin! I bought/won mine half a year ago and have a similar experience. The coin was 150,-, but plus fees, shipping and customs it was 243,- Euro. Quite a lot, but I'm still happy with the long bearded coin!